Funded by the Global Botanic Garden Fund

Project Completed: 2024

Institution: Jardín Botánico de Bogotá José Celestino Mutis

Ex situ conservation of the native Peperomia species from Colombia lowlands

Introduction

The tropical lowland forest stands as one of Colombia’s ecosystems experiencing the highest rates of deforestation and natural coverage loss (Aguirre -Gutiérrez, J.et al. 2022). This project focussed on the creation of the first Colombian Peperomia living collection at Bogotá’s Botanical Garden, providing the opportunity to describe and preserve native and endemic species in the living collections.

Project Goals

The aim of this project was to gather information on the distribution of species within the genus Peperomia in order to target species for ex situ conservation. This included the collection of cuttings and seeds for propagating in the garden’s greenhouses.

Key Achievements

The first living Peperomia collection within the Botanical Garden has been successfully established and is up and running to help in the conservation of plants. This was achieved through field collection and the propagation of 48 different species from three departments of Colombia. The plants were propagated by cuttings and placed in various mediums, according to the natural conditions. Epiphytic specimens were tied up to small pieces of wood wrapped with moss. 

15 of the species have already been accessioned into the collection.