Stephanie L. Greene1, Heidi Schwaninger2

USDA, ARS NPGS-Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing1, Prosser, WA; Plant Genetic Resources Unit2, Geneva, NY.

Fruit and Nut Crop Wild Relatives in the United States: a Surprisingly Rich

Resource

New urgency to conserve and use CWR

Jarvis et al. (2008) modeled the impact of climate change on CWR of peanut, potato and cowpea and reported that extinction was predicted for 16-22 % of the species, and that distribution areas would be reduced by an average of 85-94 %, over the next 50 years. At the same time plant breeders are looking to CWR to develop crops adapted to climate change.

Global Climate Change

Flora of North America describes more than 20,000 species of native and naturalized plants

The NPGS currently houses over 540,000 accessions representing over 13,500 species (GRIN 2011), yet only 2.6 % of our collection is wild germplasm collected in the United States. Are we adequately conserving U.S. CWR?

Without a comprehensive inventory, how can we develop a strategy for conserving crop wild relatives found in our own back

yard?

Protecting CWR Species in the US

Developing the U.S. CWR Inventory

• CWR definition of Maxted et al. 2006 used. Include 3o gene pool species when important resource

• Comprehensive: agronomic crops, fruits, nuts, forages, ornamentals, herbs, revegetation, timber, traditional/indigenous. Domesticated , partial-domesticated, wild crops

• Coverage: Native and naturalized plants in United States

• Sources: GRIN World Economic Plants Database (Wiersema and León (1999); Flora of North America; Herbs of Commerce, McGuffin et al. (2000), Native Seed Network database (www.nativeseednetwork.org).

• Draft inventory sent to 50 specialists for peer review

Field Description CWR Taxon Genus species subspecific epithet, tax.

authority(GRIN nomenclature) CWR Common Name GRIN

Ex Situ Number of wild accessions held in ex situ collections: NPGS; University of Arizona Desert Legume Program; USDA Forest Service National Seed Laboratory

Occurrence Coded: Endemic, Native, Naturalized. Data came from the following databases: GRIN (2010), USDA NRCS (2010)

Conservation Status G- Global, T- Infraspecific taxon rank; 1-Critically imperiled, 2-Imperiled, 3-Vulnerable, 4-Apparently secure, 5-Secure. NatureServe Conservation Ranking is generally concordant to the IUCN Red List ranking system (NatureServe 2010)

Inventory Database

Field Description Noxious Weed Status GRIN (2010), USDA NRCS

(2010)

Crop Common Name GRIN (2010) Crop Gene Pool Gene pool 1,2,3 that CWR falls into

Gene Pool Citation Citation of literature used to make gene pool designation

Crop Use There are 8 use fields to accommodate multiple uses. Use categories are from Wiersema and León (1999)

364 CWR taxa are useful for breeding 65 crops

Preliminary inventory contained 2600 taxa Most CWR are for wild or partially domesticated crops used for timber, revegetation, forage, medicinal or ornamental purposes.

Fruit Nut Other

55 % of US CWR Species are Potential Resources for Fruit and Nut Crop

Improvement

•  Carica papaya Papaya •  Citrus hybrids, C. reticulata Lime, lemon, orange, grapefruit,

tangerine •  Cocos nucifera Coconut •  Ficus carica Common Fig •  Manilkara zapota Sapodilla •  Morus alba White mulberry •  Musa acuminata Banana •  Olea europaea Olive •  Prunus avium, P. cerasus, P. persica Mazzard, Sour cherry, Peach •  Psidium cattleianum Strawberry Guava •  Psidium guajava Guava •  Pyrus communis Pear •  Rubus laciniatus Cutleaf Blackberry •  Rubus parvifolius, R. phoenicolasius Japenese raspberry , wineberry •  Ziziphus jujuba Jujube

Fruit Species Naturalized in the US

Flora of North American (1993+), Coder (1998), NRCS Plants Database (2011)

Vulnerable CWR

Taxa Common Ex Situ # Status Juglans hindsii Hinds Black Walnut 18 G1 Rubus macraei Akalakala 2 G2 Rubus hawaiensis Hawaii Blackberry 14 G2G3 Juglans californica California walnut 30 G3 Prunus geniculata Scrub Plum 1 G3 Prunus minutiflora Texas Almond 0 G3 Prunus texana Texas Peachbush 2 G3 Ribes speciosum Fuchsia Gooseberry 2 G3 Ribes viburnifolium Evergreen Currant 5 G3 Vitis rupestris Rock Grape 59 G3 Ribes californicum Hillside Gooseberry 1 G3 Ribes niveum White Current 8 G3

Vulnerable CWR

Taxa Common Ex Situ # Status Juglans hindsii Hinds 18 G1 Rubus macraei Akalakala 2 G2 Rubus hawaiensis Hawaii Blackberry 14 G2G3 Juglans californica California walnut 30 G3 Prunus geniculata Scrub Plum 1 G3 Prunus minutiflora Texas Almond 0 G3 Prunus texana Texas Peachbush 2 G3 Ribes speciosum Fuchsia Gooseberry 2 G3 Ribes viburnifolium Evergreen Currant 5 G3 Vitis rupestris Rock Grape 59 G3 Ribes californicum Hillside Gooseberry 1 G3 Ribes niveum White Current 8 G3

Only one confirmed, native occurrence appears viable as of 2003. Widely naturalized in cismontane CA. Threatened by hybridization with orchard trees, urbanization, and conversion to agriculture.

