A History: The U.S.D.A.--Longwood Ornamental Plant Exploration Program
Date
1977-06
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Our gardens contain many exotic plants imported in
a variety of ways. The earliest ornamental plant exchanges
resulted from the efforts of private individuals:
John Bartram , Benjamin Franklin, and others, in the 1700s.
The passage of the Treasury Circular Act of 1827, although
offering no financial assistance, was the first governmental
recognition of the importance of plant importation.
Next, with the establishment of the United States Department
of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) in 1862, the government
became active in seed and plant procurement and distribution.
Later, during the early 1900s, plant exploration
reached its peak with the legendary work of explorers such
as Ernest H. Wilson, David G. Fairchild, and Frank N.
Meyer. During the Depression and World War II interest
and support waned and ornamental plant exploration came
to a standstill, but in 1956 foreign plant exploration for
ornamentals was revived with the establishment of the
U.S.D.A.-Longwood Ornamental Plant Exploration Program.
Longwood Gardens, Inc., entered into an agreement
with the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S.D.A. for
the purpose of ornamental plant exploration in foreign
countries. The cooperative contract described the arrangement
between the two agencies: Longwood was to provide
funds for the exploration, and the U.S.D.A. was to
furnish the facilities and manpower for quarantine,
propagation, evaluation and distribution , and associated
scientific programs,
According t o the agreement, the major goal of the
program was to introduce new plants "which will have potential
value to the future of ornamental horticulture . . ."
This was accomplished by exploring in regions
previously unexplored, by collecting plants for possible
use in breeding programs, and by collecting plants from
wild or cultivated sources for introduction directly into
the field .
Before the plants could be released to the horticultural
trade, there were procedures that had to be completed
by the U.S.D.A. First , after the plants entered
the country, they had to be processed through inspection
centers. Next, during quarantine, they were propagated
and increased in numbers. Finally, they were evaluated
and distributed by both Longwood and the U.S.D.A. to
botanic gardens, arboreta, nurserymen, and agricultural
stations for further evaluation before final release to
the horticultural public.
From 1956 to 1970, as a part of this program
thirteen explorations were made of various regions of the
world, including the South Seas, the Far East, Asia,
Europe, South America, and Australia . There were two
reasons for the selection of areas to be explored. These
were the amount of prior exploration and the presumed
benefits from the types of plant material available there.
Explorers were chosen for their expertise in certain plant
groups and for their knowledge of a specific country or
region.
These thirteen explorations produced over 10,000
plant introductions. Some of these plants were used in
breeding programs, others were released after evaluation
to the public, and still others will be evaluated and released
in the future.
Description
Keywords
Horticulture, Plant introductions, History- public garden, Plant exploration, Longwood Gardens