Magnolia

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Magnolia

Magnolia is a large genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of about 210 flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
in the subclass Magnolioideae of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
Magnoliaceae

Magnoliaceae

The Magnoliaceae, or Magnolia Family, is a Angiosperm family in the order Magnoliales. It consists of two subfamilies:*Magnolioideae, of which Magnolia is the most well-known genus....
.

The natural range of Magnolia species is a disjunct distribution

Disjunct distribution

In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but widely separated from each other geographically....
, with a main center in east and southeast Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
and a secondary center in eastern North America

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, Central America

Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
, the West Indies, and some species in South America

South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
.

The genus is named after French

French people

French people can refer to:* The legal residents and citizens of France, regardless of ancestry. For a legal discussion, see French nationality law....
botanist Pierre Magnol

Pierre Magnol

Pierre Magnol was a French people botanist. He was born in the city of Montpellier, where he lived and worked for the biggest part of his life....
.

Magnolia is an ancient genus. Having evolved before bee

Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants. Bees are a monophyly lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila....
s appeared, the flowers developed to encourage pollination

Pollination

Pollination in flowering plants and gymnosperms is the process that transfers pollen, which contain the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself....
by beetle

Beetle

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Origin of the name Magnolia

In 1703 Charles Plumier

Charles Plumier

Charles Plumier was a France botany, after whom the genus Plumeria, or Frangipani is named....
(1646-1704) described a flowering tree from the island of Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1,128 km?. It is an overseas department of France. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia....
in his Genera
Genera

Genera is a commercial operating system and development environment for Lisp machines developed by Symbolics. It is essentially a Fork of an earlier operating system originating on the MIT AI Lab's Lisp machines which Symbolics had used in common with Lisp Machines, Inc....
. He gave the species, known locally as 'talauma', the genus name Magnolia, after Pierre Magnol

Pierre Magnol

Pierre Magnol was a French people botanist. He was born in the city of Montpellier, where he lived and worked for the biggest part of his life....
. The English botanist William Sherard

William Sherard

William Sherard was an England botanist. Next to John Ray, he was considered to be one of the outstanding English botanists of his day....
, who studied botany in Paris under Joseph Pitton de Tournefort

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort was a France botanist, notable as the first to make a clear definition of the concept of genus for plants....
, a pupil of Magnol, was most probably the first after Plumier to adopt the genus name Magnolia. He was at least responsible for the taxonomic part of Johann Jacob Dillenius

Johann Jacob Dillenius

Johann Jakob Dillen was a German botanist.Dillen was born at Darmstadt and was educated at the University of Giessen, where he wrote several botanical papers for the Ephemerides naturae curiosorum, and printed, in 1719, his Catalogus plantarum sponte circa Gissam nascentium, illustrated with figures drawn and engraved by his own...
's Hortus Elthamensis and of Mark Catesby

Mark Catesby

Mark Catesby was an England natural history. Between 1731 and 1743 Catesby published his Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, the first published account of the Flora and Fauna of North America....
's Natural History of Carolina. These were the first works after Plumier's Genera that used the name Magnolia, this time for some species of flowering trees from temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold....
North America.

Carolus Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
, who was familiar with Plumier's Genera, adopted the genus name Magnolia in 1735 in his first edition of Systema naturae
Systema Naturae

The book Systema Naturae was one of the major works of the Sweden botanist, zoologist and physician Carolus Linnaeus. Its full title is Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis or translated: "System of nature through the three kingdoms of...
, without a description but with a reference to Plumier's work. In 1753, he took up Plumier's Magnolia in the first edition of Species plantarum
Species Plantarum

Species Plantarum was first published in 1753, as a two-volume work by Carl Linnaeus. Its prime importance is perhaps that it is the primary starting point of botanical nomenclature as it exists today....
. Since Linnaeus never saw an herbarium specimen (if there ever was one) of Plumier's Magnolia and had only his description and a rather poor picture at hand, he must have taken it for the same plant which was described by Catesby in his 1730 Natural History of Carolina. He placed it in the synonymy of Magnolia virginiana variety foetida, the taxon

Taxon

A taxon or taxonomic unit is a name designating an organism or a group of organisms. In biological nomenclature according to Carl Linnaeus, a taxon is assigned a taxonomic rank and can be placed at a particular level in a systematic hierarchy reflecting evolutionary relationships....
now known as Magnolia grandiflora.

The species that Plumier originally named Magnolia was later described as Annona dodecapetala by Lamarck, and has since been named Magnolia plumieri and Talauma plumieri (and still a number of other names) but is now known as Magnolia dodecapetala.

