K. HARDWICK (RBG Kew), D. LATIFAH (Bogor Botanic Garden),A. R. GUMILANG and M. ZUHRI (Cibodas Botanic Garden)

Indonesia is a country of superlatives – the largest ‘island country’ in the world (Australiais a continent!), the greatest number of active volcanoes (76), the largest flower (the1 m-diameter Rafflesia arnoldii), the tallest flower (the 3 m-high Amorphophallus titanum– also possibly the smelliest flower), the largest lizard (the Komodo dragon, Varanuskomodoensis) and now the world’s newest ape (the Tapanuli orangutan, Pongo tapanuliensis).Despite only covering 1.3% of global land area, Indonesia hosts 10% (approximately35,000) of the world’s flowering plant species, 12% of mammals and 17% of birds. Thecountry encompasses two biodiversity hotspots, one tropical forest wilderness, and hasbeen described as “a key country in the increasing global efforts to preserve genetic,species and ecosystem diversity” (de Haes, C., 1992).

Indonesia’s rich biodiversity is linked to its unusual geology: the country marks the mee-ting point between three major tectonic plates – the Eurasian, the Filipino and theAustralian. The Eurasian and Australian biotas evolved separately and are markedly dif-ferent to each other, as first noted by Alfred Russel Wallace in the mid-1800s. The islandof New Guinea sits on the Sahul shelf on the Australian plate and when sea levels werelower, c. 19 million years ago, it made land contact with Australia, enabling species tomigrate between the two regions. New Guinea now has a distinctive flora and is one ofonly three ‘tropical forest wilderness’ areas in the world. The plants found in the Indo-nesian provinces of Papua and West Papua (in Western New Guinea) are very differentto the rest of Indonesia.

The International Newsletter of the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership

The biodiverse island nation ofIndonesia joins the MSBP

Rafflesia arnoldii, the world’s largest flower. Scientists at Bogor Botanic Gardens are studying the germination, longevity and desiccation tolerance of its seeds.

ContentsPage 1. The biodiverse island nation of Indonesia joins

the MSBP.Page 3. A message from Colin Clubbe.

· A message from Jonas Mueller.Page 4. Aquatic seed collecting on the island of South Uist.Page 5. Saving the future of Ireland's wildlowers.Page 7. Seed conservation and storage behaviour in the

Hawaiian Islands.· Get growing! Sheep poop and native plant seedsprove a successful recipe for habitat restoration.

Page 9. Twenty-five years working to conserve Balearic Is-lands flora.

Page 10. Islands in the sky.Page 12. Seed collecting in the East China Sea.

· Myrtle rust disease theatens New Zealand Christmas tree.Page 14. Conserving the genetic diversity of St Helena's

threatened endemic flora.Page 15. Seed collecting on megadiverse Madagascar.

· To the ends of the earth.Page 16. Collecting on Australia’s External Territories.Page 17. Field collecting on Kangaroo Island, South

Australia.Page 18. News.

Photo: Dian Latifah

July - December 2017 kew.org/msbp/samara ISSN 1475-8245 Issue: 32

The biodiverse island nation ofIndonesia joins the MSBP

Samara2

West of New Guinea, the islands of Sula-wesi, Maluku and Nusa Tenggaraconstitute an important bio-geographicaltransition zone between Asia and Austra-lia. This area, referred to as Wallacea,extends from ‘Lydekker’s line’ west of NewGuinea to ‘Wallace’s line’ east of Borneo(Figure 1). The flora includes a mixture ofAsian and Australian plants, as well asmany unique, endemic species not foundelsewhere on either continent.

In western Indonesia, the islands of Bali,Java, Sumatra and Borneo sit on the Sundashelf - attached to the continental plate ofEurasia. These western Indonesian islandshave been intermittently connected tomainland Asia in the geological past, allo-wing the passage of plants and animals.This region now forms a third bio-geograp-hically distinct area known as Sundaland.

The vast Indonesian archipelago of over17,000 islands has also influenced itsextraordinary biodiversity. Due to the geo-graphic isolation of islands, some speciesevolve independently to become islandendemics. Some taxa move in from adja-

cent islands and the main-land, carried by wind, sea orbirds. The theory of islandbiogeography predicts highrates of species colonisationin islands close to the main-land, with rates of naturalextinction inversely related toisland size. So the large, clo-sely spaced islands ofSundaland to the west have aparticularly high biodiversity,while Wallacea’s smaller,more isolated islands to theeast have lower speciesrichness but high endemism.

The isolation of islands makes them particu-larly susceptible to habitat change andextinction. Introduction of a predator or inva-sive species can have a dramatic effect oncommunities of native species - 93% of birdspecies recorded as extinct since 1600 havebeen on islands. The pressures of populationgrowth and economic development in Indo-nesia have led to a vast expansion ofagriculture, plantations and timber andmineral extraction, resulting in a net loss of684,000 ha/year of forest area between 2010and 2015, second only to Brazil (FAO, 2015).Burning of land, especially for new oil palmplantations, has led to widespread fires.

Some steps are now being taken to usenatural resources more sustainably; in2016, Indonesia started to issue licensesfor timber exported to the European Union,certifying that it is legally sourced andmeets new environmental standards. Anetwork of parks and reserves coveringover 2 million hectares of swamp, plain,forest and coral reef aims to protectremaining natural habitat. However, lackof funding for patrolling means thatencroachment and poaching are still aproblem - the Java Tiger probably becameextinct in its last stronghold of Meru BetiriNational Park in the 1990s.

As part of an integrated approach to con-servation, Indonesia is now increasing itsex situ plant collections. The new ‘BotanicGardens-Indonesian Institute of Sciences(LIPI) Seed Bank’ was completed at BogorBotanic Gardens in 2016. With a capacity ofup to 10,000 accessions, it aims to bank upto 2,500 species over the next ten years, ina national effort to contribute to Target 8 ofthe Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. To support this ambitious ex situ conserva-tion programme, LIPI joined the Millen-nium Seed Bank Partnership in 2016 bysigning a Memorandum of Understandingwith RBG Kew. The partnership startedwith a Seed Conservation training courseat Cibodas Botanic Gardens in April 2017,

training 22 staff from four Indonesian bo-tanic gardens and the University of Papua,and two participants from Pakistan.

Cibodas and Bogor Botanic Gardens thenjoined Kew’s Global Tree Seed Bank Pro-ject, funded by the Garfield WestonFoundation. The first major field trip of thisproject was an expedition to Kerinci SeblatNational Park in Sumatra in September2017, by staff from Bogor and Cibodas. Theteam made 32 seed collections, includingHomalanthus polyandrus (IUCN – Vulnera-ble). Other collections included sevenspecies of Ficus and several species inRubiaceae, Sabiaceae, Araliaceae andEuphorbiaceae.

The Cibodas team have been collecting inCibodas remnant forest areas and neigh-bouring Mt. Gede Pangrango NationalPark forests. So far they have made 26collections, particularly from Arecaceae(five species), Rubiaceae (five species) andMoraceae (four species). Collectionsinclude Saurauia cauliflora (Actinidiaceae)(IUCN – vulnerable) and Pinanga javana(Arecaceae), an endemic species of Java(WCMC –Endangered).

Kew and the LIPI partners are activelydeveloping an expansion of seed conserva-tion activities. It is hoped that the ‘BotanicGardens-LIPI Seed Bank’ will go fromstrength to strength, conserving Indone-sia’s amazing plant diversity for futuregenerations.

REFERENCESde Haes, C., (1992). Foreword. In: Wild Indonesia, by T. Whitten & J. Whitten. New Holland, London. FAO Forest Global Resources Assessment 2015:http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4793e.pdf

Photo

: Mus

yarof

ah Zu

hri, C

iboda

s Bota

nical

Garde

n

Pinanga javana seed collection by climbing.

