Plant’s Reappearance Prompts Germination Effort

A wildlife biologist at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge in Washington is collecting seeds for propagation from pink sand verbena, an endangered native plant that was once widespread on the Pacific coast. The plant has dwindled to near-extinction throughout much of the Northwest.

The biologist, Kirsten Brennan, found it in September as she was removing enclosures used to protect another species, the western snowy plover, from predators. The threatened snowy plover were nesting in an area that had recently (began in 2002) been restored to its native condition, offering proof that improving habitat for one species benefits another.

Since just two pink sand verbena plants were found, and neither is very large, Brennan decided to collect all the seeds from each plant and try to germinate them in a local nursery rather than risk losing them altogether. Brennan described pink sand verbena as an “annual to short-lived perennial.” She has been gathering about 80 seeds weekly and allowing them to dry in a brown paper bag in her office.

Brennan hopes to start germination in December with about 200 of the seeds and place the rest in a storage bank for later use, if needed. If all goes as expected, the seedlings will be ready for planting in their native environment, on the refuge near the existing plants, in April or May.