Vulnerable CWR

Taxa Common Ex Situ # Status Juglans hindsii Hinds Black Walnut 18 G1 Rubus macraei Akalakala 2 G2 Rubus hawaiensis Hawaii Blackberry 14 G2G3 Juglans californica California walnut 30 G3 Prunus geniculata Scrub Plum 1 G3 Prunus minutiflora Texas Almond 0 G3 Prunus texana Texas Peachbush 2 G3 Ribes speciosum Fuchsia Gooseberry 2 G3 Ribes viburnifolium Evergreen Currant 5 G3 Vitis rupestris Rock Grape 59 G3 Ribes californicum Hillside Gooseberry 1 G3 Ribes niveum White Current 8 G3 Rubus hawaiensis

Photo by Forest and Kim Star

CWR of Crops

•  Carya illinoinensis Pecan •  Fragaria × ananassa Strawberry •  Juglans regia PersianWalnut •  Prunus salicina Japanese Plum •  Ribes nigrum Black Current •  Ribes uva-crispa Gooseberry •  Rubus fruticosus Blackberry •  Rubus idaeus Red Raspberry •  Vaccinium corymbosum Highbush Blueberry •  Vaccinium macrocarpon Cranberry •  Vitis vinifera Wine Grape

CWR of Pecan

Carya aquatica C. cordiformis C. floridana C. glabra C. illinoinensis C. laciniosa C. myristiciformis C. ovalis C. ovata C. texana C. tomentosa

C. illinoinensis

CWR of Strawberry F. chiloensis F. vesca F. virginiana

CWR of Walnut J. californica J. cinerea J. hindsii J. microcarpa J. major J. nigra Lawrence Kelly

F. virginiana

J. californica

J. nigra

P. americana P. angustifolia P. geniculata P. hortulana P. maritima P. minutiflora P. munsoniana P. nigra P. pumila P. pumila var. besseyi P. subcordata P. texana P. virginiana

CWR of Japanese Plum

Prunus

Photo: www.plantsystematics.org

Ribes americanum Ribes aureum Ribes bracteosum Ribes cereum

CWR of Black Current

CWR of Gooseberry

Ribes divaricatum Ribes hirtellum Ribes niveum

R. niveum

R. divaricatum

Rubus allegheniensis Rubus argutus Rubus canadensis Rubus cuneifolius Rubus frondosus Rubus setosus Rubus trivialis Rubus ursinus.

CWR of Black Berry

CWR of Red Raspberry

R.frondosus

Rubus hawaiensis Rubus leucodermis Rubus macraei Rubus occidentalis R. hawaiensis

Photo from http://www.plantsystematics.org

CWR of High Bush Blue Berry (Vaccinium corymbosum)

Vaccinium angustifolium Vaccinium arboretum Vaccinium caespitosum Vaccinium corymbosum Vaccinium darrowii Vaccinium deliciosum Vaccinium elliottii Vaccinium ovatum Vaccinium tenellum Vaccinium uliginosum Vaccinium virgatum

V. angustifolium

V. corymbosum Photos from http://www.plantsystematics.org

CWR of Cranberry Vaccinium macrocarpon Vaccinium oxycoccos

V. oxycoccos

CWR of Grape Vitis ×champinii Vitis acerifolia Vitis aestivalis Vitis cinerea Vitis labrusca Vitis monticola Vitis riparia Vitis rotundifolia Vitis rupestris Vitis shuttleworthii

V. labrusca

V. rotundifolia

Photos from http://www.plantsystematics.org

Some Native Fruits and Nuts Enjoyed Locally

Mayhaw (Crataegus opaca, C. aestivalis)

Paw Paw (Asimina triloba)

Allegheny chinkapin, (Castanea pumila)

Prickly Pear (Opuntia fragilis, O. polyacantha)

What are the Next Steps for Conserving US CWR?

•  Engage and partner with conservation community on national and state level • Refine and prioritize our inventory. What crops are most important to focus on? •  Identify gaps in our current ex situ collections • Acquire germplasm for ex situ storage • Implement a gap analysis of protected areas. Where do cwr occur in protected areas? Are there CWR hotspots? • Work with land managers to establish and monitor in situ CWR reserves