Flower and fruits of Saurauia cauliflora collected by the Cibodas team.

Photo

: Mus

yarof

ah Zu

hri, C

iboda

s Bota

nical

Garde

n

Figure 1. The biogeography of Indonesia (From, M. Tocheri,Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program).

Samara 3

A message from Colin Clubbe Head of Science - Conservation and Senior Research Leader of UK & Islands Programme, RBG Kew

Islands are special places supporting uniquebiodiversity. They have been the source ofmany discoveries about biodiversity and theecological and evolutionary processes thatshape it. Sir Joseph Hooker, Kew’s seconddirector, and his great friend Charles Darwinwere fascinated by islands and both publishedground-breaking treatises inspired by visits toislands: Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in1859 and Hooker’s Lecture on Insular Floras in1866. MacArthur and Wilson’s seminal bookThe Theory of Island Biogeography, which waspublished in 1967 and celebrates its 50thanniversary this year, opened up a new disci-pline which still has a profound influence onconservation actions today.

Islands are also very vulnerable as we haveseen during the current particularly activehurricane season in the Caribbean, which hasseverely impacted several MSB Partnersparticularly in the British Virgin Islands,Puerto Rico and the Turks and CaicosIslands. We are ready to support thesepartners as they start to re-build. Islandsare particularly susceptible to invasivespecies and many of the documented spe-cies extinctions on islands have beencaused by invasives species. Invasive

pests and diseases are of particular concern, for example, the spread of Chalara die-back of ash in the UK and the impact of myrtle rust in New Zealand.

This issue of Samara is very timely as we hear from a wide range of inspiring islandsprogrammes currently underway across the MSBP and the work our partners aredoing to conserve their fragile island floras.

A message from Jonas MuellerSenior Research Leader, Seed Conservation, RBG Kew

Colin very eloquently writes about the significance and vulnerability of islandbiodiversity and ecology therefore I would like to write about the symbol of theMillennium Seed Bank Partnership. Sometimes people ask me why it is a flo-wer, not a seed. If you look carefully, you can see the globe inside the flowerhead of the Calendula, or marigold, surrounded by the bright orange corollasof the ray florets. The globe represents our global partnership of countriesfrom all continents, forged together in our efforts to conserve all plant diversityon Earth. And the Calendula? The cluster of flowers of a Calendula is verypowerful. It is an edible plant, and used in traditional medicine, as are manyplant species. Ancient Romans and Greeks used the flowers in many ritualsand ceremonies. It is often considered a “lucky flower”, bringing wealth andfortune, symbolising the drive to succeed. To this day in India, the Calendula isamong the most sacred of flowers. It represents thankfulness, excellence andserenity. Flowers are used at many Indian festive occasions including marria-ges. They are colourful, elegant, and are considered to make any eventbeautiful, vibrant and energetic. In Hindu temples, holy statues wear Calendulaflower necklaces celebrating nature in all her glory. Indeed not a seed but whata strong symbol for our partnership!

Samara4

Aquatic seed collecting on the island of South UistSTEPHANIE MILES (UK Collections Coordinator, RBG Kew)

The UK Flora Project aims to makeseed collections from UK nativespecies that are not currently con-

served in the Millennium Seed Bank(MSB), with a focus on multi-populationsampling of the UK’s threatened flora.

There are several aquatic species on thepriority target list, a few of which grow onthe Western Scottish Isles. FollowingFiona Hay's work in the late 1990s, weknow that the majority of aquatic seedswill survive desiccation. We were after acollection from the only known nativepopulation in Europe of American Pond-weed (Potamogeton epihydrus). The plantsgrow in oligotrophic water in a few peatylochans on the island of South Uist in theOuter Hebrides. This is where projectstaff Steph Miles and Jenny Peach andaquatic specialist Richard Lansdown hea-ded for a week’s seed collecting inSeptember 2017.

The western side of South Uist consists ofmachair (fertile low-lying coastal plain)bordering a continuous sandy beach, whilstthe eastern side is mountainous. In 2006South Uist was involved in Scotland's big-gest community land buyout to date. Theestate was sold to a community companyknown as Stòras Uibhist (Uist Resource)which was created to purchase andmanage the land. We liaised with StòrasUibhist for land access and consents,together with Scottish Natural Heritage forconsent to work within legally protectedareas such as Sites of Special ScientificInterest.

Having made two collections on theScottish mainland at Rannoch Moor, inclu-ding the northern endemic Ranunculusflammula subsp. scoticus, we drove to Obanfor a 5-hour ferry trip to the island. Thescenery was spectacular as we sailed pastthe inner isles. We spent the first day offieldwork in challenging high winds andhorizontal rain on a blanket bog searchingthe lochans for Potamogeton epihydrus,collecting Sparganium angustifolium andLobelia dortmanna from the margins.Fortunately, the next day was fine and wecould snorkel survey for the Potamogetonmore effectively. To our delight, we foundhundreds of healthy plants and a collection

was made. We then moved on to collectsedge and sundew species from thesurrounding bog.

The next site was West Loch Ollay, a calca-reous coastal machair loch, searching forPotamogeton praelongus, which prefers dee-per water. We were unable to locate it in thefairly large search area, but were pleased tosee a healthy aquatic plant community there,including extensive spectacular Chara (sto-newort) beds. An opportunistic collection ofThalictrum minus was made from themachair, then we moved on to anotherlochan for Potamogeton alpinus, a speciesthat has declined in England due to habitatloss and degradation through eutrophication.

Other collections included Polygonumboreale, an under-recorded speciality of theScottish islands and a collection of Cochlea-ria officinalis subsp. scotica from a rockyshoreline. Its taxonomic status is currentlyin debate, so we collected seeds, a herba-rium voucher and tissue sample to providematerial for future studies. A specialist hasassigned it as subsp. scotica. Collecting onSouth Uist was a great success with 20important populations sampled from thisunique island in the UK.

Photo

: Rich

ard La

nsdo

wn

Photo

:Jenn

ifer P

each

, RBG

Kew

Snorkel surveying Potamogeton.

Jenny Peach collecting Potamogeton.

Thanks to Storas Uibhist & SNH for permissions and to EsmeeFairbairn Foundation for supporting the UK Flora Project.

Samara 5

Saving the future of Ireland's wild flowersDEBBIE GILLIES (CEO True Harvest Seeds, Northern Ireland)

S ince 2013 True Harvest Seeds(THS) have been championingthe native species of Ireland by

saving their seeds. The island of Ire-land has been separated from Europefor around 14,000 years. The resultbeing that our flora, which despitebeing, largely, a subset of Europeanflora has had a long time to developin isolation. Many native Irish "hiber-nica" species and sub species arealready recognised as distinct in theirown right.

It became apparent to the founders ofTHS that imports of native speciesthat were not of native origin, wouldsoon dilute the local gene poolthrough cross breeding and we wouldlose those thousands of years ofindependent development and adap-tation.

Through contact with Stephanie Miles(UK Collections Coordinator at theMSB) and the UK Flora Project, theMillennium Seed Bank Partnership(MSBP) provided THS with the know-

ledge, training and skills that arenecessary to make high quality seedcollections suitable for long term

banking at -20ºC. RGB Kew gave THSan allowance to help with collectionexpenses.

Jasione montana & Sedum sp. nestled in rock crevices, Sheepland Coast Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI), County Down,Northern Ireland.

Photo

: Step

hanie

Mile

s RBG

Kew

Debbie Gillies (CEO of True Harvest Seeds) collecting native seeds on the SheeplandCoast ASSI, County Down, Northern Ireland.

