TISSUE CULTURE FOR RARE PLANT CONSERVATION: EXAMPLES OF SPECIES AND TECHNIQUES FROM THE CALIFORNIA ISLANDS

When attempting to conserve rare plants, what do you do if traditional propagation or seed banking fails or is unreliable? Factors such as limited source material, low seed viability, genetic swamping, and difficult-to-propagate taxa all pose challenges to the ex situ conservation of rare plants. To overcome these challenges, plant tissue culture provides powerful tools in the conservationist's toolkit, ensuring that propagules are available for future use. This article provides a description and review of the in vitro cultivation methods currently used to conserve certain rare plants of the California Islands. The aim is to inform stewards about the benefits of plant tissue culture and to encourage its incorporation into conservation programs.