long-term, as they die when dried completely.
(Photograph courtesy of B Naqqi Manco)
In collaboration and funded by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, this project seeks to safeguard TCI’s native plants by long-term seed storage. Thus far, over 160 species native to TCI are safeguarded, stored in the Millennium Seed bank’s underground frozen vaults in Sussex, United Kingdom. Only the TCI may withdraw these seeds, and they may never be sold or gifted without the permission of TCI. DEMA is currently making preparations to house seed collections locally as well.
When seeds are collected, a voucher specimen from the plant is also collected for definite identification. Voucher specimens are then housed permanently in the herbarium facilities at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Miami, and Miami University of Ohio’s Willard Sherman Turrell Herbarium. A permanent herbarium collection for the Turks & Caicos Islands is also underway.
Seed collections from the related Rescue & Collection of Endangered & Endemic Plants Project are often supplied to this project, and portions of this project’s collections are also grown in DEMAs Native Plant Nurseries.
Links:
Millennium Seed Bank, RBG Kew