Saving threatened plant species: Reintroduction of Hill's thistle (Cirsium hillii. (Canby) Fernald) to its natural habitat.

ABSTRACT: Hill's thistle (Cirsium hillii (Canby) Fernald) is a perennial plant endemic to the Great Lakes region of North America. Hill's thistle is listed as threatened in Ontario and Canada where it is found in globally rare alvar habitats. The main objective of this study was ex-situ conservation of Hill's thistle using in vitro culture techniques and reintroduction of micropropagated plants back to their natural habitat in Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario, Canada. Two out of twenty-nine available seeds were successfully germinated under in vitro condition. An efficient micropropagation protocol was optimized with 100% survival during acclimatization of plantlets in the greenhouse. Three hundred micropropagated plants were reintroduced to twelve different sites within Bruce Peninsula Nation

SUBMITTER: Sheikholeslami B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7162482 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature