Biological Resource Centre for tropical plants in the West Indies
Last update: 12 December 2022
Remarkable collections
The BRC comprises six collections managed by CIRAD and INRA. This biodiversity is maintained in the form of fieldwork collections and/or in vitro culture collections:
- 530 pineapple varieties
- 406 banana varieties, including 80 wild varieties and 130 ancestral varieties
- 426 varieties of sugar cane
- 480 varieties of yams
- 96 varieties of mango trees
- 14000 herbarium specimens
These collections, often unique and of worldwide importance, are the basis of research selection and development programs conducted by research centers.
A quality approach
The BRC's mission is to secure the conservation of genetic resources, to ensure the quality and traceability of plant material, to contribute to its dissemination in compliance with national regulations and international conventions, and thus to become an international reference.
It is certified according to NF S96-900 (2014-2021) and ISO 9001 (2022), on the key processes of collection management: receiving and conserving samples of plant material, providing and disseminating genetic resources and information related to plant material (including 5 collections within the scope of certification).
A web portal
The French portal for tropical plant genetic resources references all the collections of the BRC Tropical Plants and other French tropical BRCs. It allows to make online requests for plant material.
Last update: 12 December 2022