The Autumn buttercup (Ranunculus aestivalis), is a late-flowering buttercup that is known from one location along the Sevier River in Utah. It was recorded by botanists in 1894 and 1948, but after that, was thought to be extinct, until a population of 400 plants was rediscovered in 1982. By 1988, this population had only 20 plants. The Nature Conservancy purchased this land, and since then 200 more plants have been found on the Preserve, but these numbers appear to be declining.

Researchers in Utah collected seeds from these plants, some of which were sent to CREW. Using cold treatments, the seeds were stimulated to germinate in vitro, and tissue culture lines were established from each seedling, or genotype. The shoots in these cultures can be propagated indefinitely, but when individual shoots are isolated and placed on a rooting medium, the shoots produce roots. Once roots are produced, the plants can be removed from the test tube and transplanted to soil, a process known as acclimation. Plants have been successfully acclimated at CREW and by collaborators at The Arboretum at Flagstaff (AZ).

Now that the protocols for this process have been developed, a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife service will allow propagation of more genotypes, acclimation at Flagstaff, and outplanting by researchers from Utah Valley State College and The Nature Conservancy, who have been studying the wild population. This project brings together the expertise of several institutions, including CREW, to work for an increase in the number of individuals and populations of Autumn buttercup in the wild.