Photo

: Step

hanie

Mile

s RBG

Kew

Samara6

THS were equipped to begin the highquality seed collections suitable forlong term banking across the sixcounties Antrim, Armagh, Derry,Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone. With aMemorandum of Collaboration (MoC)for 2015 and 2016 it was agreed THSwould make 30 collections each yearas duplicate collections, with halfstored at RGB Kew's Millennium SeedBank and the other half with THS inCounty Down, Ireland.

Collections included Hyacinthoidesnon-scripta from locally famous andloved locations - locations safely outof reach of the attractive, but highlygenetically invasive, Hyacinthoideshispanica. Amongst others THScollected Primula vulgaris, Silene dioi-cia, Lychnis flos-cuculi and Vicia spp.from remote areas – that are lesslikely to be contaminated. DNA sam-ples have been collected as much aspossible so we can double checkgenetic origin. We've collected pro-tected plants and common ones too;since little was previously collected

from Ireland we've been spoilt forchoice. A total of 108 were forwardedover the past 3 years.

In autumn 2016, Debbie attended the3 week Seed Conservation TechniquesCourse, paid for by a bursary from

MSBP and while there we negotiatedanother 2 year MoC for 2017 and

Photo

: Step

hanie

Mile

s

Amongst others THS collected Primula vulgaris,

Silene dioicia, Lychnis flos-cuculi andVicia spp. from remote

areas – that are less likelyto be contaminated. DNA

samples have been collected as much as pos-

sible so we can doublecheck genetic origin.

2018. THS are continuing to makecollections, the MSBP are cleaningand testing them and then returninghalf the seeds to THS in quality sea-led foil bags, suitable for long termstorage in the freezer. THS dry theseeds as they are collected using thedehumidifier units kindly donated byMSBP which preserves the seed untilpostage time.

THS also joined the UK National TreeSeed Project in autumn 2016 signinga MoC to contribute 11 species of treetowards the 2017 target. Holly (Ilexaquifolium) was collected first as atraining exercise in December 2016,led by Bede West and Simon Kallow(RGB, Kew). Since then THS havecollected Lonicera periclymenum,Rubus idaeus, Sorbus aucuparia, Sam-bucus nigra, Betula pubescens, Prunusavium, Fraxinus excelsior, Crataegusmonogyna and Prunus spinosa. Still tocollect is the elusive Juniperus com-munis, It's been a real education anda joy to work on the projects, thankyou MSBP for ALL your help.

Species including Armeria maritima (Thrift), Euphrasia tetraquetra (Eyebright), Scilla verna (Spring Squill), Anthyllis vulneraria (Kid-ney Vetch) and Rhinanthus minor (Yellow Rattle) have been collected from Sheepland Coast.

Samara 7

Get growing! Sheep poop and native plant seedsprove a successful recipe for habitat restorationFRIN ROSS (Habitats Officer, Falklands Conservation)

Erosion is a feature of Falklands’landscapes. Common causes of erosionare fire, unsuccessful planting andovergrazing. Sometimes removing or

reducing grazing is sufficient to reversethe erosion, but in other cases erosion isvery difficult to reverse. In agriculturalareas it means a loss of fodder andcontamination of valuable wool with soil,in conservation areas it saps biodiversityfrom the bottom up.

In 2016, Falklands Conservationcompleted a Darwin Initiative project tofind ways of tackling erosion using nativeplant seeds. Using native plant seeds is an

Seed conservation and storage behavior in theHawaiian IslandsMARIAN M. CHAU (Seed Conservation Laboratory Manager, University of Hawai‘i Lyon Arboretum, Hawaiian Rare Plant Program) and DUSTIN WOLKIS (Seed Bank & Laboratory Manager, National Tropical Botanical Garden, Departmentof Science & Conservation)

and Walters 2003), current estimates forthe native flora show that ~3% are desic-cation-sensitive, comparable to worldwideestimates of tropical dry forests (3%), butconsiderably lower than tropical moistforests (18.5%) - the more abundant habi-tat type in Hawai‘i. It is hypothesized thatlong distance dispersal selects againstdesiccation sensitivity (Carlquist, 1974),thus Hawai‘i’s isolation, at >3800 km awayfrom any landmass, may explain the dis-crepancy. Uniquely, about 1/3 of the

Hawaiian seed flora studied exhibitsfreeze-sensitivity, with a steep drop in via-bility under dry, frozen storage conditions.There are cases of species respondinganomalously to temperatures between +10and -30°C (Walters, 2015), however thereare no reports of large proportions of aregional flora displaying this behavior. Thismay be due to a lack of characterization ofseed storage behavior in tropical and sub-tropical regions, especially on islands. It ishoped that future collaborative researchwill further investigate the relationshipbetween storage behavior and seed morp-hology, ecology, and climatic variables, aswell develop new storage protocols, inclu-ding cryopreservation.

Susan Deans, Seana Walsh and Dustin Wolkis collecting seeds of Capparis sandwichiana in September 2016.

Photo

: Ruth

Bone

, RBG

Kew

Determining storage behavior has impor-tant implications for seed conservation.The intermediate category includes threesubcategories: desiccation-intermediate,freeze-sensitive, and short-lived (Walters,2015). Worldwide, 3.7% of angiospermsare observed as desiccation-sensitive, yetneither island specific floras nor interme-diate storage behavior are specificallyassessed (Wyse and Dickie, 2017). Basedon 22 years of research in the Hawai‘i SeedBank Partnership (expanding on Yoshinaga

REFERENCESCarlquist, S. J. (1974) Island Biology. New York, New York.Columbia University Press.

Walters, C. (2015) Orthodoxy, recalcitrance and in-between:describing variation in seed storage characteristics usingthreshold responses to water loss. Planta 242:397–406. doi:10.1007/s00425-015-2312-6.

Wyse, S.V. and Dickie, J.B. (2017) Predicting the globalincidence of seed desiccation sensitivity. Journal of Ecology105(4), 1082-1093.

Yoshinaga, A.Y. and Walters, C. (2003) Conservation ofTropical Island Seeds: an example from Hawaii. In: Smith RD,Dickie JB, Linington SH, et al (eds) Seed conservation: turningscience into practice. pp 957–963.

exciting new technique for tackling erosionin the Falklands – previous techniqueshave used non-native plants or tillers oftussac (Poa flabellata) and bluegrass (Poaalopecurus).Eroded areas in the Falklands are a harshplace for plants because they are often:very dry and very windy, and the soil isimpenetrably hard or very, very moveable.Tricky! But this project took that on: itfound out which native plants could growfrom seed and how we could help them to

Samara8

get growing. Luckily we got off to a superstart – building on preliminary trials andseed collections carried out by AlickyDavey, at that time working as HabitatRestoration Project Officer with FalklandsConservation, and Rebecca Upson,formerly Falkland Islands Climate ChangeManager with RBG Kew, and excellentadvice from Falklands’ farmers.

In 2014 a patchwork of habitat restorationtrials were set out across East Falkland.Areas were fenced to keep out sheep,hares and cattle. Inside the trial plots testpatches were raked and sprinkled withseed from 15 different types of nativeplants. On top of some patches StuartSmith, the previous Habitats Officer, addedsheep dung, sheep dags (mucky bits ofwool trimmed off at shearing time), ornatural fibre matting, or combinations ofthese. After two growing seasons thepatches were monitored to death!It worked! Plants grew on eroded peat,sand and even clay. The winners were…FUEGIAN COUCH GRASS (Elymusmagellanicus) (my personal favourite),tussac (Poa flabellata), and coastal bluegrass (Poa alopecurus). These species areoften found along the coast and may haveevolved to grow quickly in tough conditions;taking advantage of spaces where punyspecies struggle. Other plants grew best onspecific soils: Magellanic fescue (Festucamagellanica) favoured clay, button weed(Leptinella scariosa) did best on sand andland fescue (Festuca contracta) preferredpeat. Species such as cinnamon grass(Hierochloe redolens) and native fog grewslowly but consistently across soil types.

