<<Some of us are working very hard to create cultivated populations of threatened or potentially threatened plant genera such as Cyclamen, Galanthus and Trilium. These efforts would be far more valuable from a biodiversity conservation perspective if the plants were raised from wild-collected seed of known provenance. This would result in genetically varied cultivated populations available in future for reintroduction.>> Tom: Thank you for very eloquently saying what (I think) most of us would like to say but don't know how. I am happy to have you on the front line of this discussion. For reintroduction to happen, the plant has to have had existed there in the first place. However, due to land being consumed for whatever reason, plants often cannot be reintroduced. So they are placed in environments where they were not "native" at this time. As Kathryn said: <<> the plants, people deriving material in cultivation so that it no longer has > the wild adapted traits desired and could present genetic risk to wild > populations, etc., and compassionate enthusiasts with too low an > understanding of the habitat specificity and considerations doing informal > "jonny appleseed" reintroductions in areas where they can do harm to the > target species or others in the area (and damage the reputation of > horticulturists, gardeners, and serious botanical gardens everywhere with > the state and federal resource agencies). >> I would think the extra genetic "risk" would be wonderful for populations as it would increase diversity. I think Nhu made a better comment on or argument for this. Plus, if one were to introduce plants from cultivation to the wild, in locations where the plants were not growing, that seems to be just what Kathryn is saying she doesn't want. Were not the introduced plants absent from that location for a reason? What about soil type of the introduced plants, micro-organisms, the existing soil...it goes on and on. So when my fishing cabin was built in north-central Minnesota, was I wrong to relocate, from the building site to elsewhere on the property, the native orchids and other plants I deemed worthy? Even though they were not plants from cultivation, in my opinion as an "amateur," Kathryn implies "no." Cheers! --Jerry Lehmann Olathe, KS, USA