Early references and descriptions

Magnolias have long been known and used in China. References to their medicinal qualities go back to as early as 1083. After the Spanish conquest of Mexico, Philip II

Philip II of Spain

Philip II was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, List of monarchs of Naples from 1554 until 1598, king consort of England, as husband of Mary I of England, from 1554 to 1558, lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories, such as Duke or Count; and King of Portugal as Philip I...
commissioned his court physician Francisco Hernandez

Francisco Hernández

Francisco Hern?ndez, was a football player from Costa Rica. Better known as "Chico", he played his entire career for Deportivo Saprissa, where he was captain and an idol....
in 1570 to undertake a scientific expedition. Hernandez made numerous descriptions of plants, accompanied by drawings, but publication was delayed and hampered by a series of accidents. Between 1629 and 1651 the material was re-edited by members of the Accademia dei Lincei

Accademia dei Lincei

The Accademia dei Lincei, , is an italy science academy, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy.Founded in 1603 by Federico Cesi, it was the first academy of sciences to persist in Italy, and a locus for the incipient scientific revolution....
and issued (1651) in three editions as Nova plantarum historia Mexicana.

This work contains a drawing of a plant under the vernacular

Vernacular

Vernacular refers to the native language of a country or a locality. In general linguistics, it is used to describe local languages as opposed to Lingua franca, official standards or global languages....
name Eloxochitl, that is most likely Magnolia macrophylla subsp. dealbata. It is possibly the first-ever description of a Magnolia that was seen in the Western World. It is unclear whether there are early descriptions made by English or French missionaries

Missionary

A 'missionary' is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who Proselytism. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus...
who were sent to North America

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, but the first introduction of a Magnolia into Europe is well documented. It was the missionary

Missionary

John Banister (scientist)

John Banister was an England clergyman and scientist. He was a student of natural history, particularly botany, and entomology. He emigrated to Virginia and published many papers on the Natural History of Virginia....
(1654-1693) who sent back Laurus tulipifera, foliis subtus ex cinereo aut argenteo purpurascentibus from Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
in 1688, to Henry Compton

Henry Compton

Henry Compton was an English bishop....
, the Bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km? of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey....
. This species is now known as Magnolia virginiana (Sweetbay magnolia). Thus, a plant collector had shipped the first Magnolia from North America to Europe before Charles Plumier discovered his Talauma on Martinique and gave it the name Magnolia.

Nomenclature and classification

When Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus

Lemma

Lemma may refer to:* Lemma , a proven statement used as a stepping-stone toward the proof of another statement* Lemma , the canonical form of a word...
of only one species: Magnolia virginiana. Under that species he described five varieties (glauca, foetida, grisea, tripetala and acuminata). In the tenth edition of Systema naturae
Systema Naturae

The book Systema Naturae was one of the major works of the Sweden botanist, zoologist and physician Carolus Linnaeus. Its full title is Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis or translated: "System of nature through the three kingdoms of...
(1759), he merged grisea with glauca, and raised the four remaining varieties to species status.

By the end of the 18th century, botanists and plant hunters exploring Asia began to name and describe the Magnolia species from China and Japan. The first Asiatic species to be described by western botanists were Magnolia denudata and Magnolia liliiflora, and Magnolia coco and Magnolia figo. Soon after that, in 1794, Carl Peter Thunberg

Carl Peter Thunberg

Carl Peter Thunberg was a Sweden Natural history. He has been called "the father of South African botany" and the "Japanese Linnaeus"....
collected and described Magnolia obovata from Japan and at roughly the same time Magnolia kobus was also first collected.

With the number of species increasing, the genus was divided into the two subgenera Magnolia and Yulania. Magnolia contains the American evergreen species Magnolia grandiflora, which is of horticultural

Horticulture

'Horticulture' is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, Crop , plant breeding and genetic engineering, plant biochemistry, and plant physiology....
importance, especially in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, and Magnolia virginiana, the type species. Yulania contains several deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
Asiatic species, such as Magnolia denudata and Magnolia kobus, which have become horticulturally important in their own right and as parents in hybrids. Classified in Yulania, is also the American deciduous Magnolia acuminata (Cucumber tree), which has recently attained greater status as the parent which is responsible for the yellow flower colour in many new hybrids.

Relations in the family Magnoliaceae have been puzzling taxonomists for a long time. Because the family is quite old and has survived many geological events (such as ice ages, mountain formation and continental drift), its distribution has become scattered. Some species or groups of species have been isolated for a long time, while others could stay in close contact. To create divisions in the family (or even within the genus Magnolia), solely based upon morphological characters, has proven to be a nearly impossible task.

By the end of the 20th century, DNA sequencing

DNA sequencing

The term DNA sequencing refers to methods for determining the order of the nucleotide bases, adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, in a molecule of DNA....
had become available as a method of large scale research on phylogenetic relationships

Phylogenetics

In biology, phylogenetics is the study of evolutionary relatedness among various groups of organisms , which is discovered through molecular sequencing data and morphological data matrices....
. Several studies, including studies on many species in the family Magnoliaceae, were carried out to investigate relationships. What these studies all revealed was that genus Michelia
Michelia

Michelia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Magnolia family . The genus includes about 50 species of evergreen trees and shrubs, native to tropical and subtropical south Asia and Southeast Asia Asia , including southern China....
and Magnolia subgenus Yulania were far more closely allied to each other than either one of them was to Magnolia subgenus Magnolia. These phylogenetic studies were supported by morphological data.

