Magnoliaceae

The Red List of Magnoliaceae
Ex situ SURVEy OF MAGnOLIAcEAE
In addition to the conservation
assessments, we also carried out an ex
situ survey to assess the representation
of Magnoliaceae species in ex situ
collections of botanic gardens, arboreta
and seed banks around the world.
All Magnoliaceae records were
downloaded from BGcI’s global
database of plants in cultivation -
PlantSearch (Box 2) (as of 26 January
2016). In addition, lists of ex situ Magnolia
collections sent to us from specialist
collections not on PlantSearch and the
chinese checklist of ex situ cultivated
flora (Huang 2014) were consulted.
The ex situ survey identified 9,918 records
of Magnoliaceae from 490 institutions
(Table 5). This number represents the
presence of a single taxon in a collection
within an institution and does not take into
account the number of accessions or
individuals. Only species records were
included in the analysis; records of
cultivars or infraspecific taxa were
excluded. In total 4,476 records matched
with Magnoliaceae species included in
this Red List or with synonyms.
SPECIES IN EX SITU CoLLECTIoNS
Exactly half of all Magnoliaceae species
(152 of 304 species) are found in ex situ
collections. However, species in ex situ
collections are often (82 of 152) those
listed as Least concern or Data Deficient
(Figure 8). Only 43% (63 of 147) of
threatened Magnolia species (critically
Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable)
are found in ex situ collections (Figure 7),
well below Target 8 of the Global Strategy
for Plant conservation which calls for 75%
of threatened plants to be held in ex situ
collections (cBD 2012).
Fifty-nine percent of the critically
Endangered and Endangered Magnolia
species (71 out of 121 species) are not
number of species
PlantSearch
BGcI’s PlantSearch database is the only global database of plants in cultivation.
It is available online, and it is free to contribute to and access. PlantSearch
connects around 2,000 researchers and horticulturists to collections every year.
Locations and gardens are not publicly revealed and requests can be made via
blind email messages. PlantSearch is an easy way for ex situ collection holders
to contribute to broader ex situ assessments, such as this survey. By uploading
a taxa list to PlantSearch, collection holders can connect their collections to the
global botanical community and find out the conservation value of their taxa,
including the number of locations each taxon is known from globally and its
current global conservation status. It is important for institutions with ex situ
collections to share accurate data and keep it updated, and PlantSearch relies
on collection holders to upload up-to-date taxa lists on an annual basis to
ensure accuracy and enhance usability of the data.
www.bgci.org/plant_search.php
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Species reported in ex situ collections
14
cR
23
36
En
48
13 13
VU
Species not reported in ex situ collections
Figure 7. Presence and absence of Magnoliaceae species in ex situ collections per
IUCN Red List Category.
2016
ex situ survey
number of records 9918
number of institutions 490
number of countries 61
7
nT
6
40
Lc
7
42
DD
55
Table 5. Summary statistics for the
ex situ survey of Magnoliaceae.
16