It has been ten years since researchers at Kew near London are attempting to collect all the world's seeds for the Millenium Seed Bank before climate change and habitat destruction mean the end of our plant species. But due to budget cuts, politics, and skepticism over global warming, this project may be stalling.
Its head Paul Smith argues:
"This is a utilitarian drive, not a bunny-hugging one. The vast majority of modern medicines have their basis in plants. Yet only one-fifth of plant species have been screened for pharmaceutical use. Who knows what miracle cures might be out there waiting to be discovered? But we are already losing species. One-third of our collection has a known use, and that excludes undiscovered uses. This is a very pragmatic project," he added. "We prioritize useful or known threatened species. There are 20 species in the bank that are extinct in the wild and many more that are thought to be."
I really enjoy reading the success stories on their website, such as how they saved the world's smallest waterlilies (with pads about 1cm in diameter) from extinction or how there are only five trees in Burkina Faso where the Gardinia nitida can be collected, but they are surrounded by lions and panthers! Who knew plants were so exciting?
So far, the bank has collected 2 billion seeds from 30,000 species, but that's only 10%. With new plants going extinct and still being discovered every day, they definitely have their work cut out for them.
If you're interested in helping out, you can choose a seed to adopt for £25 or about $38. Click below.
and for the record, what's wrong with bunny-hugging?
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