Photo

: Chri

s Coc

kel, R

BG Ke

w

Experimental restoration plots at Cape Pembroke, April 2016.

Spreading seed with no ground treatmentwas useless: plants needed help! Dungwas best, dags were ok and matting wasjust a little better than nothing (except onsand where it seemed to be helpful inpinning the ground down). The treatmentsworked well together, but not significantlybetter than dung alone.

So we have new techniques for combattingerosion. Now we need more seed! We areworking with Cape Dolphin Farm as theypioneer the bulk-up of seed production.We are also thinking about mulch we coulduse on islands where dung is not available

Frin Ross, Habitats Officer with Falklands Conservation, left, chats with Cynthia Williams in the native plant nursery at Stanley Growers, April 2016.

Photo

: Chri

s Coc

kel, R

BG Ke

w

Bluegrass (Poa alopecurus), tussac (Poaflabellata) and Fuegian couch grass(Elymus magellanicus) get growing at anexperimental restoration plot on a severelyeroded clay site at Cape Pembroke.

Photo

: Frin

Ross

(it is best to avoid transporting dung anddags between farms in case they carryinvasive plant seeds).

Thank you to everyone that has helpedincluding: farmers and landowners across theFalklands, the Darwin secretariat, theFalkland Islands Government, StanleyNurseries, Quercus Statistical Consulting Ltd.,Falkland Islands Development Corporation,RBG Kew, and our super FC Volunteers.

Leaflets on this work are available fromthe Falklands Conservation Website.http://www.falklandsconservation.com/

represented with more than 60% of known populations conservedin the seed bank. Some are also duplicated within the Spanish Net-work of genebanks for wild plants (REDBAG - Red Española deBancos de Germoplasma de Plantas Silvestres), as well as at theMillennium Seed Bank in the UK.

Seeds are made available to researchers and also used for reintro-duction and restoration projects. Herbarium voucher specimensare used to verify seed accessions and are stored in the SBG’s her-barium. To further conserve the cultural heritage, a seed bankcollection of ancient varieties of cereals and vegetables has alsobeen established. Selected taxa are propagated in the orchard forpublic viewing each season and collected seeds are stored in thebank.

The next step for the project is the collection of Crop Wild Relatives,wild plant species genetically related to cultivated crops, for con-servation in the bank and for display in the gardens.

Samara 9

Spain’s Balearic Island archipelago in the Western Mediterra-nean Basin consists of two island groups, with a total area of5,000 km². The larger, eastern group, known as the GymnesianIslands, include Majorca, Minorca and Cabrera. The westerngroup is known as Pityuses and includes Ibiza and Formentera.More than 100 islets also make up the archipelago.

The island flora comprises approximately 1,551 wild taxa (Sáezet al., 2013). About 140 of these are narrow endemics and closeto 90 vascular species are protected under national and regio-nal legislation. A high proportion of Mediterranean endemicplants occur on islands however, tourism, urban development,climate change, and invasive species are some of the factorsthat seriously endanger Balearic plant biodiversity. Conse-quently, the conservation of these species needs to beprioritised to prevent serious losses.

The Sóller Botanic Garden (SBG) on Majorca is the only one ofits kind in the Balearics. It opened to the public in 1992 with theaim of conserving endangered and rare plant species. Ensuringthe survival of these species in ex situ collections now meansthey can be used for in situ conservation. Twenty-five yearslater, SBG’s Balearic living plant collection represents over 90%of the Archipelago’s endangered species and visitors now learnfrom and enjoy a garden landscape of regional flora.

The seed bank was established in 1989, prior to the develop-ment of the botanic garden. The bank’s activities involve not onlythe accurate collection of diverse populations, but also germi-nation testing, cultivation and research into taxa to enable theirpropagation in the garden. The seed bank conserves germ-plasm accessions collected from all of the islands and holdsmore than 5,400 accessions representing 110 families, 300genera and 532 taxa. All Balearic endangered species are Scabiosa cretica seed head and bloom. Also known as the

pincushion flower, this is a very drought-tolerant species whichgrows on the islands.

Photo

: Soll

er Bo

tanic

Garde

n data

base

REFERENCESSáez L., Fraga P. & Lopez-Alvarado J. (2013). The Flora of the Balearic Islands. In: Islands andPlants: preservation and understanding of flora on Mediterranean Islands. 2nd Botanical Conference inMenorca. Consell Insular de Menorca. Col·lecció Recerca: 91-103

Twenty-five years working to conserve Balearic Islands’ floraMAGDALENA VICENS FORNÉS (Curator, Jardí Botànic de Sóller)

Hippocrepis balearica, a Horseshoe vetch endemic to the Balearic islands.

Photo

: Soll

er Bo

tanic

Garde

n data

base

Samara10

Islands in the skyTIM PEARCE (MSBP Africa Programme Coordinator, RBG Kew)

No, I am not referring to the 1950’sJohn Wayne movie nor Schmidt &Zubrin’s 1996 collection of “Bold

new ideas for colonizing space” but reflec-ting on the characteristics andimplications for seed conservation of themany “sky island” habitats we collect fromacross the Millennium Seed Bank Part-nership.

As a network, we have collected and stu-died much seed from alpine environments.But to be clear, sky islands refer specifi-cally to isolated mountain areassurrounded by vastly different lowlandenvironments. A sky island can thereforebe viewed through the same phytogeo-graphical lens as if it were an island in asea.

As with land islands in the sea, our skyislands are frequently associated with highlevels of endemism, adaptation to life inextreme environments and quite specifichabitat zonation across the altitudinal gra-dient. Consequently, they share commondrivers to habitat change (loss) and geneflow; this having significant implicationsfor designing seed collection strategies.Sky islands are also frequently home torelict populations of species and displayunique habitat types, these often beingrefugia from a much wider habitat rangebetween glacial events. However, whilstthese refugia may share similar speciesand habitat characteristics e.g. the erica-ceous vegetation of the east Africanmountains, isolation has also led to rapidspeciation of certain plant groups.

With mountain top refuges predicted towarm by only a few degrees this spells theend for many of these high altitude ende-mics, making the establishment of ex situcollections of these species restricted tothese habitats a high priority. Of course,there still remains a question as to exactlywhere these species could be re-introdu-ced should our climate change theiroriginal habitat beyond the environmentalparameters required for the species.

Recent studies have shown that speciesrichness of these sky islands is largely

correlated with their size – larger moun-tain sky islands; more species diversity.The alpine flora of the Andean páramowhich, whilst superficially looks very simi-lar to the afro alpine flora has 30% more

species and their genera tend to be morespecies rich. Consequently the floras ofthe individual mountains in the páramotend to be quite distinct from each otherunlike those of the tropical African moun-

Dendrosenecio keniodendron, an iconic Afromontane species endemic to Mt. Kenya and the

Samara 11

tains which tend to be relatively more uni-form possessing a larger number ofwidespread species.The fragmented flora on these isolatedregions presents particular questions

about sampling for effective ex situ conser-vation. Studies comparing gene flowacross fragmented sky islands withinEthiopia and between the Ethiopian High-lands and the mountains of East Africa

have thrown up some counter-intuitiveresults. For example, in Trifolium cryptopo-dium (a short-distance dispersed species)greater genetic differences were found bet-ween the Ethiopian Highlands populationswhich are fragmented only by the narrowGreat Rift Valley than between those popu-lations on the Ethiopian Highlands andother geographically remote East Africanmountains, separated by thousands of kilo-metres of dryland habitat. In contrast, thewind dispersed species, Carduus schimperi,was shown to have significant gene flowbetween isolated East African mountains.With additional evidence of genetic rarityfrom populations on different mountains,we have a huge task if we are to adequatelycapture the genetic diversity of these spe-cies in our seed collecting efforts; one sizedoes not seem to fit all.

