Table Of ContentArk of Life reloaded
Marcel vanden Broek • [email protected]
Many people will have heard oftheArk ofLife project andjust wondered whythere hasn’t been
muchnewslately. Othershoweverwillbecompletelyunfamiliarwiththeprojectsoletmegiveashort
introductionto theproject andthen get into the actualupdate thatis the reasonwhy I’mwritingthis.
In 2009, Stewart McPherson developed the idea ofan exsitu (specimens in cultivation) conser-
vationproject for several highly endangered species ofNepenthes.
Basically, Stewart found that that the lists ofendangered species that were in use didn’t reflect the
actual situationofspecies inthewild. Investigating,he foundseveralreasons forthis. First, the available
dataonthewildsituationwasverylimitedasnotmanyscientistsactuallywentintothewildtocollectin-
formationontheseplants.The secondbigreasonwasthatwithinorganizationslikeCITES (whichdeals
withtraderules forendangeredplants) otherspecies, andparticularlyorchids, hadpriority.Thisresulted
in strange listings, like havingNepenthes rajah listedas CITESAppendixI(the highest level ofprotec-
tion), while itisrelativelysafeinanaturereserve andguardedbyrangers. Onthe otherhand,Nepenthes
rigidifolia, which, based on its known locations, mightvery well be effectively extinct inthe wild, isn’t
evenmentionedspecificallyandisrelegatedtoAppendixII classificationof“allotherNepenthes,\
Stewartdecidedthathe wantedto start aprojectthatwith a limitedamount ofmoney could save
the most endangered species by bringing a reasonable amount ofgenetic variation ofthose species
into cultivation. This goalwouldbe easierto achieve thaninsitu (inthewild) conservation, because
savinghabitatandprovidingprotectionis aslowandcostlyprocessthatwouldlikelytakemoretime
than some species had. He also made some startup capital available through his company, Redfern
Natural History Productions.
In2010, the biennialICPS conferencewas heldinTheNetherlands andonthis occasionthe first
Ark ofLife collection was created. Redfern and the ICPS partnered to provide the initial funding
andthe Hortus botanicus, the botanical gardenofthe University ofLeiden, TheNetherlands agreed
tohousethis collectionandtake care ofit.TheArkproject startedas a small operationwithjustfour
target species, Nepenthes clipeata, N. rigidifolia, N. khasiana, andN. aristolochioides. Plants were
donated by some large nurseries, a website and a Facebookpage were created, and a not-for-profit
company was set up inthe UK.
Initiallythis wentratherwell and individualplants andmoneywere donatedbyprivate individu-
als and local carnivorous plant societies, but in2012 things got a bit quiet.
Iwouldliketo explainbrieflywhathappened. Basically,ArkofLifewas aone-manoperationby
Stewart who had no real backup and who had a lot ofwork onhis plate. This included the produc-
tion ofseveral greatbooks and also the shooting ofa 4-part documentary series aboutthe nature of
the British overseas territories thatwill likelyhit the screens in2015 (watch for it, it is really worth
watching). The only practical support he had was given by yours truly in the form ofsome paper
shuffling, however, as Stewart still actually controlled everything, progress was made byperiods of
long waits tillhe was again back in civilization and short sprints until he left again.
On top ofthat, the website went downpartly because ofregular hacking andpartly because the
company that hadbuilt itwentbankrupt. A little later, the e-mail account also stoppedworking.
Lots offun, I can assure you.
That doesn’t mean that nothing was happening. The plants in The Ark received proper care,
money and plants were donated, and a search for members ofan actual board forThe Ark started.
Preparationswere alsomadeto expandTheArkwithotherspeciesandpolicydiscussionswereheld.
Volume 44 September 2015 153
So, what is the “State ofTheArk” atthis moment?
The Ark has a living collection ofplants housed in Leiden that consists ofseveral clones ofN.
N
clipeata, N. aristolochoioides, khasiana, N. rigidifolia, N. vogelii, andN. bokorensis.
