Title: Cultivating Discoveries: Integrating Collections and Research

by Patrick Griffith, Ph.D. Executive Director Montgomery Botanical Center

Abstract: Botanic garden living collections are a rich resource for research. I will discuss how well a ten year plan to increase the use, utility, and relevance of Montgomery's collections worked. I will also provide current examples of research projects that leverage these living treasures. Griffith, M. P., T. Clase, P. Toribio, Y. Encarnación Piñeyro, F. Jimenez, X. Gratacos, V. Sanchez, A. Meerow, A. Meyer, A. Kramer, J. Fant, K. Havens, T. M. Magellan, M. Dosmann, and S. Hoban. 2020. Can a botanic garden metacollection better conserve wild plant diversity? A case study comparing pooled collections to an ideal sampling model. International Journal of Plant Sciences 181: 485-496 (cover). Griffith, M.P., E. Beckman, T. Callicrate, J. Clark, T. Clase, S. Deans, M. Dosmann, J. Fant, X. Gratacos, K. Havens, S. Hoban, M. Lobdell, F. JiménezRodriguez, A. Kramer, R. Lacy, T. Magellan, J. Maschinski, A. W. Meerow, A. Meyer, V. Sanchez, E. Spence, P. Toribio, S. Walsh, M. Westwood, J. Wood. 2019. TOWARD THE METACOLLECTION: Safeguarding plant diversity and coordinating conservation collections. Botanic Gardens Conservation International US (San Marino, USA).