What's For Dinner?

In the US, endangered plant conservation is carried out by a network of 39 leading botanical institutions through the Center for Plant Conservation, and its Executive Director botanist Kathryn Kennedy has brought 750 of America's most imperiled native plants into its care since 2000. Off-site, hands-on conservation involves collecting live plant material from nature; maintaining it as seed, rooted cuttings or mature plants; and conducting horticultural research to grow and return many plants to their natural habitats. Kathryn operates as scientist, program developer and manager coordinating this work, acutely aware that 80 percent of the at-risk plants of the United States are closely related to plants with economic value somewhere in the world, and more than 50 percent are related to crop species.