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Ex  Situ Facilities

Rare plant conservation and recovery requires complementary in-the-field (in situ) and off-site (ex situ) management actions. PEPP specializes on in situ objectives, including the collection of propagules (fruit, seeds, cuttings, spores, etc...), while partnering ex situ facilities, specialize on seed storage, tissue culture, and propagation. Without these collaborations, Hawaiian flora would return to a pre-PEPP extinction rate of nearly one Hawaiian plant species lost per year. Since the inception of PEPP, nearly 14 years ago, and the partnerships created with the ex situ facilities, no Hawaiian plant species has gone extinct.

85% of PEP Species* are represented in ex situ facilities!

* excluding the 20 "Possibly Extinct?" species

​​Depending on the island origin and propagule type, collections are distributed to a combination of ex situ seed storage, tissue culture, and propagation facilities: 

   Seed Storage:

• University of Hawai‘i Harold L. Lyon Arboretum Hawaiian Rare Plant Program Seed Conservation Laboratory
• National Tropical Botanical Garden
• Maui Nui Botanical Garden
  
• Hawaii Island Seed Bank 

Assortment of seeds and fruit located in seed storage for future propagation.

Successful germination of 20 year-old seeds from the Seed Conservation Laboratory

   Tissue Culture:

• University of Hawai‘i Harold L. Lyon Arboretum Hawaiian Rare Plant Program Micropropagation Laboratory​

Nanu (Gardenia brighamii) micropropagation by the Hawaiian Rare Plant Program at the UH Manoa Harold L. Lyon Arboretum

    Botanical Gardens, Nurseries and other facilities:

• Hawai‘i Rare Plant Facilities: Volcano on Hawai‘i Island; Pahole on O‘ahu; Kōke‘e on Kaua‘i; Olinda on Maui

• Haleakalā National Park
• Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
• Ho`olawa Farms
• National Tropical Botanical Garden    
• Native Nursery LLC
• Maui Nui Botanical Gardens
• University of Hawai‘i Harold L. Lyon Arboretum Hawaiian Rare Plant Program Nursery
• Other nurseries and labs in Hawai‘i, the mainland United States, and across the globe.

Volcano Rare Plant Facility, Hawaii Island

Harold L. Lyon Arboretum Rare Plant Nursery, O`ahu

New facility currently under construction!

Olinda Rare Plant Facility, Maui

Kōkeʻe Rare Plant Facility, Kauai