Funded by the Global Botanic Garden Fund via the Leon Levy Foundation

Project Completed: 2024

Institution: Jardín Botánico Francisco Javier Clavijero

Preserving the native passion flowers from Veracruz (Mexico) by enriching the scientific collection at the Francisco Javier Clavijero Botanical Garden

Introduction

The project focused on the study and conservation of native passionflowers of Veracruz, seeking to enrich the knowledge and scientific collection of living plants of the Francisco Javier Clavijero Botanical Garden.

Project Goals

To correctly identify and deposit voucher specimens in the herbarium- establishing a native passionflower collection, and develop propagation protocols for collected species – establishing a collection at the botanical garden. ​

Key Achievements

34 species were collected (including 29 native and 3 cultivated species) and the curation of Passifloraceae specimens in XAL Herbarium was completed.

A living collection of 340 potted plants was established, with 15 on display. ​ In addition to this, a successful workshop on propagation techniques was conducted, enhancing community engagement.

The project advanced knowledge of 31 native Passiflora species and established propagation methodologies for ex situ conservation.

This project has had a significant impact on the conservation and knowledge of the Passifloraceae family in Mexico and a crucial finding was the identification of five species that are poorly represented in the herbarium collections. These species will be the focus of future conservation efforts, and will be a priority in future collection trips.