Utah Native Plant Society

Last updated
Utah Native Plant Society
Utah Native Plant Society Inc.
AbbreviationUNPS
Formation1978;45 years ago (1978)
FounderW. Richard Hildreth
Type Nonprofit
87-0352935
Headquarters Salt Lake City, Utah
Website https://www.unps.org/

The Utah Native Plant Society (UNPS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation, preservation, conservation and responsible use of the native plants and plant communities found in the state of Utah and the Intermountain West. Its goal is to foster public recognition of the spectacularly diverse flora of the state.

Contents

UNPS advocates the use of local, native plants in the landscape and in revegetation projects as well as for the preservation of endangered and threatened plant species and native ecosystems.

History

The organization was founded in 1978. W. Richard ("Dick") Hildreth was the primary founder (then director of the State Arboretum of Utah and later the first director of Red Butte Garden and Arboretum). UNPS recognized Hildreth with a lifetime achievement award in March 2005. The first president was botanist N. Duane Atwood.

Projects

Since January 1982, the Sego Lily, named for the plant Calochortus nuttallii , has been the official newsletter and primary publication of the organization. From its inception, rare plants (particularly those under consideration for listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended) and the horticulture of native plants have been the primary areas of focus. The Sego Lily newsletter has been a reference source for various Federal Register and other publications. The Sego lily is the state flower of Utah.

Under the leadership of Susan Meyer, the society embarked on an ambitious "heritage garden program" that led to the creation of numerous native plant gardens typically in association with educational institutions in the 1990s. The organization has regularly provided grants to others related to activities associated with rare plant research and other native plant related work. One of the society's first grants was in connection with the endangered dwarf bearclaw poppy, Arctomecon humilis.

UNPS hosted annual rare plant conferences throughout the 1980s. It resumed that role in 2000, and since 2001 has co-hosted rare plant conferences with Red Butte Garden. In 2003 the society completed the initial phase of digitizing and updating the Utah Endangered, Threatened, and Sensitive Plant Field Guide (by Duane Atwood et al., 1991) which was funded in part by a Bureau of Land Management challenge grant. This led to the publication of the Utah Rare Plant Guide. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Calochortus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Calochortus is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family. The group includes herbaceous, perennial and bulbous species, all native to North America.

<i>Lilium humboldtii</i> Species of lily

Lilium humboldtii, or Humboldt's lily, is a species of lily native to the US state of California and the Mexican state of Baja California. It is named after naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt. It is native to the South High Cascade Range, High Sierra Nevada, south Outer South Coast Ranges, and the Santa Monica Mountains and others in Southern California, growing at elevations from 600 metres (2,000 ft) to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Butte Garden and Arboretum</span> Botanical garden and amphitheater in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Red Butte Garden and Arboretum consists of a botanical garden, arboretum, and amphitheatre operated by the University of Utah, in the foothills of the Wasatch Range in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is open year-round to the public. Red Butte Garden contains over 100 acres (0.40 km2) of botanical gardens and several miles of hiking trails through native vegetation. Red Butte Creek runs within the northern part of the garden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonoma Botanical Garden</span> Botanical garden in California

Sonoma Botanical Garden is a 501(c)3 private nonprofit education and research botanical garden, home to one of the largest collections of scientifically documented, wild-source Asian plants in North America and Europe.

<i>Lilium philadelphicum</i> Species of lily

Lilium philadelphicum, also known as the wood lily, Philadelphia lily, prairie lily, or western red lily, is a perennial species of lily native to North America.

<i>Calla</i> Monotypic genus of flowering plant in the arum family Araceae

Calla is a genus of flowering plant in the family Araceae, containing the single species Calla palustris.

The State Arboretum of Utah is an arboretum located across the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as on an additional site at Red Butte Garden and Arboretum. The campus grounds and the Red Butte Garden are open to the public every day. The conservatory is open by appointment only.

The Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens is a 1,176-acre (4.76 km2) Florida State Park, botanical garden and historic site, located in Tallahassee, in northeastern Florida. The address is 3540 Thomasville Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berry Botanic Garden</span>

Berry Botanic Garden was a botanical garden in southwest Portland, Oregon, in the United States. In addition to large collections of alpine plants, rhododendrons, primulas, and lilies, it was known for its plant-conservation program and its large seed bank that protects rare or endangered plants of the Pacific Northwest. The seed bank, formally established in 1983, was thought to be the first in the U.S. that was devoted entirely to preserving rare native plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Native Plant Society</span> Organization

The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to conserve California native plants and their natural habitats, and increase understanding, appreciation, and horticultural use of native plants throughout the entire state and California Floristic Province.

<i>Calochortus nuttallii</i> Species of flowering plant

Calochortus nuttallii, also known as the sego lily, is a bulbous perennial plant that is endemic to the Western United States. It is the state flower of Utah.

The sego lily is a bulbous perennial endemic to the Western U.S., and is the state flower of Utah.

The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation is a non-profit foundation located in Salt Lake City, Utah that gives grants for projects and programs throughout Utah in the following areas: arts and culture, community, education, health care, and preservation and conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Hill Ecological Reserve</span> California nature reserve

Pine Hill Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve of 403 acres (1.63 km2) located due east of Folsom Lake in the Sierra Nevada foothills, in El Dorado County, California. The reserve was established in 1979, and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

<i>Sphaeralcea gierischii</i> Species of endangered plant

Sphaeralcea gierischii, Gierisch's globemallow or Gierisch mallow, is an endangered species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is native to the western United States, where it is known only from Utah and Arizona. It was described in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arboretum Wespelaar</span> Arboretum in Wespelaar, Belgium

Arboretum Wespelaar is an arboretum in Wespelaar, Belgium.

<i>Phacelia argillacea</i> Species of plant

Phacelia argillacea is a rare species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common names clay phacelia and Atwood's phacelia. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known only from one canyon in Utah County. It is "one of Utah's most endangered species"; it is "one of the nation's rarest plants" and is federally listed as an endangered species of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California</span>

The CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California is a botanical online database providing information on rare, threatened, and endangered California native plants. It is sponsored by the California Native Plant Society (CNPS).

Mary Lou Romney, born Mary Louisa Stone, was an American Painter who resided in Utah. Romney studied art at the University of Utah where she earned a BFA and then completed a Post Graduate Education Certification program. She continued her education at Utah State University where she earned an MFA with a minor in Education. She was a nationally recognized painter and illustrator. She taught briefly at Utah State University, then spent many years teaching at the University of Utah, and was involved in local and regional art organizations, exhibits, and contests.

<i>Aquilegia barnebyi</i> Species of flowering plant

Aquilegia barnebyi, commonly known as the oil shale columbine or Barneby's columbine, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, with a native range comprising northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado in the United States. It is named after Rupert Charles Barneby, who, with Harry Dwight Dillon Ripley, first discovered it in Colorado.

References

  1. "Home". utahrareplants.org.