There are a number of seed collecting pro-grammes across the MSBP that will focuson these sky island floras. We have deve-loped two projects in tropical east andnorth east Africa; the “Afromontane PlantConservation” and the “Ethiopian Ende-mics” projects that afford an excellentopportunity to secure some of these rareand endemic species from these threate-ned habitats – true priorities for ex situThis should facilitate ongoing studies intothe underlying gene flow between thesefragmented populations of species, whichwill inform how we are to effectively sam-ple these sky island floras.

Temperate, Mediterranean and even moistlowland tropical environments display lar-gely predictable climate-influenced habi-tats across their ranges. Conversely, oursky island floras show extreme variationsof climatic regimes and so studying theseed biology of these floras requires us toconsider the additional layers of climaticcomplexity associated with these habitats.We know very little about the seed longe-vity nor germination requirements thathave evolved with the sky island flora. TheMSBP seed conservation partners hostingthese fascinating habitats have a wonder-ful playground to uncover some fascinatinginsights into the evolution of seed biology.They’re special places to work too! Aberdares; what are its chances in a changing climate?

Photo

: Pete

r Feil

en

Samara12

Seed collecting in the East China SeaGUO YONG-JIE and CAI JIE (seed collecting coordinator, Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, KunmingInstitute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

According to the Flora of China, more than 6,000 vascularplant species records are from islands. Almost 66% ofthese islands are located in the East China Sea and thereare many single island endemic plants. Many taxa are rareand threatened, mainly due to habitat loss and urgent con-servation measures are required to safeguard them.

Since 2016, the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species(GBOWS), Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academyof Sciences and the Ningbo Marine Environmental Moni-toring Center, State Oceanic Administration have beencooperating on the project “Seed preservation of coastalislands of the East China Sea”. The main goal of this pro-ject is to collect and store seeds from representativehabitats as well as implement ex situ conservation in thelisted institutions.

The project started in July 2016 and will run for two years.In both 2016 and 2017, four seed collecting expeditions havebeen successfully carried out on 21 islands, including 17uninhabited ones. A total of 355 high quality seed collec-tions have been made, including endemic, rare, threatened

or protected species, such as Aster arenarius and Ilex integra. Some taxaare emblematic to islands or coastal areas of the East China Sea, such asVitex rotundifolia, Eurya emarginata, and Lysimachia mauritiana. So far, 22species are preserved for the first time in GBOWS, which will contributetowards the target of seed preservation of 10,000 species before 2020.

Collecting on islands in the East China Sea.

Photo

: Cai

Jie

Myrtle rust disease threatens New Zealand Christmas treeMONICA SWADEL (Seed Bank Coordinator) and CRAIG MCGILL (Project Manager New Zealand Indigenous Flora Seed Bank (NZIFSB))

A New Zealand summer is synonymouswith images of northern coastal beacheslined with stately trees smothered in brightcrimson red flowers. These sprawlingplants are the iconic Metrosideros excelsa,more commonly known as pōhutukawa orNew Zealand’s Christmas tree, of theMyrtaceae family. Now, however, thesemagnificent trees are under threat frommyrtle rust disease (Austropuccinia psidii)which arrived on the New Zealand main-land in May 2017.

New Zealand has been a separate islandland mass for around 65-80 million years,during which time it has developed uniqueflora and fauna. The country is consideredone of the world’s biodiversity hot spotswith over 80% of its flora found nowhereelse. These taxa are vulnerable to a number

of threats from human activity, as well asfrom introduced pests and diseases.

There are 28 indigenous Myrtaceae spe-cies in New Zealand. Twenty-seven ofthese are endemic, and include eight ‘AtRisk’ as well as two ‘Threatened’ species –

Kunzea toelkenii and the recently discove-red Metrosideros bartletii, an extremelyrare white flowering rata from Te Paki,Northland. Leptospermum scoparium(mānuka) is indigenous to both Australiaand New Zealand; a pioneer scrub speciesonce regarded as a weed of agriculture, L.scoparium is now of economic importancedue to the mānuka honey industry. Myrta-ceae species are found in a range ofhabitats throughout New Zealand andseveral serve as keystone species, such asthe diverse kānuka, of the genus Kunzea,recently described as 10 different endemicNew Zealand species. Mānuka is currentlydescribed as two varieties (var. incanumand var. scoparium) but is listed as 10 spe-cies in the unpublished ThreatenedSpecies list. However, based on morpho-logy, genetics and biogeography, it is

There are 28 indigenous Myrtaceae

species in New Zealand.Twenty-seven of these are

endemic, and include eight‘At Risk’ as well as two‘Threatened’ species.

Samara 13

REFERENCES AND LINKShttp://nzpcn.org.nzhttp://fgr.nz/documents/download/3671https://www.mpi.govt.nzhttp://www.doc.govt.nz

believed to be a species complex comprising several entities(Shannel Courtney (Department of Conservation, New Zealand)pers comm).

The New Zealand Indigenous Flora Seed Bank (NZIFSB) was esta-blished in 2013, aiming to conserve New Zealand's biodiversity aspart of an ex situ conservation strategy. The seed collecting pro-gramme has targeted four key plant groups: alpine flora and theforget-me-nots; kōwhai and other Fabaceae; podocarps and treesof the forest; and pōhutukawa, rata and other Myrtaceae.

One of the reasons New Zealand’s Myrtaceae species have beentargeted for seed collection is the high likelihood of myrtle rustarriving in New Zealand. The disease, which arrived in Australiain 2010 and is also present in New Caledonia, was first identifiedin New Zealand on Kermadec pōhutukawa (M. kermadecensis)trees located on offshore Raoul Island on 27 March 2017. Onemonth later, the disease was confirmed to be present on themainland and has since been found in the North Island regions ofNorthland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Taranaki.

Some of the New Zealand Myrtaceae species found to be suscep-tible to myrtle rust include the mainland and Kermadecpōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa and M. kermadecensis respec-tively), M. carmine and Lophomyrtus bullata. At this stage it isunknown to what degree New Zealand’s indigenous Myrtaceae

species will be affected, and many species have not been testedfor susceptibility to the disease. Myrtle rust infects the newgrowth of young plants leading to death of the shoot; this couldpose a threat to the establishment of young regenerating popu-lations or lead to death of mature plants due to continued shootdie back. Metrosideros spp. (pōhutukawa and rata) in particularare already under threat from introduced possums which candecimate populations by devouring young stems and leaves.

This year, NZIFSB has been working with the Ministry for PrimaryIndustries and the Department of Conservation to coordinate thelarge scale seed collection of indigenous Myrtaceae taxa. Theseed bank now holds seed collections of 25 different indigenousMyrtaceae species and banked nearly 300 seed collections in justsix months. This includes seed collections of culturally significantMetrosideros excelsa “Aurea” (yellow flowered pōhutukawa) andpotentially distinct variants such as Kunzea “Lottin Point” havebeen submitted to the seed bank. Seed collections will continuethroughout summer and autumn 2018, and will aim to secureapproximately 400 genetically diverse seed collections of all ofNew Zealand’s unique Myrtaceae species.

Metrosideros perforata in flower at Otari-Wilton's Bush, Wellington from January 2017.

