Plant Conservation

Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens is one of the 36 leading botanical gardens and arboretums in the United States that maintains the National Collection of Endangered Plants for the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC).

Over three fourths of the endangered plants in the United States occur in the highly diverse ecosystems of Texas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mercer shelters over 24 rare plants and several of the plants are on display in the Endangered Species Garden.

To learn more about endangered plant species, stop by Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens and ask the staff about these rare plants, and view them up-close in the Endangered Species Garden.

Founded in 1984, the CPC celebrated 25 years of plant conservation and preservation in 2009.

The Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) Project is a global plant conservation effort developed by the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, United Kingdom. The MSB Project coordinates work by more than 30 organizations in 20 countries worldwide. Mercer Arboretum partners with the MSB Project by hosting volunteer training sessions for east Texas collections.

Consider sponsoring an endangered plant in Mercer Arboretum’s Endangered Species Garden.