Australian National Botanic Gardens

ANBG Seed Bank

Seed banks are increasingly being seen as an important conservation tool for maintaining the diversity of the Australian Flora. Large quantities of genetic material can be stored in a very small space in a seed bank. Compare the amount of space taken up by 10 Eucalyptus seeds with 10 Eucalyptus trees. It can be stored for very long periods of time if the conditions are suitable. Seed provides genetic diversity not found in cloned material (cuttings). Many plants cannot be propagated from cuttings and must be propagated from seed. Emphasis is placed on threatened species.

There are two main types of seeds based on their storage characteristics. Orthodox seeds which can be dried and stored frozen and recalcitrant seeds which cannot tolerate severe dehydration and so cannot be preserved using these traditional methods. The ANBG Seed Bank only stores orthodox seed.

The Seed Bank is one part of the Living Collection of the ANBG. The ANBG is currently the custodian of one of the largest collections (in terms of species) of seed of Australian native species with about 4,500 accessions from 2,300 taxa. It houses its own collection of seeds of threatened species which acts as a form of ex situ conservation, for the preservation and reintroduction of threatened species.

The Seed Bank consists of a fully equipped laboratory, a drying, cleaning and packaging area and a freezer (minus 18 degrees) for seed storage.

Functions

1. To supply seed to the nursery to produce seedlings for planting at ANBG
2. To act as a genebank for long term storage of rare and threatened flora
3. To supply seed to other institutions through our plant release program

How to request seed

Seed is supplied for approved projects at other botanic gardens, universities and similar institutions. It is not supplied to private individuals. For information about obtaining seed from the ANBG see http://www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/permits/plant-release/

Applications for seed of species listed as threatened under the EPBC Act are assessed separately (http://www.deh.gov.au/epbc/permits/species/index.html)

Using the Database

Seed records in the ANBG's IBIS database can be found at http://www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/seed-bank/test-database.html

Managing the Seed Bank

Seed collecting

Seed is collected by ANBG staff and collaborators under permits issued by State and Territory organisations or by written permission of private landholders. Herbarium specimens are collected at the same time as the seed and the provenance details are entered into IBIS, the ANBG database for all its collections.

Fumigation and drying

Upon receipt seed is fumigated with carbon dioxide then dried at 20°C.

Extracting seed

Fruits may be opened by drying e.g. Acacia; using tools e.g. Macadamia or by heating e.g. Banksia.

Identifying the seed

The seed is distinguished from chaff, fillers and dividers at this stage. Sample seeds are cut in half to identify good quality seed and check the percentage seed set.

Seed cleaning

This can be done using sieves, blowing machines or by hand. Volunteers play an important role in this aspect of the work.

Packaging

The cleaned dried seed is sealed into moisture-proof containers.

Storage

Short term – room temperature or 4°C

Medium term – less than 0°C, 3-7% moisture content

Long term – less than -18°C, 3-7% moisture content

Germination testing

On receipt of the seed an initial germination rate should be measured and subsequent tests at suitable intervals for the expected longevity of the seed e.g. after 5, 10 15 etc years.

Regeneration/recollection

The interval depends on the longevity of the seed. Ideally it is done when the viability falls to 85% of the initial value.

Partnerships

The ANBG Seed Bank is a co-partner in Florabank, a Natural Heritage Trust initiative set up by Greening Australia to provide links between all native seed banks in Australia (http://www.florabank.org.au/).