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By Jeremy Schmidt
Director of Horticulture
Bellingrath Gardens & Home is currently in the process of building and diversifying its collection of Alabama native plants as part of an ex-situ (“outside of natural situation”) conservation effort, with the intent of showcasing the beauty and diversity of Alabama flora to our tens-of-thousands of annual guests. Earlier in 2024, Bellingrath staff, including Executive Director Dr. Todd Lasseigne, Horticulture managers Susan Hill and Sarah Brecher, and myself, traveled to Elmore County in central Alabama. We explored three wild populations of Trillium (commonly known as “toadshade”) and made permitted collections from each site to serve as the inaugural botanical emissaries of Bellingrath’s Alabama native plant collection.
Experiencing Alabama’s Botanical Diversity In-Situ and Ex-Situ
While many of Alabama’s over 3,000 native plant species are available in commerce, some hallmark species, most capable of eliciting excitement and botanical mindfulness, can only be visited in-situ (“in natural situation”), where limited native range, restricted access, herbivory, habitat destruction, and difficult terrain prohibit some people from experiencing them. We chose Trillium as our first documented wild collection because, as one of the most beautiful Alabama native plants, it is vastly underrepresented in private or public gardens..
Actually, Trillium was the plant that lured me into the plant world in the first place—Trillium recurvatum in Peoria County, IL in the late 1980s—that was my gateway plant. And as I’ve discovered along the way, Trillium is the gateway plant for many of the most passionate and impactful plant people. It’s simply that amazing!
Celebrating Alabama’s Native Flora
Although the plant kingdom does not officially recognize our geopolitical borders, the native flora found inside each of Alabama’s 67 counties gives us reason to celebrate the natural beauty and diversity found within our great state. Alabama is home to about 20 Trillium species, with the closest natural Alabama Trillium populations to Bellingrath Gardens growing just north of Mobile County along the Tombigbee River. The Elmore County populations are similar in appearance to the Trillium underwoodii growing along the Tombigbee River; however, while some of the Trillium growing in central Alabama clearly identify as Trillium underwoodii, the Bellingrath collections may also represent one or more new species. Specifically, the central Alabama populations we sampled were consistently larger in size and have slightly different morphological characteristics when compared to “classic” T. underwoodii—not a slam dunk for a new species—but worth studying and celebrating. And this brings me back to my mention of ex-situ conservation.
To my knowledge, all T. underwoodii sold through ethical commercial sources solely represent Florida genetics. Although many gorgeous plants native in part to Alabama are available for sale nationwide and even worldwide, there is often no way to know if the ancestry of the plant you just bought originated in the native range you wish to celebrate—and for the most part, that’s just fine! But I would like to “briefly” discuss the role of public horticulture in the ex-situ cultivation of and ethically wild-collected, documented plant taxa.
The Role of Public Horticulture and Ex-Situ Conservation
Imagine a flying saucer full of little green men descends upon Mobile and transports two very surprised Mobilians back to an intergalactic zoo somewhere in outer space. After a bit of transplant shock, the two humans are quite happy in their new home—seeing lots of new faces. Now the $64,000 question…do these wild-collected humans from Mobile County, AL represent all Homo sapiens populations across planet earth? Absolutely not. Therefore, does a single collection of a plant species represent the entirety of that species? Almost never.
Ex-situ conservation paints a pointillist picture—canvassing the entire native range of a species and returning to the garden with documented, living representatives from as many populations of that species as possible—thus facilitating the side-by-side taxonomic comparison of plant populations while empowering each plant to reach its full aesthetic potential through cultivation at a climatically singular site and often in ideal growing conditions. Phew…out of breath. Give me a second.
Bellingrath’s Native Plant Collection: A Cosmic Addition
Okay. As of right now, Bellingrath’s native plant collection consists of some very surprised Elmore County Trillium, beamed back to south Mobile County—and after some transplant shock, they are settling in quite nicely. I am proud to say that these Alabama native winter ephemerals will emerge from dormancy and quickly reach peak display at Bellingrath Gardens next late January through February 2025—we hope you’ll drop in late next winter and see some plants that are out of this world!
A big shout out to Dr. Wayne Barger, Alabama’s state Botanist, and Hayes Jackson, Director of Longleaf Botanic Gardens in Anniston, AL, for making these collections possible! Going forward, Bellingrath Gardens and Home will continue building its Alabama native plant collection—through commercial, shared, and wild-collected sources.