DonateProtecting Rare Plants
From the Fridge to the Freezer
Taking Action Toward Recovery
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden works to conserve native plants at all levels of biological organization — from genes to ecosystems. Our entire team works together with partners to tackle complex rare plant conservation challenges, with the goals of preventing extinction and fostering recovery in the wild. This work takes us to unique and diverse habitats throughout the state, from northern California to Baja California, Mexico, and from the Channel Islands to the Nevada border.
Rare Plants at the Garden
Securing conservation seed collections of rare plants throughout central California and the Channel Islands, ongoing
Santa Cruz Island desert dandelion (Malacothrix indecora) and island malacothrix (M. squalida) surveys and seed banking on Santa Cruz Island and Anacapa Island, 2020–2023
Inventory and monitoring for priority sensitive species in the Bureau of Land Management Bishop Field Office area, 2021–2023
Island mallow (Malva assurgentiflora) surveys and seed banking on San Miguel Island and Anacapa Island, 2019–2022
Gaviota tarplant (Deinandra increscens subsp. villosa) pollinators and wind farm impacts research, 2022–2024
A comprehensive, collaborative project to recover 14 listed plants on the Channel Islands, 2017–2022
Protecting rare plants from invasive plants: risk assessment and habitat enhancement on California’s central coast, 2012–2023
Status assessment and conservation of rare liveforever (Dudleya) taxa affected by the Woolsey Fire, 2020–2023