Photo

: Jes

sica S

chne

ll

Samara14

Conserving the genetic diversity of St Helena’sthreatened endemic floraVANESSA THOMAS-WILLIAMS (St Helena Environmental Management Division) and THOMAS HELLER (Islands Conservation Partnerships Coordinator, RBG Kew)

The success of efforts to conserve severely threatened wildplants through propagation and reintroduction depends onmany factors, not least the genetic fitness of the species tomaintain viable in situ populations. In few places is this moreapparent than the South Atlantic island of St Helena, home toan endemic flora of 45 vascular plant species, 10 of these withfewer than 100 individuals remaining in the wild. Though thereis much to learn about the conservation genetics of StHelena’s endemic plants, it is clear that the very narrow bott-lenecks that many have been subjected to since the arrival ofhuman settlers present a major challenge to securing theirfuture survival.

Conservation was pioneered within the island’s forestrydepartment from the mid-1970s by the late George BenjaminBEM. George was responsible for the rediscovery, often assingle plants, of endemic species long thought to have goneextinct. Among his finds were the She Cabbage Tree(Lachanodes arborea), St Helena Olive (Nesiota elliptica) and StHelena Dwarf Ebony (Trochetiopsis ebenus).

Today, the conservation force has grown. The government’sTerrestrial Conservation Section along with the St HelenaNational Trust and Nature Conservation Group are responsi-ble for the restoration, maintenance and development ofendemic plants and habitats across the island.

In 2009, a small seed bank was established on-island to enableconservationists to bank seeds locally. Safeguarding seeds hasbecome an integral part of the conservation activities on StHelena; the seed bank is actively used to provide material forthe island’s endemic plant nursery and more recently to supportmitigation measures at the island’s new airport development.

In recent years there has been a need for improved capacityin ex situ conservation to meet the demands of such an ambi-tious conservation programme. Since 2015, a DarwinInitiative-funded project between RBG Kew and the St Helenagovernment has been addressing this need through trainingin seed conservation and plant propagation, as well as provi-ding equipment to the Terrestrial Conservation team(including a drone to enable survey of difficult to access sites).If reintroduction efforts are to be successful in the long-termit is critical that as much as possible of the species’ remaininggenetic diversity is accounted for in propagation work.Towards this end, the project undertook a population-levelgap analysis to assess the coverage of existing ex situ collec-tions, in St Helena and at Kew, and identify where wilddiversity may not be adequately sampled. This analysis is usedto better plan collecting efforts, making sure that populationsnot previously sampled are represented. As a result, 37 ende-mics have been collected from priority populations and act asa key resource in ongoing restoration efforts.

However, many difficult questions remain, such as how best tobalance the need to maintain local adaptations within popula-tions against the benefits that genetic rescue throughcontrolled crosses might bring in these often critically depletedspecies.

This project was supported by the Darwin Initiative under DPLSU037:Conserving the genetic diversity of St Helena’s threatened endemic flora,with banking of some of the cloud forest species enabled through thework of the project DPLUS029: Securing St Helena’s rare Cloud Foresttrees and associated invertebrates.

Kew’s Marcella Corcoran delivering propagation training.

Photo

: Marc

ella C

orcora

n, RB

G Kew

Seedlings of Critically Endangered St Helena Rosemary (Phylica polifolia).

Using a hygrometer to effectively measure seed moisture.

Photo

: Tho

mas H

eller,

RBG K

ew

Photo

: Tho

mas H

eller,

RBG K

ew

Samara 15

Seed collecting on megadiverse Madagascar SOLOFO RAKOTAORISOA (Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre Ecosystems Team Leader, Madagascar)and STUART CABLE (Research Leader – Madagascar, RBG Kew)

Transvaal Plain, Gough Island.

Rhynchosia leandrii Du Puy & Labat(Fabaceae).

Photo

: Phil

Lamb

don

Photo

: Solo

fo Ra

kotao

risoa

, KMC

C

Madagascar is the world’s second largest tropicalisland and a global biodiversity hotspot. Weestimate that Madagascar has 12,000 species

of plants and that over 80% of these are endemic,including five endemic families and over 300 endemicgenera. The majority of the population rely on subsistencefarming, often based on slash-and-burn cultivation, andon charcoal for fuel. This puts a huge pressure on theremaining forests outside the protected areas systemthat covers 10% of Madagascar. One of the greatestchallenges for conservation is that most species havevery restricted distributions, requiring consistent effortacross the whole of the island and all biomes.

Since 2000, Kew has worked with local partner Silo Na-tional des Graines Forestières (SNGF) to bank seedsfrom the dry forests in the south and west, and from thecentral highlands. The partnership reached its target ofover 1000 species from 2160 seed collections in 2010.Since then we have increased our target to 3000 speciesand have developed a seed collecting network of com-munities and local conservation projects. We have alsostarted to target more humid areas and specific groups

Loeseneriella urceolus (Tul.) N. Hallé(Celastraceae).

Photo

: Solo

fo Ra

kotao

risoa

, KMC

C

To the ends of the earthPHIL LAMBDON (Kew Associate) and THOMAS HELLER (Islands Conservation Partnership Coordinator,RBG Kew)

At 1500 miles from the nearest con-tinental land, the Tristan da Cunhagroup of islands is extremely iso-

lated, even by South Atlantic standards.One of the few surviving examples of analmost pristine temperate ecosystem, twoof its islands (Gough and Inaccessible)were declared a World Heritage Site in1995. Though the total number of floweringplants is low, the islands are rich in ende-mics, with 32 endemic taxa. However theisland is under threat from alien invasivespecies such as Sagina procumbens, andthe grasses Holcus lanatus and Agrostisstolonifera.

Opportunities to learn more about the flora and work on its conservation are few and far between, as the islands are logistically verydifficult and expensive to visit and work on. Kew Associate Phil Lambdon recently had such an opportunity to conduct field work onGough Island, one of the Tristan group, though is itself some 250 miles from the island of Tristan da Cunha, the nearest permanentsettlement.

During his time on the island, he succeeded in collecting the seeds of 14 species, most of these endemic to remote islands of thetemperate southern hemisphere. Four species are single island endemics, unique to Gough Island: Cotula goughenis, Agrostisgoughensis, Deschampsia robusta, and Deschampsia wacei. Along with seed collections made by visiting biologists in 2009 and 2011,almost half of the 50 native flowering plant species of the Tristan da Cunha islands are now banked at the MSB.

such as orchids. Our current funders are the People’s Postcode lottery for workwith communities and the Garfield Weston Foundation for work with SNGF focusedon trees. The current total stands at about 6500 collections representing around2400 species from 166 families. Ongoing identification work continues to increasethe species total, as there are many undescribed taxa in Madagascar’s flora.

Blechnum palmiformescrub on Gough Island.

Photo

: Phil

Lamb

don

Samara16

Australia’s Island Territories arehome to many unique plant spe-cies and, although they face many

risks, many have never been collected forex situ conservation. In 2012, the NationalSeed Bank (NSB) at the Australian Natio-nal Botanic Gardens initiated a program ofcollecting in Commonwealth NationalParks on two islands to protect these taxa.

Norfolk Island, in the south-west Pacific, hasa much altered landscape due to vegetationclearance and introduced species. Aroundone quarter of the flora is endemic with 45species listed as threatened under Austra-lian legislation. Working with Parks Australiastaff we have successfully collected 19threatened species, the banking of which willaid their long-term conservation and help usto investigate their use in restoration.

Collecting on Australia’s External TerritoriesTOM NORTH (Seed Bank Curator, National Seed Bank, Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG is a Partner of the Australian Seed Bank Partnership))

On Christmas Island, approximately 1500km north-west of Australia, research intoseed biology has investigated efficientmethods for ecosystem rehabilitation ofmined sites. Our activities have been focu-sed on collection, germination,propagation and storage-life issues thatimpede the use of target species in ParksAustralia’s rehabilitation program.

