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Seeds of Success USA: Native Plant Materials for Conservation and Restoration

Coast of San Diego County, California, from where MSB seed collections have been made

Seeds of Success USA was established by RBG Kew and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 2001 to coordinate seed collection of native plant populations in the United States for conservation of native plant species and for habitat restoration. Seed collecting is undertaken by a range of staff, students and volunteers from federal and non-governmental organisations. Seeds of Success USA is described at http://www.nps.gov/plants/sos/.

The project aims are met through the following actions:

• Overall coordination of project and the selection of target species by the umbrella body for plant conservation in the USA, the Plant Conservation Alliance (PCA)
• Seed collection, herbarium specimen and field data quality assurance by RBG Kew through training of seed collectors and analysis of collection quality
• Seed collecting, processing and associated research undertaken by BLM and other regional partners Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (LBJWC), Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG), Zoological Society of San Diego (ZSSD), North Carolina Botanic Garden (NCBG) and New England Wildflower Society (NEWFS)
• Long term storage of seed in local, national and international seed banks, and provision of data and duplicate herbarium specimens to participating herbaria
• Providing samples of seed to native plant nurseries, for research and further seed production.  At November 2005, 615 seed samples have been provided to USDA western plant introduction station for this purpose.

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