New Conservation Initiative of Dipterocarps in China announced
On 21 July 2023, the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Conference on the Conservation of Rare Dipterocarps Species was held at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Yunnan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XTBG). During this Conference, XTBG and eight participating organizations jointly initiated and formally committed to the “Conservation Initiative of Dipterocarps in China”, calling […]
Campaigning to save wild population of Japanese red maple
Japan is a diversity centre for maple species, including three that are threatened with extinction in the wild: A. amamiense, A. miyabei and A. pycnanthum. Each is faced with different challenges, and A. pycnanthum, the Japanese red maple, is now faced with a new threat: the construction of a new railway line through one of its most important populations in Mitake, […]
Conserving threatened Rhododendron species

Prioritizing survival of threatened species Mortality is not unusual in botanic gardens. It is an inevitable consequence of attempting to grow a great many different plants, often of wild origin and from across the world. Each species or even individual is unique in its ability to thrive given different soils, temperatures, rainfall, and seasonal variability. […]
Research needed to support species conservation
Researchers working with GCC Erica are preparing a themed collection of papers under the title “Systematics, natural history, and conservation of Erica (Ericaceae)”, representing the latest insights and state of knowledge in inter-dependent topics including nomenclature, taxonomy, phylogeny, ecology, and ex situ conservation of Erica species. Showcased in the Open Access, peer reviewed journal PhytoKeys, […]
New opportunity to fund projects to support Global Conservation Consortia conservation action
BGCI is pleased to announce a new partnership between BGCI-US and the United States National Arboretum that will support a new Global Conservation Consortia (GCC) Grant for conservation action undertaken by GCC Species Stewards for one or more priority threatened species. Projects must be completed by existing GCC Species Stewards, or by institutions that commit […]
Monitoring for Myrtle Wilt in Nothofagus cunninghamii populations, Tasmania
Nothofagus cunninghamii is an Australian endemic species and a dominant tree in the cool temperate rainforests of Victoria and Tasmania. Like many other species of Nothofagus, it is threatened by logging, fire and climate change, but in addition to these threats, N. cunninghamii is the only known naturally-infected host of the fungus Chalara australis which […]
Steering Committee Member joins from New Caledonia
We are delighted to welcome a new Steering Committee Member to the Global Conservation Consortium (GCC) for Nothofagus. Dr Fabian Carriconde is a Researcher in microbial and molecular ecology for Institut Agronomique néo-Calédonien (IAC) and has a specific interest in soil microorganisms – Nothofagus interactions. He is committed to progress research and conservation of Nothofagus […]
Magnolias in Ecuador: improving ex situ plant conservation
The GCCM is excited to be part of a new project led by Chicago Botanic Garden and funded by Walder Foundation. The project, entitled ‘Improving ex situ plant conservation: scaling up zoo pedigree management approaches to critically rare plants in the Pacific’ will engage with communities and botanical gardens in six countries around the Pacific […]
Rhododendron wilhelminae conservation action
Bogor Botanic Garden are about to begin targeted survey work searching for Rhododendron wilhelminae, a critically endangered species endemic to Mt. Salak in West Java, Indonesia. The species is not present in any ex situ collections and is possibly extinct species as the last survey in 2018 failed to find any plants. The current project […]
Rhododendron survey on the Cycloops Mountains.

The Cycloops Mountains are an isolated mountain range on the northern side of the biodiversity-rich island of New Guinea. The Rhododendron flora of the mountains has been studied since the 19thC, but was not intensively surveyed until the 1960s. Currently there are 7 known species of Rhododendron in the range, including the charismatic Rhododendron leucogigas. The […]