Any material from Australia’s externalterritories must pass strict quarantineassessments when entering the mainland.Where a species is new, a request is sub-mitted for a ‘New Plant Introduction’ toassess weed and disease risk; if passed, apermit for import to the mainland is provi-ded. We aim to have all relevant speciesassessed and banked at the NSB and MSBby 2020.

Dr Kevin Mills, ANBG Seedy Volunteer, collecting Coprosma pilosa on Phillip Island, part of Norfolk Island National Park.

Tom North, Curator, National Seed Bank,collecting Arenga listeri in Christmas Is-land National Park.

Imag

e: T.

North

, ANB

GPh

oto: H

. Swe

et (AN

BG)

Samara 17

Vulnerable and endemic twining finger-flower (Cheiranthera volubilis) at Scott Cove, Kangaroo Island.

Photo

: Tom

Nort

h

Field collecting on Kangaroo Island, South AustraliaDANIEL DUVAL (Botanic Gardens of South Australia) and DR JENNY GUERIN (South Australian SeedConservation Centre, Botanic Gardens of South Australia)

Kangaroo Island lies 14 km off thesouth coast of Fleurieu Peninsulain South Australia and became

separated from the mainland approximately9,500 years ago (Robinson & Armstrong1999). The island is nearly 150 km long and4,400 km2 in size and contains over a thou-sand native plant species, more than 50 ofwhich are endemic. The western third of theisland is protected within the reservesystem and provides refuge for many spe-cies of fauna and flora that are threatenedor extinct on mainland Australia.

There are 17 plant species on the islandlisted as nationally threatened under theCommonwealth Government’s Environ-ment and Biodiversity Conservation(EPBC) Act of 1999. The majority of thesespecies occur on the island’s eastern endwhich was historically cleared for agricul-ture. Most of the remaining nativevegetation is now restricted to roadsideverges. A number of threatened and ende-mic plant species co-occur in KangarooIsland Narrow-leaved Mallee (Eucalyptuscnerifolia) Woodland that is itself a criti-cally endangered ecological communitylisted under the EPBC Act. We aim to makerepresentative seed collections fromremaining roadside populations and todevelop effective germination protocols for

these species. One of the threatenedplants from this community is the saddle-leaf phebalium (Leionema equestre), aplant species which has been observed tobe fire responsive; we have banked seedsfrom four populations of this endangeredphebalium. Fire may also have a role in therecruitment of some other species, forexample, seeds of the Kangaroo Islandspider-flower (Grevillea muricata), a vulne-rable endemic plant, were found togerminate after treatment with dry heatand smoke water.

There have been many discoveries duringour work on the island, including theendangered Kangaroo Island pennywort(Hydrocotyle diantha) not recorded theresince 1886. We stumbled on this tiny herbwhilst crawling under Melaleuca shrubs inwet swamp searching for other rare plantsin Kelly Hill Cave Conservation Park. Wealso discovered the tiny Goodeniamicrantha, not previously recorded inSouth Australia, growing in wet flats in thesame area. This species is better knownfor growing in heath in southwest WesternAustralia nearly 2000 km away.

The South Australia Seed ConservationCentre has made over 200 seed collectionsfrom the island, predominantly of threate-

ned and endemic species, since the incep-tion of the program and partnershipagreement with MSBP in 2003. Approxi-mately 80% of the endemic taxa and nearly40% (58 taxa) of the island’s threatenedflora have been banked, including multipleprovenance collections for 23 threatenedtaxa. Further research is required to inves-tigate dormancy mechanisms for somespecies to improve seed germinationrates. During the partnership, a data por-tal has been created to enable the SA SeedConservation Centre to share its data andscientific knowledge. This informationsupports the Natural Resource Manage-ment Groups managing land andconservation work across South Australiaand is a key resource for researchers.

Find more information about the KangarooIsland flora and what has been banked aspart of the MSBP at:www.saseedbank.com.au.

Endangered and endemic saddle-leaf phebalium (Leionemaequestre) growing on the verge of Hogs Bay Rd, Kangaroo Island.

Photo

: Tom

Nort

h

REFERENCESRobinson, A.C & Armstrong, D.M (eds) (1999) A Biological Survey of Kangaroo, Island, South Australia, 1989&1990. (Dept. for Environment, Water and Natural Resources)

http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/kangaroo-island-mallee-eucalyptus-cneorifolia-woodland-ecological-community-factsheet ecological community

Samara18

Community-led seed banking in Aotearoa New ZealandRUTH BONE (International Projects Officer, Pacific, Millennium Seed Bank, RBG Kew)

One year after our first meeting atKew (Issue 30, p. 18), I travelledto Aotearoa New Zealand to

work with colleagues from Te TiraWhakamātaki (TTW; the MāoriBiosecurity Network).

In light of the confirmation of Myrtle Rust(Austropuccinia psidii) in Aotearoa thisyear there is heightened interest in seedbanking as an ex situ conservation tool –safeguarding germplasm while solutionsto plant health incursions are developed.

I gave presentations on this topic at theBiological Heritage National ScienceChallenge Project Leaders' Forum, andat the Bio-Protection Research Centre's(Lincoln University) weekly seminarseries.

With TTW colleagues Melanie Mark-Shadbolt and Kiri Hurunui, I travelled toWaitaia Lodge near Tauranga, where wemet Tim O’Brien and Craig Marwick whointroduced us to members ofNgamanawa Inc. from Ngāti HangarauIwi (tribe), and Te Poho o Huturangi TaiaoHub from Ngāti Porou Iwi. With other

TTW colleagues (Alby Marsh, WaitangiWood), we donated two blue drum seedbanking kits during a pōwhiri (traditionalwelcome ceremony), in support ofcommunity-led responses to Myrtle Rust,which threatens taonga (treasured)

Pōwhiri at Waitaia Lodge. Left to Right: Carlton Bidois (Ngāti Ranginui Iwi); Tim O’Brien,Lance Gray, Gerry Gardner, Craig Marwick, Rawinia Gray (Ngamanawa Inc., Ngāti Hangarau);Alejandra Jensen (Te Poho o Huturangi Taiao Hub, & Ngāti Porou representative); Kiri Huru-nui, Melanie Mark-Shadbolt & Alby Marsh (Te Tira Whakamātaki); Ruth Bone (MSBP).

Millennium Seed Bank extends its cold rooms and dry roomKEITH MANGER (Property, Health & Safety & Sustainability Manager, RBG Kew)

The Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) has recently completed a Defrafunded expansion of its cold storage facilities; this allows forsufficient storage to 2025 based on current collecting levels.

The cold room / dry room complex is built within the subterraneanvault, designed to be an exceptionally safe storage facility for global

Photo

: Wait

angi

Wood

(Te T

ira W

haka

mātak

i)germplasm. The vault has sufficient capacity at 900 m² tosafeguard up to 75% of the ~330,000 storable seed-bearingplant species.

Alarm systems protect the complex against multiplehazards, including significant changes in temperature andhumidity which would affect stored collections. There isautomatic generator support in the event of a power cut andcritical systems have robust maintenance contracts andemergency backup procedures.

Each cold room is fitted out with mobile adjustable rackingto a height of two metres, some of which is static around theperiphery. This format of racking allows for exceptionallyefficient storage.

The facility meets international seed bank standards; thecold rooms run at -20°C whilst the dry room runs at 15%relative humidity and 18°C.

The scrolling pack compressor system which provides chi-lling for the cold rooms is extremely energy efficient; eachcold room uses less than 1 kWh of electricity per hour.MSB cold room expansion.

Photo

: RBG

Kew

species as well as those of economicsignificance including mānuka(Leptospermum scoparium). I look forwardto a return visit in December when wewill deliver seed conservation techniquestraining to support this TTW initiative.

