CLOQUET, Minn. - Endangered plant experts in Minnesota are working to collect the state's orchids as part of the Smithsonian Institution's broader effort to bank the genetics of the over 200 orchids in North America before they're gone.
Minnesota Public Radio reports that David Remucal, curator of endangered plants at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, is leading the project to gather and preserve the seeds of all 48 of the state's native orchid species, 20 percent of which are considered endangered or threatened.
Remucal says orchids are often the first species to disappear from a landscape during climate change because they're sensitive to changes in habitat and the loss of pollinators.
The second part of the arboretum's project is to attempt to multiply orchid species in the lab.
