Crop wild relative plants – nexus of conservation, genetics, and plant breeding

The North American flora includes many progenitors and other close relatives of significant agricultural and horticultural crops. These wild plants will play a significant role as genetic resources in adapting crops to changing environmental conditions. Despite their contributions to food security, they are under-represented in gene banks and botanical garden collections and are rarely targets for habitat protection. We present examples of recent collaborations on in situ and ex situ conservation of crop wild relative plants in North America and outline five priorities for future collaborative efforts from the 2019 Celebrating Crop Diversity: Connecting Agriculture, Public Gardens, and Science symposium.