Burgess' scale broom (Lepidospartum burgessii)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 14058698

Lepidospartum burgessii Turner (Asteraceae: Gypsum Scalebroom): A species threatened with local extinction

Conserving plants is one of the most significant challenges of our time—and a major focus at the Chicago Botanic Garden. This challenge is reflected in our mission statement: “We cultivate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life.” Founded in 1890, the Chicago Horticultural Society opened the Chicago Botanic Garden in 1972. From studying soil to banking seeds, from restoring habitats and protecting endangered plant species to developing new ones, Garden scientists are fighting plant extinction, pollution, and climate change through diverse research. The Plant Science and Conservation Department aims to help mitigate the loss of plant diversity and to foster an improved relationship between humans and nature. Its projects extend beyond the Chicago area, including monitoring the region’s rarest plants, documenting diversity in underused crops, developing tools to manage invasive species, and determining best restoration practices locally and in the western United States. The proposed project builds on the Department’s work in restoring western species with government agencies and not-for-profits. The target species, Lepidospartum burgessii, is restricted to gypsum soils in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico and Texas.