Kiss of life saves extinct grass

 

Kew has helped to save one of the world's rarest and most threatened plants in a European collaboration involving the Millennium Seed Bank.

The Millennium Seed Bank has helped to save one of the world's rarest and most threatened plants in a collaboration with the National Botanic Garden of Belgium.

It is over 70 years since Bromus bromoideus was seen in its native Ardennes and, although subsequently grown in some botanic gardens, these plants have also long gone.

But now fresh, green shoots of this grass are emerging in Britain and Belgium from recently discovered seeds from the National Botanic Garden, Belgium. The plant has a new hope of survival.

"This species was thought to be extinct and illustrates the key role that Botanic Gardens play in the survival of many plants", says Simon Linington, head of curation at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank. "This is a good example of how modern seed banking is a vital tool for conservation, and can complement work to conserve plants where they grow in the wild."

In a plea for help, and for fear of putting all their eggs in one basket, so to speak, the Belgians called on their European conservation partners at Kew for help.

"It was clear that I was probably looking at the last few seeds of this species in existence, and so some of the seeds were dispatched to Britain so that both institutes could try to germinate them", says English botanist Dave Aplin from the National Botanic Garden of Belgium. "We both reaped success."

Dave first became aware of the Brome's fragile status while preparing for a conservation meeting in Crete earlier this year. "I wanted to include some examples of extinct Belgian species in a presentation and discovered a handful of preserved seeds hidden deep in the vaults of our seed bank".

This is one of the first successes of the recently formed conservation network across Europe funded by the EU. ENSCONET was formed last November and is headed by Kew's Millennium Seed Bank team. Kew, the NBG Belgium and 17 other institutes from a dozen countries in Europe have joined forces to protect the continent's most endangered species. Working together they can reduce duplication and improve data collection and management. This will be to the advantage of the many species, such as Bromus bromoideus facing extinction.

The future of the "Brome of the Ardennes" is brighter. Seedlings are being grown at the two gardens, so fresh seeds can be collected to be conserved in the two seed banks for safety and the long-term preservation of the plant.

Although recently much increased, there are now fewer than 3,000 Bromus bromoideus seeds in the world, making this species one of the most threatened on the planet. Of the total amount of seeds discovered in the Belgium bank under a quarter were viable, so time was running out fast for this species.

The grass, formerly common in old-style hayfields around Liège and Rochefort south of Brussels, is thought to have declined dramatically from the early 1900s due to changes in farming practices.

One of Britain's own bromes has also had a torrid time, and Kew stepped in to help here too. Seed from the Millennium Seed Bank was used last summer (August 2004) in Oxfordshire in an effort to introduce this species back to the wild. Bromus interruptus grew successfully, flowered and produced sufficient seed this year to allow some to be sent back to the seed bank as a safeguard. The seed which fell naturally should germinate this autumn and help promote the resurgence of this once popular UK wild grass.

(September 2005)