Though we stumble across a couple of
thousand new plant species each year,
we are annually losing more than that
through habitat destruction for farming,
deforestation for timber, infrastructure
construction to accommodate
urbanization, and the growing impact of
climate change.
Maximum Yield wondered if any of
these plants in danger of disappearing,
especially those used for necessity
items such as food or medicine,
might be saved from extinction by
bringing them indoors in a controlled,
hydroponic environment where all
their needs—a healthy grow medium,
adequate sunlight, proper nutrients,
temperature, disease control, and
more—could be met.
It’s of possible benefit, perhaps, but
it seems the notion doesn’t have a
lot of strong proponents for a winner-
take-all theory.
“Like every Irishman, there is no
direct answer,” says Dr. Peter Wyse
Jackson, who worked for 18 years in
Kew heading up the International
Network of Botanical Gardens and is
now president of the Missouri Botanical
Garden. As chairman of the Global
Partnership for Plant Conservation and
one who has pl