Center for Plant Conservation

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Center for Plant Conservation Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Center for Plant Conservation, Nonprofit Organization, 36068 Hidden Springs Road, Suite C 1040, Wildomar, CA.

CPC is advancing rare plant conservation through collaboration, science-based best practices, and free educational resources at SavePlants.org.

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On , we define conservation terms and concepts that are covered in CPC's Rare Plant Academy. Today, we’re defining Para...
10/20/2026

On , we define conservation terms and concepts that are covered in CPC's Rare Plant Academy.

Today, we’re defining Parasitic and Hemiparasitic plant species.

A parasitic plant species is one that obtains some or all of its required water and nutrients from a living host plant. Like Sandfood (Pholisma sonorae), a desert-dwelling plant that does not contain chlorophyll and has a striking appearance with its unique inflorescence shape lined by tiny purple flowers. This parasitic plant relies on nearby plants for nutrients, using its long stem to reach underground for nearby host plants—reaching up to six feet below the surface! Upon finding a host plant, Sandfood attaches to the host's roots and absorbs nutrients.

A hemiparasitic plant species is one that is capable of independent production of nutrients but gains additional nutrients through root attachments with surrounding plants, while also photosynthesizing to produce their own energy. For example, Orcutt's Bird's-beak (Dicranostegia orcuttiana) may be headed towards possible extirpation within California, and conservation scientists are researching whether germination trials improve by selecting different “host” plants to determine the best propagation protocols for this rare hemiparasitic species.

Learn more about critical work to secure these rare species in CPC’s Rare Plant Academy!

🔗 Click over to SavePlants.org and search “Parasitic” to get started!

📷 Photo Credit: 1) Sandfood (Pholisma sonorae) by USFWS/Jim A. Bartel 2) Orcutt's Bird's-beak (Dicranostegia orcuttiana) by Anna Leavitt

CPC’s 2025 Annual Impact Report is now available to review online at SavePlants.org!Here are some of our 2025 highlights...
10/19/2026

CPC’s 2025 Annual Impact Report is now available to review online at SavePlants.org!

Here are some of our 2025 highlights:

🌿 An impressive 66 new species were added to CPC’s National Collection by 20 CPC Conservation Partners. By the close of 2025, the National Collection safeguarded 2,745 taxa, marking an important milestone toward CPC’s goal of conserving all 4,400 priority plant taxa in North America.

🌿 By the end of 2025, the California Plant Rescue had secured conservation collections for 1,133 of California’s 1,226 highest-priority rare plant taxa—an extraordinary 92% achievement.

🌿 During its 2025 field season, the Florida Plant Rescue directly supported 34 new conservation collections, bringing 132 of Florida’s 241 highest-priority rare plant species into at least one conservation collection.

🌿 CPC distributed $163,925 in Plant Sponsorship stipends to 36 institutions throughout its Network.

🌿 CPC launched an agreement with the National Park Service (NPS) to conserve rare plant species across Department of the Interior lands managed by the NPS, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, securing 46 seed collections representing 30 target species across six western states.

🌿 CPC continued its partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to conserve rare plants threatened by wildfire across Arizona and New Mexico, securing 25 seed collections representing 22 priority species.

🌿 CPC’s Rare Plant Academy added 1,195 new users, featured 62 new videos submitted, and 256 rare plant photos submitted. CPC’s Applied Plant Conservation Course had over 1,760 new participants enrolled in 2025, and 13 Certificates of Completion were awarded!

As you explore the 2025 report, you’ll learn more about CPC’s work and the lasting impact we are making together—which has only grown as we continue to make great strides in 2026 and beyond.

🔗 Read CPC's 2025 Annual Impact Report: SavePlants.org/about-us/reports-and-finances

📷 Photo Credit: Braydon Lake: Creutzfeldt's Cat's-eye (Cryptantha creutzfeldtii)

🎨 Graphic design: Sonya Calderon

A Letter from CPC CEO Dr. Wesley Knapp:CPC is a community of dedicated people working together to ensure that no plant s...
10/18/2026

A Letter from CPC CEO Dr. Wesley Knapp:

CPC is a community of dedicated people working together to ensure that no plant species is lost forever. Over the past year, I have traveled across the country to visit our Conservation Partners, meeting the scientists, horticulturists, land managers, seed conservationists, and volunteers who are doing the difficult work of saving our nation’s rarest plants. Together, we are accomplishing what no single institution could achieve alone.

🌱 2025 was a year of tremendous growth and transformation for CPC! We invite you to read our Annual Impact Report, now available on our website at SavePlants.org.

Today, CPC and our Network of Conservation Partners safeguard more than 60% of the nation’s most imperiled plant species through the CPC National Collection. Our partners are conducting groundbreaking research, preserving invaluable conservation collections, restoring habitats, recovering declining populations, and developing innovative approaches to preventing plant extinction.

The challenges facing plant conservation have never been greater. Habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, and declining investment in conservation continue to place increasing pressure on the world’s flora. Yet I remain deeply hopeful. Every day I see dedicated people turning science into action, building new partnerships, and demonstrating that collaboration can change the future for species on the brink of extinction.

