Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future

2017 Annual Meeting | Oct. 22-25 | Tampa, FL

375-1 Sow What!?! Why Wild Plant Seed Research Matters.

See more from this Division: C04 Seed Physiology, Production and Technology
See more from this Session: Symposium--the Role of Seeds in Conservation of Genetic Resources and Landscapes

Wednesday, October 25, 2017: 10:20 AM
Tampa Convention Center, Room 1

Héctor Pérez, 2407 IFAS Research Drive, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Abstract:
Seed are perhaps the most important biological unit for plant restoration and conservation programs. Yet a substantial knowledge gap regarding the seed biology of wild species often stifles efforts to conserve genetic resources and restore landscapes. This presentation focuses on development of a research program aimed at bridging the wild plant-seed biology divide. It explores the needs of conservation practitioners and an emerging wildflower seed industry, the lunacy of establishing an academic research program in a resource-limited area of study, and tension between the gratification of discovery and frustration of working with wild plants. I will share research highlights from our work on seeds of tropical palms to warm temperate wildflowers and explain how these efforts straddle fundamental to applied questions that enhance plant conservation.

See more from this Division: C04 Seed Physiology, Production and Technology
See more from this Session: Symposium--the Role of Seeds in Conservation of Genetic Resources and Landscapes

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