CONSERVATION and USE of NATIVE PLANTS AS NEW Crops.

The U.S. has an abundance of native plant species discovered or rediscovered over the past few decades with potential as new agricultural crops.  Some of these are valued because of recent movement towards renewable resources for fuels and industrial feedstocks. Examples of native U.S. plant genera with unusual seed oil composition include Lesquerella, Physaria, Cuphea, Limnanthes, Stokesia, and Thlaspi.   Other plants such as Parthenium with hypoallergenic latex and solid rubber, or Asclepias with floss from its seed pappus used as a replacement for goose down, have markets that are being exploited.  Many other plants have documented ethnobotanical uses, are sources of phytochemicals, or are important in traditional medicine. The commercial impacts of these crops are yet to be determined.  These and other valuable germplasm resources will play an important role in the future of our conservation strategies and must be recognized for their potential contribution to agriculture.