Ex Situ Conservation Program for rare and endangered endemic Newfoundland plants

In collaboration with the Newfoundland Department of Environment and Climate Change, the MUN Botanical Garden has implemented an ex situ conservation program for the protection of rare or endangered Newfoundland plants. This program predates 2006. The purpose of this program is to protect from extinction Newfoundland's endemic plants; plant found no where else on earth. By maintain living plants or cryogenic seeds, the Garden has a backup of our endemic species. Should some catastrophe destroy the natural populations of these plants, our ex situ plant material may be used to re-establish the plants in the wild. This material is also being used for active research projects at MUN in regards to these plants. Today, our ex situ program has been expanded to include plant species that are rare or endangered in Newfoundland but not necessarily endemic to the province.