Yaupon Nursery Dedication and Minisymposium

Jeff Bennetzen

A nursery dedication and minisymposium exploring yaupon’s history, evolution, biology, uses, and potential as a modern crop

The University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education

Dear Friends and Colleagues, Please join us for the dedication of the first comprehensive nursery committed to the study and utilization of yaupon germplasm. Yaupon’s long history as an indigenous beverage source in the US southeast is now moving into a new area of discovery and crop improvement. We have a collection of 249 yaupon accessions, more than 92% of them wild plants collected in the last few years by graduate student Ben Long from the Department of Genetics at UGA. The origins of these wild plants range from Virginia to Florida to Texas and Arkansas, and all are growing here at UGA’s Horticultural Research Farm. We now intend to officially dedicate two replicates we have made of this collection on ancestral Muskogee and Cherokee lands. We plan an associated minisymposium that will discuss the history, the evolutionary origins, uses, improvement and genetic characterization/tool development that will bring yaupon into the modern research and agricultural worlds, while retaining its traditional importance as an indigenous natural source of an invigorating, flavorful, and nutritious beverage, yaupon tea. Confirmed minisymposium and dedication presenters include Jeff Bennetzen, Abianne Falla, Christine Folch, John Winterhawk Johnson, Jim Leebens-Mack, Ben Long, James Anthony Owen, John Ruter, Lou Thomann and Bryon White to speak on all aspects of yaupon culture, biology and usage. The one-day symposium will begin on the morning of November 1, 2026 and conclude with the nursery dedication ceremony on the late afternoon of the same day, followed by the conference reception and banquet. Participation is limited by the size of the conference facility, so only 200 registrants can be accepted. Registration is open August 11, and will involve a fee of $150 for symposium participation, snacks, lunch, dinner, reception, and transportation to/from the dedication site. After September 12, registration will be $200. For those interested only in the dedication, there will be no fee, but registration is still required so that we can determine the capacity needed for transporting registrants between the dedication and symposium sites. We are accepting abstracts (deadline September 15) for lighting talks (maximum of two slides and 10 minutes, including questions), and these can be on any aspect of yaupon culture, science or improvement. We plan to accept up to 4 such abstracts, and will let the speakers know if they have been chosen by September 25. Please email your proposed abstract, of no more than 250 words, following any standard abstract format, to Jeff Bennetzen (maize@uga.edu) attached to a message entitled “Proposed Yaupon Abstract”. We have negotiated discounted rates at the Georgia Center and Couryard by Marriott Athens Downtown. Booking links for each hotel are provided below. The Georgia Center rooms are in the same building as the minisymposium and the dedication ceremony pickup/dropoff point. The group reservation blocks have now been released. Guests may still contact the hotels directly to inquire about availability and current rates.Georgia Center for Continuing Education &amp; Hotel The Georgia Center is located at the same venue as the minisymposium. Hotel block released October 1. Guests may still call the hotel to make reservations, subject to availability, or contact our event coordinator:Ashley Britt Ashley.Britt@uga.eduHyatt Place Athens/Downtown Hotel block released October 7. Guests may contact the hotel directly to inquire about availability and current rates.Courtyard by Marriott Athens Downtown Hotel block released October 1. Guests may contact the hotel directly to inquire about availability and current rates. We suggest that participants from outside the state of Georgia consider arrival by air at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and then arrange shuttle (<a href="https://groometransportation.com/athens/" title="https://groometransportation.com/athens/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://groometransportation.com/athens</a>/) or other transportation for the 80-mile drive to UGA. Arrival on the 31st of October or earlier is recommended so that participants can be ready to attend the minisymposium starting in the AM of November 1. Athens is also somewhat famous for its Wild Rumpus (<a href="https://wildrumpus.org/" title="https://wildrumpus.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://wildrumpus.org/</a>) on Halloween, so you may wish to consider experiencing this outlandish event.

Yaupon Nursery Dedication and Minisymposium

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Yaupon Nursery Dedication and Minisymposium

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