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Page 118 · DO #4777 · 231_Rogers_Bx5FF27_r
- Collection
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David James Rogers (1918–2007) papers
- Item/Folder
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Correspondence - NRC Comm. on Germplasm, 1977
- Digital Object
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DO #4777,
page 118
- Collection-level dates
- 1948–1977
Page transcription
- 8 -
In the first place, consider what botanical gardens are:
by their very nature they are treasuries of botanical diversity,
growing everything from algae to redwoods and displaying a wide
array of native and exotic species and cultivars, outside and
under glass. It is not uncommon for a garden to maintain several
thousand kinds of plants in a score of natural or simulated
habitats. Regardless of the quality and extent of documentation,
the mere fact that such an aggregation of genotypes is consistently
maintained has pertinent conservation value, and augurs well
for a more direct role in botanical conservation. Several
gardens also own or have custody of significant tracts of
natural vegetation which are not only interpreted for public
understanding but also as conserved natural areas are refuges
for the genetic resources comprising them as well as for research
on these resources.
Associated with the living collections of many botanical
gardens are libraries devoted to botany and horticulture.
Several gardens also maintain plant specimen museums or herbaria,
which are collections of superbly documented specimens representing
the full range of extant diversity of the 250,000 species
of plants on earth. The two together are essential instruments
for the pursuit of research in plant systematics, evolution,
geography, and ecology. Such research is fundamental not only
for an understanding of the forces at work in the accelerating
impoverishment of genetic resources but also for the establishment
of sound conservation practices.
Botanical gardens usually offer educational programs to
