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Guest blog post by Patricia Jaramillo Díaz

When I arrived in the Galápagos in 1996, I never imagined that one of the most meaningful conservation projects of my career would begin inside an herbarium cabinet. At the Charles Darwin Research Station, I spent many hours working with herbarium collections assembled over more than a century by botanists who had explored the archipelago. Each specimen preserved a moment in time – a record of where a species had lived and the landscapes it once inhabited. Together, they formed a living archive of the Galápagos flora.

Two years later, in 1998, one specimen began to capture my attention. Collected near Caleta Tagus on northern Isabela Island in 1962, it belonged to Galvezia leucantha subsp. leucantha, a small shrub found nowhere else on Earth.

Every time I opened that cabinet, I found myself asking the same question: Does this plant still survive? 

At first, it was simply curiosity. Over the years, however, that question grew into something much larger. It inspired field expeditions, nursery experiments, ecological restoration and scientific research spanning almost three decades.

Historical herbarium records and botanical surveys led us to Playa Tortuga Negra, on the remote northern coast of Isabela Island, where the species had last been documented. In 2017, the Galápagos Verde 2050 (GV2050) restoration program began working to prevent the disappearance of this critically endangered population.

Reaching the site was never easy. After travelling by boat along the rugged coastline, we crossed extensive young lava flows under the equatorial sun, carrying equipment and supplies. When we finally located the plants, our excitement quickly gave way to concern. Only a handful of wild individuals remained, some growing from narrow cracks in the lava. Their resilience was extraordinary, but so was their vulnerability.

Standing beside those plants, it became clear that we were looking at much more than a rare shrub. These were the last representatives of a unique evolutionary lineage found nowhere else on Earth. Losing them would mean losing an irreplaceable part of the Galápagos’ botanical heritage.

Our question changed: instead of asking whether Galvezia leucantha still survived, we began asking how we could help ensure that it would continue to survive.

That question became the foundation of a long-term restoration program developed through collaboration among the Charles Darwin Foundation, the Galápagos National Park Directorate, researchers, park rangers, field assistants, students and volunteers.

Before restoring the species, however, we first had to learn how to propagate it. Very little information existed. There were no established protocols or published studies describing how to cultivate the species. Germination was inconsistent, seedlings were delicate and survival varied depending on growing conditions.

Through observation, experimentation and patience, we gradually refined propagation techniques, tested different substrates and identified conditions that improved germination and seedling development. The nursery became a living laboratory where research and practical conservation came together. Every healthy seedling represented months of work, from collecting seeds in the field to monitoring germination and growth.

Equally important was documenting what we learned. Developing a propagation protocol strengthened our restoration program while providing practical guidance for future conservation projects involving threatened island plants.

Read our complete Propagation Guide here.

Producing healthy seedlings was only the beginning. Returning them to one of the youngest volcanic landscapes in the Galápagos presented an entirely different challenge. Every restoration campaign required months of preparation. Seedlings were gradually acclimated before transport, while strict biosecurity protocols ensured that no invasive organisms accompanied them into one of the world’s most protected ecosystems.

Moving hundreds of young plants across rough seas and unstable lava fields required close coordination between the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galápagos National Park Directorate. Once on site, every planting location was carefully selected to maximize the seedlings’ chances of survival.

Because northern Isabela experiences prolonged dry seasons and shallow volcanic soils retain very little moisture, we also evaluated techniques to improve plant establishment.

During the first restoration campaigns, hydrogel and the Groasis Waterboxx® were tested to reduce water stress during the most vulnerable stage of seedling development. Planting a seedling takes only a few minutes. Helping it become part of a self-sustaining population takes years. That is why restoration never ends when the last plant is placed in the ground.

Watch the restoration work in the Galápagos.

Every year, our team returned to Playa Tortuga Negra to monitor the restored plants. We recorded their survival, growth, flowering and fruit production, always asking the same question: Could the population eventually recover on its own?

