Botanists to Reintroduce Club Sedge

Carex buxbaumii, a club sedge, has not been seen in the wild in Ireland for a hundred years. It has thrived at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin however, since it was first collected in 1835 by David Moore, then director of the garden. Now botanists want to reintroduce it to the wild.

The key to reintroduction will be to find a suitable environment as close the original collection as possible. Botanists will work with local authorities and residents to ensure the survival of the plants after replanting.

Finding space for wild plants can be difficult in Ireland, with its large urban spread and intensive agriculture. According to the current director of the National Botanic Gardens, Dr Peter Wyse Jackson, 120 of the total 820 native plant species are threatened.

Link:Botanists Hope to Save Rare Sedge from the BBC News

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 3:07 PM on May 27, 2005

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