Plant Release Tips Page

The list of NRCS conservation plant releases is easily searched by any of the fields in the table. 

 

For Plant Names, search “wheatgrass” to find all wheatgrass releases or “Pascopyrum smithii” to find all western wheatgrass releases.  

 

For Uses, common search terms for conservation uses include: “pollinator”, “range”, “erosion”, “wildlife”, “cover crop”, “windbreak”, and others. 

 

Plant Types for NRCS conservation plants

Grass: True grass (Poaceae) species.

Grass-like:  Plants with a similar habit to the true grasses but not in Poaceae, most commonly sedges and rushes.

Forb: Vascular plant without significant woody tissue above or at the ground; many are also termed wildflowers.

Legume:  A nitrogen fixing forb.

Shrub: Perennial, multi-stemmed woody plant.

Tree: Perennial, woody plant with a single stem (trunk).

Vine:  Perennial, woody plant with a vining habit.

 

Release Types used by the Plant Materials Program

Cultivar releases are plants that have specific heritable traits which are judged to be superior and perform well in many comparative trials throughout the area of recommended use.

 

Tested releases have received less extensive comparative testing than cultivars but have been more thoroughly tested than selected releases in order to prove desired traits are heritable. 

 

Selected releases, currently the most common NRCS release, are plants which show promise of having desirable traits determined from comparative evaluations but have minimal test data.

 

Source Identified releases are indigenous ecotypes that are not scientifically evaluated and are only identified as to species and location of collection.

 

The following are release types used for some older NRCS releases that are no longer used:

Germplasm: Basic genetic material possessing one or more desirable traits that may be useful in future plant improvement or breeding.  Making the release is in the best interests of U.S. agriculture and the state or agency research program.  This type of release is generally not intended for commercial use.

 

Informal: The term "informal" was used to represent pre-varietal releases before AOSCA recognized "tested" and "selected" releases.  Informal releases are equivalent to "tested" and "selected" releases.  "Informal" releases also include those materials which did not go through the official release process but were still released to the public to address a specific conservation need at the time.

 

Plant Materials Center Codes

ARPMC:  Booneville Plant Materials Center, Booneville, AR

AZPMC:  Tucson Plant Materials Center, Tucson, AZ

CAPMC:  Lockeford Plant Materials Center, Lockeford, CA

ETPMC:  East Texas Plant Materials Center, Nacogdoches, TX

FLPMC:  Brooksville Plant Materials Center, Brooksville, FL

GAPMC:  Jimmy Carter Plant Materials Center, Americus, GA

HIPMC:  Hoolehua Plant Materials Center, Hoolehua, HI

IDPMC:  Aberdeen Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, ID

KSPMC:  Manhattan Plant Materials Center, Manhattan, KS

LAPMC:  Golden Meadow Plant Materials Center, Galliano, LA

MDPMC:  Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center, Beltsville, MD

MIPMC:  Rose Lake Plant Materials Center, East Lansing, MI

MOPMC:  Elsberry Plant Materials Center, Elsberry, MO

MSPMC:  Jamie L. Whitten Plant Materials Center, Coffeeville, MS

MTPMC:  Bridger Plant Materials Center, Bridger, MT

NDPMC:  Bismarck Plant Materials Center, Bismarck, ND

NJPMC:  Cape May Plant Materials Center, Cape May Court House, NJ

NMPMC:  Los Lunas Plant Materials Center, Los Lunas, NM

NVPMC:  Great Basin Plant Materials Center, Fallon, NV

NYPMC:  Big Flats Plant Materials Center, Corning, NY

ORPMC:  Corvallis Plant Materials Center, Corvallis, OR

STPMC:  E. "Kika" de la Garza Plant Materials Center, Kingsville, TX

TXPMC:  James E. "Bud" Smith Plant Materials Center, Knox City, TX

WAPMC:  Pullman Plant Materials Center, Pullman, WA

WVPMC:  Appalachian Plant Materials Center, Alderson, WV