NAPCC meaning in Community ?

What is North American Plant Collections Consortium mean?

The Plant Collections Network (PCN) (formerly the North American Plant Collections Consortium) is a group of North American botanical gardens and arboreta that coordinates a continent-wide approach to plant germplasm preservation, and promotes excellence in plant collections management. The program is administered by the American Public Gardens Association from its headquarters in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania in collaboration with the USDA- Agricultural Research Service.

Current objectives of the Plant Collections Network are to:

Build Awareness – of both Plant Collections Network & value of documented plant collectionsPromote Standards of Excellence – in plant collections management; andExpand Diversity of Collections – target existing collections, identify gaps for future collections

The network is intended to represent woody and herbaceous ornamentals, both native and exotic. The main objective for each network member is to assemble a comprehensive group of plants for a particular taxon, collecting plants from different populations throughout their natural range that are both taxonomically and genetically distinct.

Participating institutions maximize the potential value of their collections by making efficient use of available resources through a coordinated continent-wide approach, and strengthening their own collections through collaboration with others.

Criteria for participation in the Plant Collections Network are:

American Public Gardens Association membershipActive collections management program including plant records database, accession labels, mapsLong-term commitment to maintain collectionEndorsement of governing bodyCurrent collection has 50% or more of ultimate collection scopeCollections policyCurator for collection; andAccess to collection for research, evaluation and plant introduction

The accreditation process includes submitting a written application for each collection to be considered, then a peer site reviewer conducts an onsite assessment and submits a report with recommendations.

As of March 2016, Network participants and Nationally Accredited Plant Collections™ included:

Arizona-Sonora Desert MuseumAgavaceae - Sonoran Desert; 65 taxaArboretum at Arizona State UniversityPhoenix; 300 taxa, 40 varietiesArnold Arboretum of Harvard UniversityAcer; multi-siteCarya; 16 taxa, 11 sppFagus; 26 taxaStewartia; 11 taxaSyringa; 238 taxa, 20 sppTsuga; 72 taxa, 7 sppAtlanta Botanical GardenAcer; 82 taxaMagnolia; multi-siteSarracenia; 78 taxaBartlett Tree Research Laboratory and ArboretumAcer; multi-siteHamamelis; 161 taxaMagnolia; multi-siteQuercus; multi-siteUlmus; 62 taxaBetty Ford Alpine GardensAlpine Plants of Colorado; 87 taxaBoyce Thompson ArboretumFabaceae - Desert Legumes; 1454 taxa as seeds, 206 taxa as plantsQuercus; multi-siteUniversity of British Columbia Botanical GardenAcer; multi-siteMagnolia; multi-siteUniversity of California Botanical Garden at BerkeleyCycads; multi-siteFerns; 360 taxa, with 500+ accessionsMagnolia; multi-siteQuercus; multi-siteCheekwood Botanical GardenCornus; 61 taxaChicago Botanic GardenGeranium; 102 taxaQuercus; 48 taxaSpiraea; 52 taxaCornell PlantationsAcer; multi-siteQuercus; multi-siteDonald E. Davis ArboretumQuercus; multi-siteUniversity of California Davis ArboretumQuercus; multi-siteDawes ArboretumAcer; multi-siteAesculus; 59 taxaHamamelis; 75 taxaMetasequoia; 9 taxa, with 47 accessions of documented wild-origin, 8 cultivarsDenver Botanic GardensAlpine Plants of the World; 223 taxaQuercus; multi-siteDesert Botanical GardenAgavaceae; 346 taxaCactaceae; 1319 taxaThe Arboretum at FlagstaffPenstemon (provisional) - Colorado Plateau, Arizona species; 37 taxaUniversity of Florida- North Florida Research and Education CenterMagnolia; multi-siteFor reference