Adopt a Seed, Save a Species

Adopt a seed from Cardiospermum halicababum

Originating from Tropical America, Cardiospermum halicacabum is a deciduous vine growing up to 3 m long. Inflated seed capsules give it the common names ‘love in a puff’ or ‘balloon vine’. The capsules have three compartments, each containing a single black seed. The seed is fixed by a small attachment, which breaks leaving behind a white heart shaped mark on the seed. Every part of this plant has medicinal properties and can be used for the treatment of ailments including rheumatism and snakebites!

Adopt a seed from the snow protea

This protea is confined to a 25km long strip along the snow line of the Cederberg mountains of South Africa. Sadly, as the climate warms the snow belt is receding and heavy snowfalls, which the species needs to trigger flowering, are becoming less frequent. Read more about this plant.

Adopt a Seed from Solanum tomentosum

Solanum tomentosum is a wild relative of aubergine with bright orange berries. It is endemic to South Africa, growing in grassy or rocky areas on hillsides, river beds, coastal bush or roadsides. The collection held in the MSB comes from the Eastern Cape region and was collected by MSB Partners the South African National Biodiversity Institute in 2005. Although most Solanum species are found in the Americas, around 20% are Old World species, and it is this group which comprises the origin of the aubergine. This group offers useful traits for breeding with the cultivated aubergine, and many species contain valuable medicinal compounds.

Adopt a seed from the round-leaved sundew

The round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) is one of Britain’s three native carnivorous plants. Its leaves are covered in sticky red ‘tentacles’, which not only give the plant its common name but also trap insects. Read more about this insect eating plant.

Adopt a seed from the shining nematolepis

Shining nematolepis was confined to a single population in the catchment of the Yarra river, east of Melbourne, Australia. After widespread bush fires, the species became extinct in the wild, however, banked seed from rescued plants will be used to propagate additional specimens. Read more about this rare plant.

Adopt a seed from the African violet tree

With its eye-catching flowers and scent, the African violet tree is threatened in Mali because of uncontrolled harvesting for use in local medicine, as well as by periodic droughts and bushfires. Read more about this rare species.

Adopt a seed from the 'Glory of the Sun'

The genus Leucocoryne is a group of bulb-forming plants native to Chile, which have commonly been called ‘glory of the sun’ since the 1920s when plant collector Clarence Elliot coined the phrase. Read more about this plant.

Adopt a seed from the Falklands snakeplant

Snakeplant (Nassauvia serpens) is one of 13 species thought to be unique to the Falkland Islands. Read more about this unusual plant.

Adopt a seed from the sword plant

Sword plant (Gladiolus dzhavakheticus) is unique to the Caucasus mountains of Georgia and Armenia, where it is found in sub-alpine hay meadows. Numbers are being reduced by the uprooting of the plants for their edible corms or picking for cut flowers. Read more about this endangered plant.

Adopt a seed from the sausage tree

This tree is found across tropical Africa, growing up to 20-25 m high. It produces hard, long, gourd-like fruits – giving it the common name sausage tree. Read more about this unusual tree.

Adopt a seed from the glossy-leaved gardenia

This gardenia tree, about 1.5-2 m tall, with smooth bark, has white flowers which later turn golden yellow and its oblong fruits are hard and woody. Read more about this rare tree.

Adopt a seed from the Plymouth pear

A wild relative of the domestic pear tree, Plymouth pear (Pyrus cordata) rarely bears small brownish-red fruits which produce very little viable seed, making this tree one of Britain’s rarest. Currently this species survives in just two wild hedgerows. Read more about this rare tree.

Adopt a seed from the Madagascan wing-fruited coffee

Madagascan wing-fruited coffee (Coffea pterocarpa) was discovered on a Kew expedition to Madagascar in 2000 and is one of the most bizarre-looking species of coffee, owing to its yellow winged fruits. Read more about this unique plant species.

Adopt a seed from the golden rain orchid

This small-flowered dwarf orchid is found in Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia and reaches about 12–15 cm in height. Read more about this plant.

Adopt a seed from the Yunnan banana

Yunnan banana (Musa itinerans) was the 24,200th plant species saved at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, marking the banking of 10% of the world’s wild plant species. Read more about this wild plant.