The NCCPG National Plant Collection scheme is the main conservation

Conservation biology

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...

 vehicle whereby the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens

National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens

The National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens , also known as Plant Heritage, is a botanical conservation organisation in the United Kingdom and a registered charity. It was founded in 1978 to combine the talents of botanists, horticulturalists and conservationists with the...

 (NCCPG) can accomplish its mission: to conserve, grow, propagate, document and make available the resource of garden plants that exists in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

With the NCCPG National Plant Collections, individuals or organisations undertake to document, develop and preserve a comprehensive collection of one group of plants in trust for the future. Most of the collections are based around a related group, for example, a collection of oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

s or daffodils. This allows the scheme to develop systematic coverage of cultivated plants in the United Kingdom.

A few National Collections are of plants introduced by a prolific nursery or plant hunter; The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens

The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is an arboretum comprising 72 hectares accommodating over 42,000 trees and shrubs in about 12,000 taxa, notably a collection of oaks, camellia, magnolia and rhododendron....

 and Arboretum hold a collection of Hillier

Harold Hillier

Sir Harold George Hillier was an English horticulturist.In 1921 he joined the family firm, Hillier Nurseries, his early career spent in assisting his father in rebuilding stocks depleted by World War I...

's introductions.

Collection holders voluntarily subscribe to the scheme's ideals and stringent requirements. They come from every sector of horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

, both amateur and professional.

Almost half of the collections are in private ownership and include allotment

Allotment (gardening)

An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...

s, back gardens and large estates. Just under a third are found in nurseries

Nursery (horticulture)

A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable size. They include retail nurseries which sell to the general public, wholesale nurseries which sell only to businesses such as other nurseries and to commercial gardeners, and private nurseries which supply the needs of...

, which range from large commercial concerns to the small specialist grower. Twenty-one local authorities are involved in the scheme, including Leeds City Council

Leeds City Council

Leeds City Council is the local authority for the City of Leeds metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England.-History:The city council was established in 1974, with the first elections being held in advance in 1973...

, caring for eleven collections, and Bournemouth Borough Council with their Abelia

Abelia

Abelia is a genus of about 15-30 species and many hybrids in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae Some authors, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, considers Abelia and related genera to belong instead in the segregate family Linnaeaceae, also including such genera as Linnaea, Abelia,...

and Clethra

Clethra

Clethra is a genus of between 30-70 species of flowering shrubs or small trees. It is one of two genera in the family Clethraceae...

collections.

Universities

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

, agricultural colleges, school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

s, arboreta

Arboretum

An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...

 (e.g. Bedgebury Pinetum

Bedgebury Pinetum

Bedgebury National Pinetum at Bedgebury, Kent, in the United Kingdom, is a recreational and conservational arboretum and, with the National Arboretum at Westonbirt, comprises the UK National Arboreta. It was established as the National Conifer Collection in 1925 and is now recognised as the most...

) and botanic gardens (the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...

, Glasgow Botanic Gardens

Glasgow Botanic Gardens

Glasgow Botanic Gardens is an Arboretum and public park located in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. It features several glasshouses, the most notable of which is the Kibble Palace. The gardens were created in 1817, and run by the Royal Botanic Institution of Glasgow , and were intended to supply...

 and both Oxford and Cambridge University Botanic Garden

Cambridge University Botanic Garden

The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England. It lies between Trumpington Road to the west and Hills Road to the east, close to Cambridge railway station. The garden covers an area of 16 hectares...

) all add to the diversity. There are also a number of collections on properties belonging to English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

, the National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 and the National Trust for Scotland

National Trust for Scotland

The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland describes itself as the conservation charity that protects and promotes Scotland's natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations to...

.