None of this would be possible without you. Your generosity fuels scientific discovery, supports the next generation of conservation leaders, strengthens our national network, and, most importantly, gives rare plants a chance to survive and recover in the wild.

Thank you for believing in this mission and for standing with us. Together, we are proving that plant extinctions are not inevitable. Together, we are building a future where our nation’s rare plants, and the ecosystems they sustain, continue to thrive for generations to come.

With gratitude,
Wesley Knapp, Ph.D.

🔗 Read our 2025 Annual Impact Report: SavePlants.org/about-us/reports-and-finances

What is the CPC National Collection? 🌱CPC maintains the National Collection, and metacollection of more than 2,739 of th...
10/17/2026

What is the CPC National Collection? 🌱

CPC maintains the National Collection, and metacollection of more than 2,739 of the most imperiled native plants of the US and Canada, through our network of world-class botanical institutions. This living collection of rare plants—with a focus on G1 & G2 species—is a critical conservation resource, serving as an emergency backup in the event a species becomes extinct or no longer reproduces in the wild.

The CPC network has incredible capacity to conserve the diversity of plant life through strategic and targeted initiatives. To create historical records of conservation actions, CPC and its partners maintain web-based plant profiles for all National Collection species on CPC's website. You can search the National Collection and discover rare plant species, conservation ranks, habitat and threats, and which institutions have secured these species in conservation collections.

CPC's network of world-class botanical institutions conserve the diversity of rare plant species in seed banks, nurseries, tissue culture labs, cryopreservation tanks, and living collections. Whether seed collecting, population monitoring, managing ex situ collections, propagating plants in the nursery, or reintroducing species in the wild, our collective efforts are strengthened by applying evidence-backed science to conservation initiatives.

🔎 Explore the National Collection to learn about the species the CPC Network is safeguarding at Saveplants.org/rare-plants-near-me

📷 Photo Credit: Tom Kaye.
Image Description: Goodding's Onion (Allium gooddingii) Seed Collection.

It’s October, and we’re celebrating spooky season with some wonderfully weird and unique rare plant spotlights. 👻Our i...
10/16/2026

It’s October, and we’re celebrating spooky season with some wonderfully weird and unique rare plant spotlights. 👻

Our is the Mountain Purple Pitcherplant (Sarracenia purpurea var. montana), a critically imperiled carnivorous plant found in bogs in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. These fascinating plants are threatened by fire suppression, development, and agriculture, and are only known from about 12 populations.

Mountain Purple Pitcherplant is secured in the CPC National Collection at North Carolina Botanical Garden and Atlanta Botanical Garden.

NCBG conservation efforts include seed collection from wild populations and research into propagation and germination protocols, and ABG conservation staff have reintroduced over 500 mountain Purple Pitcherplants across seven experimental sites since 1995. The extensive efforts of these conservation scientists involve habitat maintenance and ongoing monitoring, as well as creating protocols and fostering partnerships to best conserve this rare species on public and private land.

🔗 Learn more about the critical work being done to conserve this rare species in its plant profile. Click over to SavePlants.org and search “Purple Pitcherplant.” 🔎

Direct link: SavePlants.org/plant-profile/46249/Sarracenia-purpurea-var.-montana/Purple-Pitcherplant

📷 1: Sarracenia purpurea var. montana. Photo by Michael Kunz, NCBG
2 & 3: Sarracenia purpurea var. montana seed pods. Photo by Michael Kunz, NCBG

SavePlants.org is a destination for rare plant advocates, land stewards, conservation scientists, and the greater conser...
10/15/2026

SavePlants.org is a destination for rare plant advocates, land stewards, conservation scientists, and the greater conservation community. 🌿

We invite you to explore CPC's free public resources that benefit members and non-members alike, and learn what is being done to conserve North America's imperiled plant species within CPC's network of world-class botanical institutions. As you explore the stories of survival behind these rare and endangered plants, we invite you to submit your own photos of CPC National Collection species in their habitats and of your own conservation work in the field, lab, and nursery.

📷🌿 When you post to CPC's Rare Plant Academy Photo Gallery, your images of imperiled plant species help the scientific community and the public to better engage with these endangered plants and increase their visibility, which can lead to more support for critical conservation work in the form of Plant Sponsorships and donations.

🔗 Visit the Rare Plant Academy Photo Gallery: SavePlants.org/cpc-rare-plant-academy/photos

📷 Photo Credit: James Bailey
Image Description: Eriogonum mensicola in situ in Death Valley National Monument, Inyo County, California.

Rare and imperiled plant species exist all around us. Oftentimes, these species are overlooked, mistaken for weeds, or t...
10/14/2026

Rare and imperiled plant species exist all around us. Oftentimes, these species are overlooked, mistaken for weeds, or threatened by land development and human activities. But each of these species has a captivating story behind its survival. At CPC, we provide free public resources to learn about these rare plant species in order to advocate for their protection and conservation.

