The Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe has pledged to protect two endangered plant species on opposite sides of the globe.
The Garden announced the conservation commitments on Monday, Oct. 19 as part of Reverse the Red Day, a global initiative held each Feb. 7 to mark progress against species decline. The two targets are Cucharillo (Magnolia dixonii), an endangered canopy tree native to northwestern Ecuador's Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena biodiversity hotspot, and Stone's Paphiopedilum (Paphiopedilum stonei), a critically endangered orchid from inland cliffs and mountain peaks in Malaysia.
The Morton Arboretum in Lisle made its own pledges the same day, committing to protect four threatened oak species in Mesoamerica's tropical cloud forests.
Collecting Cucharillo seed is difficult because of the terrain, according to the Garden. Restorations often rely on just a few maternal trees. The Garden said it is assessing genetic diversity in its collections to design restored populations with enough variation for long-term resilience. That work is done in partnership with Ecuador's Fundación Jocotoco and the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
For the orchid, the Garden is working with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. The Garden holds one of the largest collections of Paphiopedilum species in the United States and recently shared pollen with the San Diego Zoo. If seeds develop, they will be distributed across institutions to broaden genetic diversity.
The effort matters beyond the lab.
"None of this work happens in isolation," said Jeremie Fant, director of conservation at the Chicago Botanic Garden. "Collaboration among gardens, researchers, and local partners is what allows us to produce meaningful conservation outcomes."
The Morton Arboretum's pledges focus on four oak species threatened by timber exploitation, deforestation and climate change in the cloud forests stretching from Mexico through Panama. The Arboretum is partnering with institutions in Mexico and Costa Rica on that effort.
Both institutions are also preparing to bring a major international gathering to Chicago. According to a separate announcement from the Garden and the Arboretum, the two will co-host the 10th Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Chicago in 2030, in partnership with Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). The original plan called for Chicago to host the 9th Congress in summer 2027, and the Garden's Reverse the Red press release still references that timeline.
But according to BGCI, the plan changed "due to the difficulty delegates from many countries around the world are experiencing in obtaining visas to enter the United States." The 9th Congress will instead take place in Leiden, the Netherlands, in July 2028. Chicago will host the 10th edition in 2030, making it the first time the congress has been held in North America since 2000. Delegates from among the world's 3,000 botanical gardens are expected to participate.
Reverse the Red is a coalition working to halt extinctions and reverse declines tracked on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The Garden and the Arboretum also made species pledges last year through the same program.
