Press Release

Germinating History: 200 year old seeds spring to life

Germinating History: 200 year old seeds spring to life

Against all expectations, seed scientists from the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's garden in West Sussex, have germinated 200–year–old seeds discovered in The National Archives – now growing into vigorous young plants.

Botanists at Kew Gardens are used to planting seeds and letting them grow, but never before has the team been asked to use seeds that date back 200 years. This is just what happened, however, when Roelof van Gelder, a guest researcher from the Royal Dutch Library, found 32 different species of seeds in 40 small packets stored in a red leather-bound notebook within files held at The National Archives.

The notebook was inscribed with the name Jan Teerlink, a Dutch merchant who is believed to have collected the seeds during a trip to the Cape of Good Hope in 1803. Germination was going to be tricky but not impossible once colleagues from the Millennium Seed Bank were called in to help.

A few seeds from each of the 32 species were sent to the Millennium Seed Bank. Now three of the 32 species have germinated and the ancient specimens are growing into healthy, vigorous young plants in the glasshouses at Wakehurst Place.

‘This is a fantastic result,' said seed ecologist Matt Daws. ‘The seed was so old and had been stored in some dubious conditions, including a ship and the Tower of London. We really did not expect to get anything.'

Alistair Hanson, an early modern specialist at The National Archives, said ‘This is an exciting discovery and a testament to the hard work that goes into preserving the files at The National Archives. To be able not only to discover these seeds, but also to germinate them helps to bring history to life – literally. I will be keeping my eye on the seeds' developments over the coming months and years”.

The first seeds to germinate belonged to the legume Liparia villosa. Of the 25 seeds Daws planted, 16 sprouted. The second was labelled Protea conocarpa on the original packet, although Kew's scientists have now identified it as almost certainly a species of Leucospermum, which is of the Proteaceae family. Just one out of eight seeds of this species germinated.

The exact identity of the last of the trio remains a mystery, although the team know it to be a second legume, this time an Acacia. ‘We'll have to wait until it flowers to find out what species it is,' says Matthew. ‘If it's a tree, we may have a long wait.' This sample consisted of just two seeds. One germinated and is now half a metre tall. The second failed, and microscopic examination revealed old insect damage.

For Kew's scientists, this project has been of more than historical interest. ‘According to models of seed survival, even the toughest cereal seeds should have died after so long in such condition', says Matt. ‘If seed can survive that long in poor conditions, then that's good news for those in the Millennium Seed Bank stored under ideal conditions.'

The seeds were carbon dated by Kew's science team to verify their age and Matt's colleagues are now extracting DNA from live and dead seeds to complete the study.

Ends

Further Information

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Please contact Anna Quenby, Lauren Bird or Oliver Basciano in the RBG Kew Press Office, telephone 020 8332 5607, e-mail pr@kew.org. www.kew.org.

The National Archives

Please contact Tim Matthews at The National Archives, Press Office, telephone 020 8392 5277, e-mail tim.matthews@nationalarchives.gov.uk www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

High resolution images can be downloaded from www.kew.org/press/images. Please contact the RBG Kew Press Office for a password.

Notes to Editors

History

Archive research shows that Jan Teerlink was aboard the Prussian ship Henriette heading back from Java and China with a cargo of tea and silk. As a merchant, just what Teerlink's intention for the seeds was is not known. The seeds' journey from his possession to modern laboratory is a long and winding one. The Henriette was captured by the British navy midway through its journey and, as was routine, all the documents were seized and passed on to the High Court of Admiralty. The notebook was then passed from the Admiralty to The National Archives, but not before being stored in the Tower of London. After The National Archives' move to Kew, Teerlink's notebook lay undisturbed for some time before being discovered during the current cataloguing improvements being undertaken by the curators there.

Germination Process

The Cape region of South Africa – where the seeds started their tumultuous history – is a ‘Mediterranean' environment with cool wet winters and hot dry summers. Fires are a regular feature to this environment and for many species either the heat from the fire or chemicals in the smoke are important signals that ‘tell' seeds that they are in a suitable site for germination i.e. all the existing, competing vegetation is gone. To germinate the seeds, scientists at the Millennium Seed Bank tried to simulate their native conditions by ‘chipping' the seed coats of the species that respond to heat – this allows the seeds to take up water and germinate. For the other species they applied a ‘smoke' treatment which was provided by Dr. Neville Brown from Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens, Cape Town . Smoke is bubbled through water that is then used as a germination treatment. Seeds were also germinated at comparatively cool temperatures to simulate the winter conditions that cause the seeds to naturally germinate.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and represents over 250 years of historical landscape. Wakehurst Place in West Sussex is also managed by RBG Kew and provides a further 188 hectares of gardens, woodland, nature reserve and a site of special scientific interest as well as being the home of the Millennium Seedbank. For further information please visit www.kew.org.

Millennium Seed Bank

The world's greatest concentration of plant life is cared for in the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst Place. The vaults now hold 950 million seeds representing 15,000 species from 126 countries. Stored at minus 20 degrees Celsius in a 100 meter square vault, most will last for more than 200 years. Seeds from 96% of the UK 's flowering plant species are already in the bank. Work continues with partners around the world to collect seed for future safeguarding, restoration and research.

The National Archives

The National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, based at Kew, west London, is a government department; it is also an executive agency of the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. Its 550 staff work in Kew or at the Family Records Centre in Islington. The National Archives leads on records management policy with government, and provides access to government records on its two sites and through digital resources available online. The National Archives also oversees information and archive management across the UK, setting standards and providing advice and support to raise the standards of information management. The vision of the National Archives is to:

Lead and transform information management

Guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow

Bring history to life for everyone

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