**8. Endangered plant species and medicinal uses**

Medicinal plants grow in. A natural environment around us and with the advent of technology, humans have gained the knowledge of how these can be utilized in fighting an illness or for maintenance of human health. The capability to use wild species in the improvement of health is not dependent on humans alone. The ability is affected by various factors such as pests, diseases, climate, environment, and other biotic or abiotic factors. According to society in America in 1999 the capability for maintainability of crop production depends on the compounds or genes being extracted from wild species of medicinal plants as depicted in **Table 1**. Because of their extensive use in commercial as well as the scientific environment, there has been increased pressure on wild species from which all these medicinal plants have been extracted. Over-harvest action, as well as commercial exploitation, has resulted in the unavailability of traditional medicine where the people utilize them. For all these reasons there is an urgent need to conserve these plant species [31].

Some of the examples of species include slippery elm which involves the use of gummy lining for used in North America as a therapeutic agent for cough and cold, gastrointestinal diseases, and allergy to skin epidermis. But this medicine being


#### **Table 1.**

*Some medicinal plants which are at extent of endangerment [30].*

used by local people is demanded by Millions of people now. They are not used commercially so the trees are separated from bark and are left to die. So, for about 50 pounds, 15 trees are sacrificed every year and now the species is identified as at risk by the US.

Another example is yew belonging to Texas specie that is used for the production of cancer drugs such as taxol. It is also identified as endangered based on its over-harvesting. Similarly, black cohosh is used for the cure of a large number of ailments such as colds, pains, and largely menopause and also found to be a list of endangerment due to degradation of habitat as well as over-harvesting. Moreover, goldenseal has numerous uses being used as a toner treatment of diseases such as hemorrhoids. It is already threatened, endangered, and vanished in many states.

#### **9. Methodologies for the conservation of germplasm**

There are various methods for the preservation of genetic resources or traits for crop plants. The easiest and most economical method is the storage of seeds of crop species. But not all the plant species can be stored easily in this condition because some seeds have a shorter span of viability and several species do not produce seed vegetative. Still there exist many methods that depend on storage conditions, storage vassals, the extent of conservation, and finally on the facilities available for proper storage of plants [32]. The most efficient way is to store biological crops in the environment where they were produced or developed earlier i.e., in situ farmlands as shown in **Figure 1**. This type of method can be employed when the natural environment is balanced and there are no chances of off balance. The most important point which must be considered is that genes should be conserved instead of the genotype of plant species [33].

#### **9.1 In-situ conservation**

This method employs the conservation of resources totally in a natural habitat. It involves the maintenance of plant species in which it grows and also in the habitat to which it is adopted for a long time in the past. The objective behind this methodology of preservation is to maintain the self-sustaining species in a natural ecosystem [34]. A huge collection of plant and animal species can be conserved by this mechanism. But along with it, there exists a limitation that it is impossible to sustain and preserve the genes of crops without conservation of the ecosystem of which it is adopted by nature [35]. It allows the conservancy of naturally occurring

#### **Figure 1.**

*Elaboration of integrated plant conservation involving both in-situ as well as ex-situ methodology. In-situ conservation allows the conservation of germplasm of and living parts of endangered plant species while ex-situ conservation involves the plant material available for research purpose, horticulture and reintroduction of materials preventing materials from getting extinct.*

beneficial species in a condition where it continues to undergo evolution with time. Moreover, it also allows the conservation of both wild and cultivated genotypes without having much expenditure on the area. The major benefit of this process is that species selected by nature continue to evolve timely which results in the production of new recombinant forms of a living being. In the case of reluctant seeds that grow either in tropical or perennial regions, it serves as the best phenomenon of conservation within the in vitro environment [36]. Although in situ conservation is the best method but, its operation in any country or ecosystem is possible only when it is ensured by people who are in continual conflict with national plans and when its continuity is also confirmed in any environment. Usually, if continuous and control monitoring does not operate, its survival rates get much lower. This results in loss of naturally occurring habitat and also replacement of old generation of crops with new varities which occur as a normal part of the crop growing system [37].

In situ conservation is, therefore, can be achieved by the protection of naturally occurring wild species in their natural or adopted habitat via cultivation in fields. Such areas or regions are being discovered in natural parks and recreational areas under government territory. Practices such as horticulture and floriculture present an efficient way of conservation in the naturally existing ecosystem [38]. Horticulture is a phenomenon in agriculture whereby plants are preserved for the purpose of feed but mainly for comfort and decoration purposes. It employed the use of knowledge and skills to grow plants for use in both food and non-food areas and also for social requirements. It includes both tropical and perennial species, vegetable varieties, tasty fruits in addition to decorative indoors, and other Landscape plant varieties [39]. Floriculture is also a subtype of horticulture which is mainly concerned with cultivating flower varieties of ornamental plants for use in the floral industry, gardens, and orchids. Development and growth of varieties via breeding techniques to a novel variety of species is a major point of focus in floriculture which allows the transfer of desirable characteristics to next-generation resulting in maintenance of specific genetic traits [40]. This methodology of preservation has some advantages which include;