UK
Additional hosts where found for a SouthAfricanArk and a SarraceniaArk in well-known
growers Nigel Hewitt-Cooper andMike King.
Aboard forTheArkwas foundedwiththe following volunteers:
Tim Bailey: Manager, SarraceniaArk
Marcel van denBroek: Administrator
Christian Dietz: Manager, SouthAfricanArk
James Ellis: Deputy Manager, SarraceniaArk
Stewart McPherson: Promotions andFundraising
Francois Mey: Manager, NepenthesArk
AlastairRobinson: Advisor
MarkRouse: Deputy Manager, NepenthesArk
Andy Smith: Advisor
Johnvan derWerf: Treasurer
As I’m writing this we are building the new and much improved website. This will be done in
several phases as available time is limited, but the results will be worth it.
Species forthe SouthAfricanArkhave beenselectedandappropriate basic textshave beenwrit-
ten. These species are:
• Drosera capensis
• Drosera cistiflora
• Drosera cuneifolia
• Drosera coccipetala
• Drosera ericgreenii
• Drosera esterhuyseniae
• Droseraglabripes
• Drosera hilaris
• Droserapauciflora
• Drosera ramentacea. This is the true species, not the improperly used name for the com-
monly occurringDrosera madagascariensis that the pharmaceutical industryuses.
• Drosera regia
• Drosera slackii
• Droserazeyheri
• Roridula dentata
• Roridulagorgonias
More species may be added as their conservation status becomes clearer.
To the growers ofcarnivorous plants, Drosera capensis might look like a strange addition as it
is a commonly grown species andeven aweed inmost collections. Fact is howeverthatmostplants
in cultivation can be traced back to a limited number ofplants, propagated by tissue culture. The
situation inthe wild is different and ontop ofthatthe species appearto be quite variable andmight
at one point have to be divided into (sub)species.
Species forthe SarraceniaArk are also selected, specifically:
• Sarracenia oreophila var. oreophila
• Sarracenia oreophila var. ornata
154 Carnivorous Plant Newsletter
• Sarraceniapurpurea subsp. venosa var. montana
• Sarracenia rubra subsp. alabamensis
• Sarracenia rubra subsp.jonesii
Texts forthisArk are inthe draft stage.
A
thoroughpolicy paper isjust about finished and deals with everything from goals, priorities,
and several legal aspects.
Onthe last (the legal) front, amajordevelopmentis inprogress. TheArkis changing status from
an UK basednot-for-profit companyto a foundationwith full Charity status underDutchLaw.
These are all hugejobs andthey tooktime, especially in setting themup.
I hope I have given you a good explanation why The Ark has been a bit silent. If all goes as
planned, youwill starthearing a lot aboutus during the upcomingyear andmanyyears afterthat.
THE
ICPS Seed Bank
an exclusive member benefit
The International Carnivorous Plant Society offers its members exclusive access to a variety of
carnivorous plant seeds. Seeds are ordered online at the ICPS Store:
http://icps.clubexpress.com
The Seed Bankcannot existwithout seed donations. Information aboutgrowing carnivorous
plants from seed and donating seedsto the Seed Bank are atthe ICPS public web site:
http://www.carnivorousplants.org
Ifyou do nothave accessto the Internet, please send seed orderformrequests to:
International Carnivorous Plant Society, Inc.
2121 N. California Blvd., Suite290
Walnut Creek, CA 94596-7351, USA
JOE GRIFFIN, Seed BankManager,[email protected]
CARNIVORES
<SALIIIF9RNfA
The Largest Most Famous CP Nursery in NorthAmerica
Home ofthe largest collection ofCP in the world on display Thurs. - Mon. 10 Am -4 Pm
We ship onlythe highest quality plantsinour deluxepotsto the entire U.S.
Ownedby Peter D'Amato, authorof"The Savage Garden"
707-824-0433 www.CalifomiaCaniivores.com [email protected]
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Volume 44 September 2015 155