As nomenclature

Nomenclature

Nomenclature can refer to a system of names or terms, or the rules used for forming the names, as used by an individual or community, especially those used in a particular science or art....
is supposed to reflect relationships, the situation with the species names in Michelia and Magnolia subgenus Yulania was undesirable. Taxonomically there are three choices; 1: to join Michelia and Yulania species in a common genus, not being Magnolia (for which the name Michelia has priority); 2: to raise subgenus Yulania to generic rank, leaving Michelia names and subgenus Magnolia names untouched; or 3: to join Michelia with genus Magnolia into genus Magnolia s.l.

Sensu

Sensu is a Latin term meaning "in the sense of".It is used in fields including biology, geology and law in the phrases sensu stricto or stricto sensu , and sensu lato or lato sensu ....
(a big genus). Magnolia subgenus Magnolia can not be renamed because it contains Magnolia virginiana, the type species of the genus and of the family. Not many Michelia species have so far become horticulturally or economically important, apart for their wood. Both subgenus Magnolia and subgenus Yulania include species of major horticultural importance, and a change of name would be very undesirable for many people, especially in the horticultural branch. In Europe, Magnolia even is more or less a synonym for Yulania, since most of the cultivated species on this continent have Magnolia (Yulania) denudata as one of their parents. Most taxonomists who acknowledge close relations between Yulania and Michelia therefore support the third option and join Michelia with Magnolia.

The same goes, mutatis mutandis, for the (former) genera Talauma
Talauma

Talauma is a genus of plant in family Magnoliaceae. It contains the following species :* Talauma dixonii, Little* Talauma neilii, Lozano...
and Dugandiodendron, which are then placed in subgenus Magnolia, and genus Manglietia
Manglietia

Manglietia is a genus of plant in family Magnoliaceae. It contains the following species :* Manglietia aromatica, James Edgar Dandy* Manglietia grandis, Hu & Cheng...
, which could be joined with subgenus Magnolia or may even earn the status of an extra subgenus. Elmerrillia
Elmerrillia

Elmerrillia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Magnolia family . The genus includes five species of evergreen trees, which range across the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, and Malesia....
seems to be closely related to Michelia and Yulania, in which case it will most likely be treated in the same way as Michelia is now. The precise nomenclatural status of small or monospecific genera like Kmeria, Parakmeria, Pachylarnax, Manglietiastrum, Aromadendron, Woonyoungia, Alcimandra, Paramichelia and Tsoongiodendron remains uncertain. Taxonomists who merge Michelia into Magnolia tend to merge these small genera into Magnolia s.l. as well. At present, western botanists tend toward a big Magnolia genus, whereas many Chinese botanists still recognize the different small genera.

Selected species

Note: the following list only includes temperate species; many other species occur in tropical areas. For a full list, see the

Magnolia subgenus Magnolia: Anthers open by splitting at the front facing the centre of the flower. Deciduous
Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
or evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
. Flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s produced after the leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
.

Magnolia delavayi - Chinese evergreen magnolia
Magnolia fraseri - Fraser magnolia
Magnolia globosa - Globe magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora - Southern magnolia or bull bay
Magnolia guatemalensis - Guatemalan magnolia
Magnolia macrophylla - Bigleaf magnolia

Magnolia macrophylla subsp. ashei - Ashe magnolia
Magnolia macrophylla subsp. dealbata - Mexican bigleaf magnolia

Magnolia nitida -
Magnolia obovata - Japanese bigleaf magnolia
Magnolia officinalis - Houpu magnolia
Magnolia sieboldii - Siebold's magnolia
Magnolia tripetala - Umbrella magnolia
Magnolia virginiana - Sweetbay magnolia
Magnolia wilsonii - Wilson's magnolia

Magnolia subgenus Yulania: Anthers open by splitting at the sides. Deciduous. Flowers mostly produced before leaves (except M. acuminata).

