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Plant Conservation and Horticulture

‘LOST’ PLANTS FOUND

Prairie false oat, a native Southwestern grass, was presumed extinct until two individuals were rediscovered in northern San Diego County by local botanists, marking the first documentation of the grass in over 100 years . This year, the Native Plant Gene Bank team made the first seed collection and banking of this intriguing “lost” species.

Coral Surprise

In our accredited botanical collection, our horticulture team oversees 51 types of endangered coral trees from across the world—the largest grouping in the continental U.S. On occasion, these longtime Zoo residents offer unexpected delights. That happened this summer, when one of the critically endangered corals Erythrina latissimi joined the others in their annual showy display, in its first bloom since 2009.

Acorn Acquisition

Island scrub oaks are found only on the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast. Teams made the trip to gather acorns in order to explore ways to cryopreserve and grow more of them, as they work to save this endangered species .

Iconic Achievement

More than 240 seedlings of the iconic Torrey pine —which is found only in Southern California, and primarily along the San Diego coastline—were planted in Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. Additionally, our team installed dendrometer bands on over 200 trees of various sizes, allowing us to measure annual trunk growth as part of our effort to understand how drought and insect infestations threaten this rare pine species.

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