Listing Compiled

As I've progressed thru my 5' tall pile of things to read (catalogs, gardening magazines, newsletters, etc.), I ran across a neat little tidbit about an enormous undertaking started by the Missouri Botanic Garden (MOBOT) and the Royal Botanic Gardens - Kew (UK). They have collected, sorted, researched, and organized the most comprehensive list of land plant species ever compiled (so the water lily above is not eligible at this point, yet!). This idea, first proposed in 1999, has been a major project that will continue to be a "working list" of all known plant species. This list (Version 1) focuses on all flowering plants, conifers, ferns, mosses and liverworts. There are currently 1.25 million plant names in this database with more to follow each year. The listed included accepted Latin names, synonyms (many) and unresolved references as well. Check out www.theplantlist.org/ for more information regarding this epic project. On the Royal Botanic Garden - Kew site (www.kew.org/news/plant-list-complete.htm) regarding this historic accomplishment, I found the quotes below quite descriptive of why this is important. Check out the links too. To me, this is big news, not updates on Justin Bieber's haircut or love life. UGH.

"Without accurate names, understanding and communication about global plant life would descend into inefficient chaos, costing vast sums of money and threatening lives in the case of plants used for food or medicine."

"The Plant List provides a way of linking the different scientific names used for a particular species together, thus meeting the needs of the conservation community by providing reliable names for all communication about plants and their uses."

"The on-time completion of The Plant List is a significant accomplishment for Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden, and our partners worldwide. It is crucial to planning, implementing and monitoring plant conservation programs around the world." Dr. Stephen Cooper, Director, Royal Botanic Gardens - Kew

Today was filled with meetings, seed orders and phone calls for me but it is all another step towards preparation for 2011. We had a great Education Committee meeting and are excited about the opportunities for this year and beyond. Larry and Bill put displays away today while Dr. Gredler (with some help from Bill) painted more obelisks that vivid blue color. We also saw Maury, Dick H., Mary Kay and many others over here as well. Business as usual. If you haven't read some of the more recent blogs, catch up and see more details on some neat, upcoming opportunities.