
协会概况
美国钓钟柳协会(American Penstemon Society,简称 APS)成立于 1946 年,是一个面向整个北美的园艺爱好者组织,会员主要分布在美国各地区、加拿大以及其他国家。协会在美国国税局 501(c)(3) 名下注册为非营利机构,捐款和会费按相关法规可在适用范围内享受税务抵扣。日常工作由董事会负责,包括会长、副会长、财务、秘书以及若干位理事会成员,另设会籍秘书、种子交换协调员、会刊编辑、网站管理员等职务。
宗旨与活动
协会最初由一群分散在各地收集和栽培钓钟柳的园艺爱好者创立,长期宗旨一直延续到今天:尽可能种植和研究所有钓钟柳物种,推动钓钟柳在花园中的栽培与观赏,调查野生种群与原生境,协助物种鉴定,联络钓钟柳爱好者,保护濒危的野生资源。每年春季,协会组织一年一度的种子交换(SeedEx),向会员发放由其他会员提供的稀有物种种子,其中不少在商业渠道上很难买到。
学术资料与刊物
协会自创立起就持续出版《American Penstemon Society Bulletin》,现在已累计到第八十四卷,是国际上最权威的钓钟柳属(Penstemon)英文文献之一,主要刊登分类学、园艺栽培、原生境调查以及杂交选育等方面的文章。协会还不定期出版彩色会讯,发布会员的栽培经验、野外考察记录和花园图片,方便不同地区的爱好者交流心得。
年度大会与野外考察
每年六七月,协会在钓钟柳自然分布最集中的西部山区举办年会,会期通常包括室内报告、海报展示和野外考察三个部分。2026 年的年会将与亚利桑那州原生植物学会联合举办,时间为 6 月 12 至 15 日,主会场设于弗拉格斯塔夫市的天文台山天文台和当地麋鹿 lodge,行程包括多位学者关于亚利桑那钓钟柳的专题报告以及周边山地的野外观察。
研究资助与会员
协会通过两项年度资助项目支持钓钟柳相关研究。一是面向全体会员的特别项目资助,单项金额最高 1000 美元,用于支持原生境保护、园艺推广或科普展示;二是面向在读研究生的科研资助,每年授予一名研究生。普通会员年费为 25 美元(美国和加拿大居民)或 40 美元(其他地区),学生会员年费 5 美元,终身会员会费 250 美元,三年会员按两年收费,会员可参加种子交换、野外考察、查阅内部资料库并下载会议论文。
About the Society
The American Penstemon Society (APS) is a nationwide nonprofit organization founded in 1946 by a group of gardeners who had been collecting and growing penstemons across many parts of the country. Registered as a 501(c)(3) charitable entity, the society accepts tax-deductible donations and membership dues within the limits set by the United States Internal Revenue Service. Its work is overseen by an elected board of directors and a team of appointed officers.
Mission and Activities
The original purpose of the society has been carried forward unchanged: to grow and study as many penstemon species as possible, to promote the use and enjoyment of penstemons in gardens, to study penstemons in the wild, to aid in the identification of penstemons, to acquaint penstemon enthusiasts with each other, and to aid in the protection of endangered penstemon species. Every spring the society runs its annual Seed Exchange, through which members can request seeds contributed by other growers, including many rare species that are difficult to obtain commercially.
Publications and Resources
Since its founding the society has continuously published the American Penstemon Society Bulletin, now in its eighty-fourth volume. The bulletin carries peer-reviewed and contributed articles on taxonomy, cultivation, native habitat surveys and hybridization, and remains the most authoritative English-language reference on the genus Penstemon. Members also receive periodic full-color newsletters that share field reports, garden photographs and cultivation notes contributed by fellow growers.
Annual Meeting and Field Trips
Each June or July the society gathers in a different western location where penstemons are particularly diverse. The 2026 meeting will be held jointly with the Arizona Native Plant Society from June 12 to 15 in Flagstaff, Arizona, with sessions at the Lowell Observatory and the Elks Lodge on North San Francisco Street. The program includes invited talks on the penstemons of Arizona, contributed oral and poster presentations, and several guided field trips to nearby mountain sites.
Grants and Membership
The society supports penstemon research through two annual grant programs. The Special Projects Grant, open to all members and capped at one thousand dollars per award, funds conservation work, horticultural outreach and educational display gardens. The Graduate Student Grant provides one research grant each year to a graduate student conducting research on the genus Penstemon. Annual dues are twenty-five United States dollars for residents of the United States and Canada, forty dollars for members elsewhere, five dollars for students, and two hundred and fifty dollars for a lifetime membership; a three-year membership is offered at the price of two.








发表回复