Raising rarity: Horticultural approaches to conserving Victoria's rare and threatened wildflowers

Conservation horticulture aims to retain genetic and phenotypic variation present in natural populations, while commercial production seeks a uniform product, often through clonal propagation or the use of highly selected seed. While the efficiencies of large-scale commercial horticultural production provide obvious opportunities to save rare and threatened plants, the challenges of plant production have to be addressed, bearing in mind that selection of plant material or propagules from a limited range of sources may further compromise at-risk species (Winter and Botha 1994). As a key role for botanic gardens is to make the public aware of the need for plant conservation (Convention on Biological Diversity nd), it is logical to trial a conservation project for rare and threatened Australian forb species in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (Cranbourne). We will use this opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of conservation horticulture, and the sometimes-conflicting aims of ornamental plant production. There is no doubt that the public has an appetite for endangered species, based on the successful propagation and marketing of the rare Australian conifer, the Wollemi Pine (Heady 2012)