NEWS

Samara 19

Training the next generation of Georgian Botanists KONSTANTINE KERESELIDZE (Institute of Botany, Ilia State University of Georgia)

Since childhood, I have had an inte-rest in fauna and flora. I spent timeenjoying beautiful landscapes of

Georgia with my parents and watchingwildlife, especially reptiles. Perhaps inevi-tably, I went on to study botany. I amfascinated by the beauty of plant species,their diversity, communities and habitats. Iwas invited by Georgia’s Institute of Botanyto participate in their field studies toaccess populations of the Georgian RedListed species, Halimodendron halodendrongrowing in a semi-desert area in eastGeorgia. I also assist the seed collectingproject and am responsible for field datacollection and photo documentation. Beingat the beginning of my career, it has beencrucial for me to learn and get as muchbotanical experience as possible. TheBentham-Moxon funded project ‘Trainingthe Next Generation of Georgian Botanists’gave me a unique opportunity to travel toone of the world’s most beautiful cities,London, and participate in training ses-

sions on plant identification, herbariummanagement, molecular taxonomy andseed conservation. I had a chance to visitFlatford Mill in Suffolk, Royal BotanicalGardens Kew and the Millennium SeedBank in Wakehurst place. I was amazed by

the beauty of these places and by the pro-fessionalism of the trainers. I would like tothank the whole team of specialists forgiving me this wonderful opportunity tolearn more about plant life and gain awealth of experience for my future career.

Konstantine analysing a seed collection x-ray at the MSB.

Photo

: RBG

Kew

Training on the shores of Lake VictoriaEVA MARTENS (MSB Partnership Administrator, RBG Kew)

On the beautiful shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda, thesecond largest freshwater lake in the world, 15 participantsrepresenting 13 different organisations from eight African

countries (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria,Sudan and Uganda) gathered for a training course on “Methods inSeed Processing and Data Management”. The one-week courseheld in August was kindly hosted and facilitated by our partners atthe National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) inEntebbe. Participants were joined and trained by colleagues fromKew; Richard Allen, Eva Martens, Sian McCabe and Tim Pearce. The training covered all aspects of seed banking but had a particular

Participants and trainers taking part in Methods in Seed Processing and Data Management take time out from fieldwork in Entebbe, Uganda, in August 2017.

Photo

: RBG

Kew

focus on data management. The course included one day in thefield where, after a small group were attacked by ants, parti-cipants made scrupulous notes on their MSBPpre-assessment and field data forms. Feedback from courseparticipants demonstrated the relevance of the course, and theenjoyment felt by all those that attended. The group workedbrilliantly as a team, swapped nicknames, appointed a de facto“Chief” and even formed a participants WhatsApp group.

Sian McCabe, Seed Processing Assistant, MSB, leads a session onseed processing at the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) in Uganda.

Photo

: RBG

Kew

New MSB Agreements

Country Counterpart Name Start Date Duration(Years)

New Zealand Massey University January 5Myanmar Department of Botany, Mandalay University August 5

United Kingdom Overseas Territories The Environmental Management Division, StHelena Government August 2

Colombia Instituto de Investigacion de Recursos Biologi-cos Alexander von Humboldt October 5

Key science publications

Carta, A., Skourti, E., Mattana, E., Vandelook, F. & Thanos, C.A. (2017). Photoinhibition of seed germination: occurrence,ecology and phylogeny. Seed Science Research 27 (2): 131–153. DOI: 10.1017/S0960258517000137.

Clemente, A.S., Müller, J.V., Almeida, E., Costa, C.A., Dias, S.L., Brehm, J.M., Rebelo, R. & Martins-Loução, M.A. (2017).What can routine germination tests in seed banks tell us about the germination ecology of endemic and protected species?Canadian Journal of Botany 95: 673–684. DOI: 10.1139/cjb-2017-0003.

De Vitis, M., Mattioni, C., Mattana, E., Pritchard, H.W., Seal, C.E., Ulian, T., Cherubini, M. & Magrini, S. (2017). Integrationof genetic and seed fitness data to the conservation of isolated subpopulations of the Mediterranean plant Malcolmia littorea.Plant Biology: DOI: 10.1111/plb.12637.

Igea, J., Miller, E.F., Papadopulos, A.S.T. & Tanentzap, A.J. (2017). Seed size and its rate of evolution correlate with speciesdiversification across angiosperms. PLOS Biology 15 (7): e2002792. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2002792.

Kendon, J., Rajaovelona, L., Sandford, H., Fang, R., Bell, J. & Sarasan, V. (2017). Collecting near mature and immatureorchid seeds for ex situ conservation: ‘in vitro collecting’ as a case study. Botanical Studies 58: 34. DOI: 10.1186/s40529-017-0187-5.

Liu, U. & Dickie, J.B. (2017). Managing ex situ collections of wild species' seeds: Use of biodiversity informatics inthe Millennium Seed Bank to address challenges. Biodiversity Information Science and Standards 1: e20197 DOI:10.3897/tdwgproceedings.1.20197.

Ordoñez-Salanueva, C.A., Orozco-Segovia, A., Canales-Martínez, M., Seal, C.E., Pritchard, H.W. and Flores-Ortiz, C.M. (2017).Ecological longevity in the soil seed bank, seedling emergence and survival of Polaskia chende (Rol-. Goss.) AC Gibson &KE Horak (Cactaceae). Plant Biology. DOI: 10.1111/plb.12611

Wyse, S.V. and Dickie, J.B. (2017) Predicting the global incidence of seed desiccation sensitivity. Journal of Ecology105(4), 1082-1093.

MSB Partnership Data Warehouse

The MSBP Data Warehouse (http://brahmsonline.kew.org/msbp) was established to give MSBP partners access to all dataassociated with their seed collections. The Data Warehouse can be used to plan target lists, identify seed collections avai-lable for research, look up X-ray and germination test conditions and results, and map collections via a Google mapsinterface. You can also download a complete, unique MSBP species base list to check for species not previously banked.Access is available to all MSB partnership organisations, you can register on the Data Warehouse website athttp://brahmsonline.kew.org/msbp/Account/Register.

Please contact Naomi Carvey (N.Carvey@kew.org), the Data Warehouse Project Officer, to discuss data available, data trai-ning and with any questions or feedback.

Email: msbp.datawarehouse.access@kew.org

MSB dashboard

Date 23/10/17

Total Collections 84,963

Total Species 38,440

Total countries (including overseas territories) 189

Next issue

Next issue: Issue 33 of Samara will be reporting on data andtechnology. Perhaps you are an MSB Partner that would liketo share stories of technological triumphs (e.g. equipmentincluding blue drum dryer kits) or new technologies (e.g.hand-held devices) you’ve adopted effectively in the field orat seed banking facilities. Maybe you’re an MSB Partner thatis proud of how you manage your data and want to spreadyour knowledge across the network. If so please contactour editorial team, we would love to hear from you.

TALES FROM THE FIELDFieldwork is an important part of the work that we alldo. We’d love to hear about your fun, interesting andexciting field trips. Send your contributions to our edi-torial team!

Contact usWe want to hear from you!Samara is your newsletter so please send us any articlesyou feel would be of interest to the MSBP.

The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership is managed byRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Samara EditorsEva Martens, Aisyah Faruk, Laura Jennings, Lucy Taylor,Chris Cockel and Emma SealRoyal Botanic Gardens, KewMillennium Seed Bank, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, WestSussex, RH17 6TN, UKTel +44 1444 894177Email samara@kew.org

Samara provides information and inspiration for MSBPpartners and a flavour of the successes of the Partners-hip. It is available as a PDF from the MSBP website atwww.kew.org/samara.

We only hold your contact details for the purposes ofmaintaining our distribution list. This only for use byRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew. You can ask us to removeyour details from our database at any time.