Every year our local flora faces threats from land-use changes, climate impacts, and more. The UCSC Greenhouses Plant Conservation Internship program seeks to identify local species at risk, grow them for ex-situ seed amplification, and distribute the seeds to conservation programs, researchers, or seed banks as appropriate. This year our Plant Conservation Interns will continue to focus on preserving seeds from the late Randall Morgan's Trifolium collections.
Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, your gift today will be matched!
Randall Morgan (November 7, 1947–June 6, 2017) was one of our most prolific and accomplished Santa Cruz botanists and natural historians. He was instrumental in discovering, rediscovering, and conserving numerous species of plants and insects in California. One of his many specialties was the plant genus Trifolium, also known as the true clovers or trefoils. Randy accumulated a vast collection of clover seeds from all over California, including historical collections and unusual species. This valuable collection is aging, and is in need of attention to ensure that it lives on for future researchers and plant systematists to work with. We are over halfway through the incredible feat of creating a detailed digital inventory of this collection. Next we will conduct viability and germination experiments on select species, and identify priority samples for special long-term storage.
Your donation to our Plant Conservation Fund will support undergraduate interns, engage the next generation of botanists in conservation efforts, and will allow us to properly safeguard these collections for the future.