About NAOCC

What is NAOCC?

The North American Orchid Conservation Center is a coalition of organizations dedicated to conserving our orchid heritage. Established as a collaborative effort by the Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Botanic Garden. NAOCC is based at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and includes units at the National Zoological Park, National Museum of Natural History and Smithsonian Gardens. Joining us are public and private organizations committed to the survival of our native orchids through efforts to preserve habitats, create and maintain national collections of seeds and orchid mycorrhizal fungi, and support research on orchid ecology, conservation and restoration. Go Orchids is NAOCC's first effort to reach out to the public and focus attention on orchids throughout North America.

Why is NAOCC important?

There is currently no centralized effort to understand or preserve native orchids in the U.S. and Canada and the majority of the orchid research and propagation efforts have focused on tropical species. Research on temperate orchids has been conducted by a relatively small number of individuals, educational institutions, and botanical gardens. The pace of research and conservation efforts relative to native orchids in the U.S. and Canada is far too slow to assure the survival of more than 50% of all native orchids that have been listed as threatened or endangered. Only through a focused large-scale and integrated effort that engages the public will survival of orchids be assured. NAOCC is the first nationwide collaborative effort to seek ways to conserve the orchids of North America.

Our Partners

NAOCC's is an ever-expanding coalition of public and private organizations dedicated to conserving the native orchid heritage of the U.S. and Canada. You can see the current list of partners at the link below.

If your organization wants to support NAOCC and potentially become a partner, contact us at naocc@si.edu

Our Parent Project