The Garden is pleased to participate in the Boise National Forest's “Imperiled Plant Species Genetic Conservation” program. We are taking small collections of Lewisia sacajaweana (Sacajawea’s bitterroot) to grow and eventually collect the seed for long-term seed banking purposes. It is a very ephemeral species (comes and goes quickly each year; grows at 6000-8000 feet elevation) and no one has collected the seed before. We will attempt to do so at the Garden in 2011.

The Garden will also be collecting seed of another rare plant, Douglasia idahoensis (Idaho douglasia) for long-term seed banking. We are in the process of collecting the bitterroot now; the Idaho douglasia seed will be collected at high elevation sites in August.