Wondering where to start?

🌱 With our Rare Plant Finder, you can explore the species within CPC's National Collection and discover your local native flora — like this beauty, Rainbow manzanita (Arctostaphylos rainbowensis), named after the small town in northern San Diego county where it has been observed.

🌱 Run your own advanced search and get to know some of the 4,400 priority species CPC is targeting through their online plant profiles. Search by location, common or scientific name, plant family or type, legal status, or which CPC institution stewards the species in seed banks, living collections, and more.

🌱 As you learn about these beautiful imperiled species, we invite you to visit CPC's Advocacy page to learn more about what CPC's network is doing to safeguard rare and endangered plants.

🔗 Visit CPC's Advocacy page: SavePlants.org/advocacy

📷 Photo Credit: John Rusk
Image Description: Rainbow manzanita (Arctostaphylos rainbowensis) photographed at Regional Parks Botanic Garden located in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, CA. 'Rainbowensis' means 'in the vicinity of Rainbow.' Named after the small town in northern San Diego county near where this species is found, located between the Aqua Tibia Mountains to the east and the Santa Margarita Mountains to the west.

We’re hiring! Join the Center for Plant Conservation as our new Science & Conservation Programs Coordinator!Are you pass...
10/13/2026

We’re hiring! Join the Center for Plant Conservation as our new Science & Conservation Programs Coordinator!

Are you passionate about plant conservation and skilled in project management? CPC is seeking a collaborative, detail-oriented professional to help coordinate and advance our science and conservation programs in partnership with our Network of Conservation Partners.

In this role, you’ll help manage grant-funded programs, support program development, and oversee databases and other key initiatives. You’ll also have opportunities to contribute to plant conservation research and scientific publications while helping protect plant biodiversity across Canada and the United States and advancing conservation science globally.

🔎 Learn more about the position and application instructions on our website!

Direct link: SavePlants.org/employment-opportunities

Please share with your networks to help us find our next great team member!

We’re excited to announce that CPC’s own Tina Stanley has transitioned into a brand-new role of Conservation Partnership...
10/13/2026

We’re excited to announce that CPC’s own Tina Stanley has transitioned into a brand-new role of Conservation Partnerships Manager! With strong relationships across our Network of Conservation Partners and deep knowledge of CPC’s conservation programs, Tina is well positioned to strengthen partner engagement, foster new collaborations, and identify opportunities to better support our conservation community.

Tina will lead the day-to-day management of CPC’s Conservation Partner Program, strengthening connections across our Network, supporting and engaging existing partners, cultivating new partnerships, and identifying opportunities to expand CPC’s conservation impact and reach. She’ll also contribute to Network-focused communications and programs, including CPC’s National Meeting. Many of you already know Tina through her work with CPC’s science and conservation programs, and we’re excited for her to bring that experience and collaborative spirit to this new role.

Tina’s collaborative approach, institutional knowledge, and commitment to plant conservation make her a wonderful fit for this role. We look forward to the new opportunities she’ll help create to connect, support, and empower the people and organizations working to safeguard rare plants.

Please join us in congratulating Tina!

This we're discussing plant-insect interactions and CPC's Pollinator Database!Plant-insect interactions take many form...
10/13/2026

This we're discussing plant-insect interactions and CPC's Pollinator Database!

Plant-insect interactions take many forms, ranging from pollination and herbivory to pest damage and even carnivory. Often when we think "pollinator," bees and butterflies are the first to come to mind. One of the most common pollinators is wind moving pollen across an area, as well as birds like hummingbirds and other insects such as ants and beetles. Many pollinators evolve alongside plants to create complex relationships in their ecosystems, such as agave species which rely on bats for pollination of their often tall flowers in the night — pictured here in all its glory!

Given their essential role in plant reproduction, pollinators are critical to sustaining both native and agricultural ecosystems. Consequently, reintroduction of rare plants into natural landscapes relies critically on the availability of pollen vectors. To aid conservation practitioners in the identifying pollen vectors of rare plants, CPC has compiled a pollinator database of plant-pollinator interactions through funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

🌱 Use CPC's Pollinator Database and search by plant or pollinator name to find and download the plant-animal interactions that are key to maintaining rare plant populations.

Plant and insect interactions are deeply complex, often shaped and honed by hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. Because rare plants cannot survive without their pollinator associates, studying and understanding these relationships is crucial to conserving plants, their pollinators, and their native habitats.

🔗 Learn more about CPC's Pollinator Database: SavePlants.org/pollinator-search

📸: Photo Captions & Credits: 1) Beetles covered in pollen while visiting disk flowers on Gaviota tarplant. Photo by Heather Schneider. 2) Ants on Arizona Eryngo (Eryngium sparganophyllum). Photo by Elizabeth Makings. 3) Swallowtail on Platanthera blephariglottis. Photo credit: Melissa McCormick.

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36068 Hidden Springs Road, Suite C 1040
Wildomar, CA
92595

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+17607965686

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