Processing - cleaning and testing the seeds
1. Assessment of likely seed storage characteristics
2. Seed cleaning
3. Visual check on the quality of the collection
4. Seed quantity determination
5. Drying
6. Packaging
A fully dried collection of Magonia pubescens is poured into a series of parfait jars.
A variety of different containers are used to keep seeds dry within the cold rooms of the Millennium Seed Bank.
The seed is packaged into airtight containers within the drying room and then transferred to the cold rooms (-20°C) for long-term storage. Collections that are infrequently accessed are double packaged with silica gel indicator (previously equilibrated with the dry room conditions) to test for leakage into each level of packaging. All collections are carefully labelled with moisture-proof labels.
