PHOENIX 2014

The cultivation in the Botanic Gardens of plants endangered in Spain

The PHOENIX-2014 project is a national programme for the cultivation ex situ of endangered plant species, optimising the facilities and human teams in the botanic gardens of Spain, as well as at other plant conservation centres beloging to the "Asociación Iberomacaronésica de Jardines Botánicos" (AIJMB). The aim of the project is to establish the botanical gardens a representation of the most endangered Spanish plant species. These guidelines will be the starting point for future studies that will eventually incorporate all the plant species of Spain. In this way it will help the Spanish government to meet some of the commitments it has taken on thanks to national and internatioanl initiatives in the field of plant conservation.
 
The PHOENIX-2014 project has tree main objectives:
  1. To develop protocols for the germination and cultivation of the most endangered species of Spanish flora in the nurseries of the botanic gardens belonging to the AIMJB.
  2. To ascertain the most suitable period in the plant's development to introduce the species into its natural habitat.
  3. To exhibit a sample of the selectes species in the collections of each botanic garden, to draw up a dissemination plan to make the public aware of our endangered species and to contribute to creating social awareness of  the growing problem of loss ob biodiversity.
 
The 16 participating members in this project are: Banco de Germoplasma de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Jardí Botànic de Barcelona, Jardí Botànic Marimurtra (Blanes, Gerona), Jardí Botànic de Sóller (Mallorca), Jardín Botánico Atlántico (Gijón, Asturias), Jardín Botánico de Valencia, Real Jardín Botánico Juan Carlos I (Alcalá de Henares, Madrid), Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid, Jardín Botánico de la Universidad de Málaga, Jardín Botánico Universitario de Sierra Nevada (Granada), Jardín Botánico de Castilla-La Mancha (Albacete), Jardín Botánico de Iturraran (Guipúzcoa), Jardín Botánico Histórico La Concepción (Málaga), Jardín Botánico de Córdoba, Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo (Gran Canaria) and the Consejería de Medio Ambiente de Andalucía.