Ripley County woman brings rare plants of world home to Missouri

Monsoons, injuries, illness, snowshoeing, long hikes through the most isolated and far-reaching locations — a Ripley County woman has done all of this and more to help conserve endangered plant species around the world. While Jennifer Smock’s work for the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) may have been confined to the computers at her Ripley County home for many months of the pandemic, she has crossed continents in recent years with the goal of plant conservation.

This includes three trips to Kyrgyzstan, one to the island of Mauritius off the coast of Africa and one to Russia.

Her efforts help contribute to the diverse living collections which are built at MBG.

“These trips allow us to obtain rare and unique plant material that we would otherwise not be able to acquire,” she said. “It allows us to build unique landscapes that we can interpret and share with the public about the importance of plant conservation and the people who rely on these plants in their daily lives.”

Smock has been employed at the MBG in St. Louis for nearly 15 years.

“We mapped over 1,000 trees in seven regions during a four-week expedition to Kyrgyzstan in April/May of 2018. We walked 145 miles in 22 days,” said an energetic Smock.

Her first visit to Kyrgyzstan in March 2018 was supposed to be a two-week scoping and project planning trip, but she became “really ill” and had to return home. She returned in April 2018 and again in February/March of 2019.

Smock also completed plant conservation projects on the island of Mauritius (six weeks in January/February 2015) and in Russia (Aug. 26-Sept. 12, 2019).

She cited three reasons why she was selected for these trips.

“I have a desire to do plant conservation work, I’m physically able and I can travel for extended periods of time,” Smock said. “I couldn’t do this without my husband’s support. Thanks to him holding down the fort at home, I am able to travel four to six weeks at a time.”

She and her husband, Dr. Michael Smock, have homes near Oxly in Ripley County and in the St. Louis area. Her husband is a chiropractor in Poplar Bluff.

They enjoy hiking in national parks while vacationing.

__FFA INSPIRES LIFETIME INTEREST__

Smock became interested in a horticulture career while being a member of the Future Farmers of America at Rolla High School.

“My FFA/horticulture teacher, Mrs. Nichols, was my biggest influence. She took me to visit the Botanical Garden the summer of my senior year,” she said. “I was then selected as a summer intern at MBG in 2003. I loved my experience so much; I knew it was where I wanted to work.”

Her job title is manager of Kemper Center Programs and Landscapes.

“I oversee 23 demonstration gardens that surround the Center for Home Gardening. I also oversee indoor educational operations, our Horticulture Answer Service, Plant Doctor desk, as well as online resources such as Plant Finder,” Smock said.

Two Missouri Botanical Garden employees, Jennifer Smock and horticulturist David Gunn, snowshoe in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan in early 2019.Photo provided

__EXTINCTION IN THE FRUIT FORESTS OF KYRGYZSTAN__

Kyrgyzstan, which declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, is a landlocked mountainous country located in Central Asia, west of China and south of Kazakhstan.

“MBG’s work in Kyrgyzstan is focused on conserving the country’s precious fruit and nut forest plant species in seed banks and botanical garden collections, and providing resources and training at the country’s only botanical garden so they can continue to carry out this work,” Smock explained.

Fruits and nuts such as walnuts, apples, almonds, plums, apricots and Asian pears grow naturally in walnut-fruit forests in the Western Tien-Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan.

“Scientists have identified 44 Central Asian fruit crops that need action soon or they will go extinct,” she noted. “Over the last 50 years, 90% of the forests have been lost to deforestation, over grazing and over harvesting.”

Smock led two of the four expeditions with three colleagues and a team of two from Gareev Botanical Garden in Bishkek, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan.

“We are collecting material from every individual tree left, identifying, mapping and collecting seed to house in our seed bank at MBG as well as the new seed bank at Gareev,” she said.

During the second four-week expedition, Smock worked with two MBG and three Gareev colleagues, collecting scion wood from red apple and Asian pear trees.

Cylindrocline commersoni is pictured on one of Jennifer Smock’s trips. The plant only occurs on Le Pouce Mountain on the island of Mauritius, with less than 20 individuals left. This photo was taken close to the summit at approximately 2,664 feet. Photo provided

__ISLAND HOME FOR HUNDREDS OF RARE PLANTS__

Mauritius Island is located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. It was home to the most famous extinct bird — The Dodo Bird.

“Due to its age, isolation and volcanic origins, Mauritius is an island with high plant diversity. It has 685 species that are indigenous to the island with 315 in endemic, meaning they occur nowhere else in the world,” Smock explained.

Deforestation and invasive species (plants as well as animals) have contributed to the decline of natural habitats over time.

“Now, the native plant cover of Mauritius is restricted to less than 2% of the island. This has diminished populations so drastically that there are 89 taxa (group of organisms) that only have 10 individual plants left, 19 taxa that have less than five individual plants and a palm tree that is the last of its kind,” Smock pointed out. “If this continues, these plants will join the list of 61 species that have already gone extinct on the island.”

__CONSERVATION EDUCATION THRIVES IN RUSSIA__

Russia was visited in 2019 as part of the U.S.-Russia Botanical Exchange Program to strengthen conservation of threatened and endangered flora by improving communications among Russian and American botanists. The program was established in 1972.

At a meeting in 2011 at MBG, Dr. Wyse Jackson, MBG president, decided to lead the exchange program from the American side. A new website, www.botanicalexchangeprogram.org, was established in 2015 for the exchange program.

In Mordovia Republic, Smock and her colleagues visited Mordovski Nature Reserve and Smolny National Park.

“Not only were we able to do a bit of plant collecting and conservation work, but they were wonderful about showing us their educational programs and the great work they’ve been doing on Ecotourism as well,” she said. “This is a great thing for this region because it is a chance for them to educate all ages.”

A favorite moment was a visit to an endangered sphagnum bog.

“These habitats are becoming more rare, so getting to visit this site was a cool experience for me. You are floating on a large layer of moss, 2-3 inches thick. On the water’s edge, many carnivorous and bog plants, such as a little cranberry, live in this environment,” Smock explained. “As these bogs dry up or houses are built in these areas, these plants and habitats are becoming more and more rare.”

In Chuvashia Republic, they learned about educational programs in the Cheboksary area and visited Chavash Varmane Bor National Park near the Volga River.

“They were the best educational programs I have ever seen,” praised Smock. “They dress as characters of the forest and play games and sing songs to get the children and adults engaged in the learning.”

__LEARNING TOGETHER, FOR THE COMMON GOOD__

Benefits to countries and MBG, outlined by Smock, include capacity building, conservation work, technical expertise, technology and facility support, training and protocols.

“MBG is renowned throughout the world as being one the top botanical institutions. We share knowledge about plants, propagation, record keeping, GPS mapping, seed banking and garden management ideas that benefit both teams. We learn from each other,” she said.

Smock emphasized “MBG’s mission is to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment in order to preserve and enrich life.”

Smock enjoys keeping in touch with her colleagues in other countries.

“The foods, the languages and their way of life are all eye-opening experiences for me. My colleagues have become life-long friends I talk with frequently,” she said. “They are some of the most giving and kind people I have ever come across. They open their homes and families to us. I am forever grateful for their hospitality.”