Seed Cryopreservation and Germination of and the Critically Endangered Species .

is a perennial rhizomatous shrub native to the southeastern United States that is found mainly in sunny, dry, open rocky or sandy woodlands. Moreover, it is found on ridges or river bluffs in the inner coastal plane and lower piedmont of Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Habitat conversion to agriculture, suppression of fires, and low reproduction have caused to become rare and it is now federally listed as threatened. Methods are needed to multiply and conserve . Protocols were developed for seed cryopreservation, in vitro germination, and micropropagation for and . Seed scarification in concentrated sulfuric acid for 6 h and germination on ½ MS medium resulted in germination up to 96% for control and cryopreserved seeds of and 70 and 40% for control and cryopreserved seeds of . Shortly after germination in vitro, young seedlings were established in a greenhouse potting mix providing new plants from the endemic Georgia populations. Several of the findings meet goals within the recovery plan by providing methods for sexual and asexual multiplication and long-term seed storage under cryogenic conditions. The protocols developed will assist in the safeguarding and conservation of dwindling natural populations.