Magnolia acuminata - Cucumber tree
Magnolia amoena
Magnolia amoena

Magnolia amoena is a species of plant in the Magnoliaceae family. It is Endemism to China. It is threatened by habitat loss....
-
Magnolia biondii -
Magnolia campbellii - Campbell's magnolia
Magnolia cylindrica
Magnolia cylindrica

Magnolia cylindrica is a species of plant in the Magnoliaceae family. It is Endemism to China. It is threatened by habitat loss....
-
Magnolia dawsoniana - Dawson's magnolia
Magnolia denudata - Yulan magnolia
Magnolia hypoleuca
Magnolia hypoleuca

The deciduous tree species Magnolia hypoleuca is commonly known as the Whitebark Magnolia....
- Whitebark Magnolia
Magnolia kobus
Magnolia kobus

Magnolia kobus, known as the Kobushi Magnolia, is a species of Magnolia native to Japan. It is a deciduous, small tree which has a slow rate of growth but can reach twenty-five feet in height and thirty-five feet in width....
- Kobushi magnolia
Magnolia liliiflora - Mulan magnolia
Magnolia salicifolia - Willow-leafed magnolia
Magnolia sargentiana - Sargent's magnolia
Magnolia sprengeri - Sprenger's magnolia
Magnolia stellata - Star magnolia
Magnolia zenii
Magnolia zenii

Magnolia zenii is a species of plant in the Magnoliaceae family. It is Endemism to China....
-

Other

Magnolia hodgsonii
Magnolia hodgsonii

Magnolia hodgsonii , is a species of Magnolia native to the forests of the Himalaya and southeastern Asia, occurring in Bhutan, southwestern China , northeastern India, northern Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand....
Magnolia sirindhorniae - Princess Sirindhorn's magnolia
Magnolia splendens
Magnolia splendens

Magnolia splendens, commonly known as the Laurel magnolia, Shining Magnolia or locally as the laurel sabino, is a magnolia native to the eastern Puerto Rico....
Shining Magnolia, Laurel Magnolia

Uses

In general, Magnolia is a genus which has attracted a lot of horticultural interest. Hybridisation has been immensely successful in combining the best aspects of different species to give plants which flower at an earlier age than the species themselves, as well as having more impressive flowers. One of the most popular garden magnolias is a hybrid, M. x soulangeana (Saucer magnolia; hybrid M. liliiflora x M. denudata).

Medicinal uses

The bark from M. officinalis has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine includes a range of traditional medicine practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medicine system in much of the western world....
, where it is known as hou po. In Japan, koboku, M. obovata has been used in a similar manner. The aromatic bark contains magnolol

Magnolol

Magnolol is a bioactive compound found in the bark of the Houpu magnolia . It is known to act on the GABAA receptor in rats, as well as having antifungal properties....
and honokiol

Honokiol

Honokiol is a biphenolic compound present in the cones, bark, and leaves of Magnolia grandifloris that has been used in the traditional Japanese medicine Saiboku-to as an anxiolytic, antithrombotic, anti-depressant, anti-emetic, and anti-bacterial....
, two polyphenolic compounds that have demonstrated anti-anxiety and anti-angiogenic properties. Magnolia bark also has been shown to reduce allergic and asthmatic reactions.

Magnolia grandiflora is the official state flower

List of U.S. state flowers

This is a list of U.S. state flowers:See also*List of U.S. state trees*Lists of U.S. state insigniaReferences *...
of both Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
and Louisiana

Louisiana

The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....
. The flower's abundance in Mississippi is reflected in its nickname of "Magnolia State". The magnolia is also the official state tree

List of U.S. state trees

This List of U.S. state trees includes official trees of the following U.S. state and U.S. possessions:...
of Mississippi.

One of the oldest nicknames for Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles ....
, Texas

Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, U.S.A. is "The Magnolia City" due to the abundance of magnolias growing along Buffalo Bayou

Buffalo Bayou

Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County, Texas, United States. It begins on the west side of the county near Katy, Texas and flows approximately east to the Houston Ship Channel and then into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico....
.

Magnolia has attracted the interest of the dental research community because magnolia bark extract inhibits many of the bacteria responsible for caries

Caries

Caries is a progressive destruction of any kind of bone structure, including the skull, ribs and other bones, or the tooth. Caries can be caused by osteomyelitis, which is a bacterial disease....
and periodontal disease

Periodontal disease

Periodontitis refers to a number of inflammatory diseases affecting the periodontium ? that is, the tissues that surround and support the tooth....
. In addition, the constituent magnolol interferes with the action of glucosyltransferase, an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
needed for the formation of bacterial plaque.

Magnolias are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
species, including Giant Leopard Moth

Giant Leopard Moth

The Giant Leopard Moth or Eyed Tiger Moth is a moth of the family Arctiidae. It is distributed throughout the Southern and Eastern United States from New England to Mexico....
.

Gallery

External links

by ethnobotanist James Wong from Botanic Gardens Conservation International
Botanic Gardens Conservation International

Botanic Gardens Conservation International is a plant conservation biology Charitable organization based in London, England. It is a membership organisation, working with 800 botanic gardens in 118 countries, whose combined work forms the world's largest plant conservation network....
from National Public Radio
National Public Radio

National Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national Radio syndication to 797 public radio List of NPR stations in the United States....
University of Illinois Extension