Floriculture is an important multibillion dollar industry dealing with thousands of species and varieties of ornamental plants in both cultivation and the wild. In addition, it also provides an important livelihood option for several poor, especially in periurban areas. Current global conservation efforts are focused mainly on food, forage and industrial crops. The world's germplasm collection exceeds 6 million accessions, stored in about 1400 genebanks world-wide. However, barely less than one percent of these are ornamental herbaceous species, even in developed countries like United States. It is timely in the 21(st) century the progressive world, besides conserving food crops, should also recognize the wealth of ornamental plant diversity to bring happiness and health to humankind. To date only one specialized ornamental plant genebank, the Ornamental Plant Germplasm Center exists in Ohio, USA, although there could be small collections with different public and private sector organizations. More such centers are required to collect and conserve the disappearing genetic materials including new species not only for their aesthetic value but also as food, medicine and beverage and for improvement. Presently ornamental germplasm are conserved through in situ and ex situ methods in forests, national parks, botanical gardens and arboreta. Various techniques ranging from the simple drying of seeds to cryopreservation of embryos are in practice. In this paper, the diversity of ornamental species, their importance and potentials is described. The methods of conservation using various approaches are described. The exploration, collecting and discovery of new species with potential for use as food, medicine and garden landscaping are discussed. It is hoped that the collecting, multiplying and distributing of these invaluable ornamental germplasm will benefit one and all.
