Normania (Normania triphylla)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 13255498

The University of Madeira (UMa) was created in the 13th of September of 1988, providing high quality training, backed by rigorous quality mechanisms to continuously improve the performance of those involved in the teaching-learning process. The educational plan enhances the overall training of its students and academic dialogue between the different fields of knowledge, guiding them in an interdisciplinary perspective of study, towards a positive contribution to society. For further information see www.uma.pt.
The ISOPlexis Germplasm Bank (ISOPlexis/Germobanco) is a research unit that develops fundamental and applied research in the fields of Agrobiodiversity, Food and Sustainability, contributing to the survey, conservation, evaluation and sustainable use of genetic resources for agriculture, food and bioeconomy. ISOPlexis was established in 1996 by Madeira's University. Since 2001, it's a member of FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) Bank; Germobanco networks since 2003; and collaborates with Bioversity International and several other international organizations (for more details about the partnerships and collaborations see http://www3.uma.pt/isoplexis/.
The ISOPlexis research program is organized around the tasks aiming the survey, conservation, characterization, evaluation and pre-breeding of genetic resources. Survey programs include wild and crop species monitoring, and its in situ and on farm conservation. Resources conservation involves ex situ long-term germplasm conservation, according to IPGRI/Bioversita rules and standard. Crop resources collection also follows the standards of the National Catalog for Plant Varieties and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). The ISOPlexis germplasm collections holds 2500 accessions of the most important Madeiran crop and crop wild relatives (CWRs) species. Resources in active collection are used to support research and agriculture, and/or reintroduction and ecosystems. Resources characterization and evaluation tasks aims to promote the genotyping and phenotyping of plant traits, to evaluate the impact of agro-ecological and climatic conditions on plant biodiversity and to determine the importance of these resources in the Region sustainable development. Examples of these goals are unit cooperation in development of pre-breeding and breeding programs, organic farming, genetic reserves implementation or ecosystems restoration. Therefore, ISOPlexis Bank develops a multidisciplinary work covering all Madeiran ecosystems and habitats from sea level up to the highest peaks. Examples of this activity are the Unit participation in the conservation of Beta patula, an endemic species that is a primary wild relative of cultivated beets, representing an important gene source for enhancing drought and virus resistance, and other wild species such as Goodyera macrophylla, Semele androgyna, Tamus edulis, Arum italicum.
A recent program for Normania triphylla of monitoring and conservation has started from collaboration with the Madeira Botanical Garden and Klorane Laboratories, since 2011. The main objectives of this program are the in situ and ex situ conservation of Normania triphylla, an endemic species, found in the Laurisilva forest, a habitat classified as World Heritage by UNESCO.