For several years, the answer remained uncertain. Although the restored plants survived, flowered and set seed, the clearest sign of recovery had yet to appear. Then, three years after the first reintroductions, during a monitoring expedition in 2021, everything changed.

While surveying the restoration site, Galápagos National Park rangers and researchers from the Galápagos Verde 2050 program noticed a tiny seedling emerging from a narrow crack in the lava. Only a few centimeters tall, it was easy to overlook. A closer look revealed something extraordinary: it was not one of the seedlings we had planted.

It had germinated naturally from seeds produced by the restored population. After years of restoration efforts, we were witnessing the first evidence that Galvezia leucantha was once again reproducing in the wild. The discovery filled us with excitement, but also with scientific caution. One naturally established seedling was encouraging, yet we needed to know whether it represented the beginning of broader recovery.

Subsequent monitoring confirmed that it was not an isolated event. By the end of the monitoring period, our team had recorded four naturally established seedlings, all resulting from natural recruitment rather than nursery-grown plants. They demonstrated that restored individuals were flowering, producing viable seeds and giving rise to a new generation without direct human intervention. They also provided the first clear evidence that restoration was rebuilding not only the population, but the ecological processes need for the species to persist over time.

True restoration begins when nature no longer depends on us.

As the project continued, another chapter brought me back to where everything had begun.

The herbarium specimen that inspired my original question once again became central to our work. Historical collections showed that Galvezia leucantha had once occurred near Caleta Tagus, where it had last been collected more than sixty years earlier. Those specimens, together with field observations and ecological assessments, helped identify suitable sites for restoring part of the species’ historical range.

In 2024, the restoration program expanded to Caleta Tagus, helping re-establish the species in part of its historical range for the first time in more than sixty years. Returning plants there felt like completing a circle.

Decades earlier, botanists had carefully preserved specimens documenting a disappearing population. Without knowing it, they had also preserved information that would later help guide its recovery. For me, this reinforced the extraordinary value of herbaria. They are far more than collections of dried plants; they are archives of biodiversity that connect the past with the future, helping us understand species distributions, identify restoration opportunities and guide conservation decisions.

Learn more in the Galvezia leucantha Restoration Plan

The restoration of Galvezia leucantha also taught us that conservation does not end in the field. Sharing what we learn is just as important. In 2025, nearly three decades of experience came together in a scientific paper, a restoration plan and a propagation guide, ensuring that these lessons could support future restoration efforts.

Looking back today, I do not think first about the number of seedlings we planted or the kilometers we walked across lava fields. I think about the people: the park rangers who protected restoration sites, field assistants who carried plants across difficult terrain, nursery staff who cared for thousands of seedlings, researchers who designed experiments, and students and volunteers whose enthusiasm sustained this project over the years.

Although this story is written from my perspective, the recovery of Galvezia leucantha has always been the result of teamwork. When I first opened that herbarium cabinet nearly three decades ago, I could never have imagined where one preserved specimen would lead.

Today, nearly thirty years later, that question finally has an answer. Yes. Galvezia leucantha still survives.

More importantly, it is no longer represented only by a few isolated shrubs growing from cracks in lava. Restored plants are flowering, producing seeds and giving rise to a new generation in the wild. The species still faces challenges, but its future is far brighter than it once seemed.

For us, that is the greatest lesson of this journey. Conservation begins with curiosity, advances through science and succeeds through collaboration. Sometimes, a single herbarium specimen is enough to inspire a question.

Sometimes, answering that question takes nearly thirty years, but the journey is worth every step.

Original source:

Jaramillo Díaz P, Charette C, Calle-Loor A, Espinosa-Ortega N, Mayorga P, Zambrano D, Chango R, Velasco N (2026) Advances in the recovery of Galvezia leucantha subsp. leucantha (Plantaginaceae): restoring a critically endangered species on northern Isabela Island, Galápagos. Nature Conservation 64: 111-133. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.64.177895