Maintaining a living plant collection is the most common method of ex situ conservation for plant species that cannot be seed banked i.e. "exceptional" species. Viability of living collections, and their value for future conservation efforts, can be limited without coordinated efforts to track and manage individuals across institutions. The zoological community has established an inter-institutional infrastructure to support long-term viability of captive animal populations using a pedigree-focused approach. We assess the ability of this coordinated metacollection infrastructure to support conservation of four plant species curated in living collections at multiple botanic gardens around the world. Our results illustrate limitations in current practices in plant conservation and demonstrate how this framework can be used by the botanical community. We identified eight actions needed to improve the ex situ conservation of exceptional plant species. These actions include developing a central database to aggregate data and track unique individuals of priority threatened species among institutions, and adapting a pedigree-based population management tool that incorporates life history aspects unique to plants. We provide a framework for action that, if approached collaboratively across regional, national, and global scales, will be transformative for the ex situ conservation of threatened plant species. Article Impact Statement: Using zoo-style studbooks and pedigree management will be transformative for the conservation of exceptional plants like Brighamia insignis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
