Presentation for CWR of Tree Crops conference, Davis 2010

1. Fruit and Nut Crop Wild Relatives in
the United States: a Surprisingly Rich
Resource
Stephanie L. Greene1, Heidi Schwaninger2
USDA, ARS NPGS-Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing1,
Prosser, WA; Plant Genetic Resources Unit2, Geneva, NY.

2. 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

3. Protecting CWR
Species in the US
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?

4. 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

5. Inventory Database
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)

6. 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)

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

8. 55 % of US CWR Species are Potential
Resources for Fruit and Nut Crop
Improvement
Fruit
Nut
Other

9. Fruit Species Naturalized
in the US
• 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
Flora of North American (1993+), Coder (1998), NRCS Plants Database (2011)

10. 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

11. Vulnerable CWR
Taxa Common Ex Situ # Status
Only one confirmed,
Juglans hindsii Hinds 18 G1
Rubus macraei Akalakala native2occurrenceG2appears
Rubus hawaiensis Hawaii Blackberryviable14 of 2003.G2G3
as Widely
Juglans californica California walnut
naturalized in cismontane
30 G3
Prunus geniculata Scrub Plum 1 G3
Prunus minutiflora Texas Almond CA. Threatened by
0 G3
Prunus texana Texas Peachbush hybridization with
2 G3
Ribes speciosum
orchard trees, G3
Fuchsia Gooseberry 2
Ribes viburnifolium Evergreen Currant 5 G3
Vitis rupestris Rock Grape urbanization, andG3
59
Ribes californicum conversion to agriculture.
Hillside Gooseberry 1 G3
Ribes niveum White Current 8 G3

12. 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
Rubus hawaiensis
Ribes niveum White Current 8 G3
Photo by Forest and Kim Star

13. 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

14. CWR of Pecan
Carya aquatica
C. cordiformis
C. floridana
C. glabra
C. illinoinensis
C. illinoinensis
C. laciniosa
C. myristiciformis
C. ovalis
C. ovata
C. texana
C. tomentosa

15. CWR of Strawberry
F. chiloensis
F. vesca
F. virginiana
F. virginiana
CWR of Walnut J. californica
J. californica
J. cinerea
J. hindsii
J. microcarpa
J. major
J. nigra J. nigra Lawrence Kelly

16. CWR of Japanese Plum
P. americana
P. angustifolia
P. geniculata
P. hortulana
P. maritima
P. minutiflora
P. munsoniana
P. nigra
P. pumila Prunus
P. pumila var. besseyi
P. subcordata
P. texana
P. virginiana

17. CWR of Black
Current
Ribes americanum
Ribes aureum
Ribes bracteosum
Ribes cereum
CWR of Gooseberry
R. niveum
Ribes divaricatum
Ribes hirtellum
R. divaricatum
Ribes niveum
Photo: www.plantsystematics.org

18. Rubus allegheniensis
CWR of Black Berry Rubus argutus
Rubus canadensis
Rubus cuneifolius
Rubus frondosus
Rubus setosus
Rubus trivialis
R.frondosus
Rubus ursinus.
Photo from http://www.plantsystematics.org
CWR of Red Raspberry
Rubus hawaiensis
Rubus leucodermis
Rubus macraei
Rubus occidentalis R. hawaiensis

19. CWR of High Bush Blue Berry
(Vaccinium corymbosum) V. angustifolium
Vaccinium angustifolium
Vaccinium arboretum
Vaccinium caespitosum
Vaccinium corymbosum
Vaccinium darrowii
Vaccinium deliciosum
Vaccinium elliottii
Vaccinium ovatum
Vaccinium tenellum
Vaccinium uliginosum
Vaccinium virgatum V. corymbosum
Photos from http://www.plantsystematics.org

20. CWR of Cranberry
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Vaccinium oxycoccos
V. oxycoccos

21. V. labrusca
CWR of Grape
Vitis ×champinii
Vitis acerifolia
Vitis aestivalis
Vitis cinerea
Vitis labrusca
V. rotundifolia
Vitis monticola
Vitis riparia
Vitis rotundifolia
Vitis rupestris
Vitis shuttleworthii
Photos from http://www.plantsystematics.org

22. Some Native Fruits and Nuts Enjoyed
Locally
Mayhaw (Crataegus opaca, C. aestivalis)
Paw Paw (Asimina triloba)

23. Allegheny chinkapin, (Castanea pumila)
Prickly Pear (Opuntia fragilis, O. polyacantha)

24. 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