NSW Seedbank

The NSW Seedbank is a facility for storing seed collected from plants throughout Australia, with a focus on NSW native species and threatened species. There are currently more than 8700 collections of fully documented wild sourced seed held in the Seedbank.

The Seedbank was established in 1986 as an integral part of Mount Annan Botanic Garden, the Australian plant garden of the Botanic Gardens Trust. Its initial role was to provide wild collected seed for the development of this new Garden, particularly the Garden’s major collections of wattles, eucalypts and plants in the family Proteaceae. These collections were generally in small quantity but covered a very wide range of species and localities.

A major upgrade of the seedbank facility in 1999 and collaboration with the Millennium Seed Bank (UK) from 2003 has ensured that high quality seed collecting, processing and research is carried out for conservation and to support the ongoing development of Mount Annan Botanic Garden.

Collections for the Seedbank also support a range of horticultural research projects, from plant breeding and horticultural development of flannel flowers and waratahs to highly specific conservation projects such as the Wollemi Pine. Click here for information on our horticultural research laboratory and our horticultural publications.

Our facilities and expertise also make it an ideal place to provide information and training for seedbanking practitioners and students (see further information and training).

SeedQuest NSW - An international partnership with the Millennium Seed Bank, SeedQuest NSW is currently the major project being undertaken by the NSW Seedbank

Collecting and Processing - Examples of how seed is collected and cleaned prior to storage

Seed Research- Examining questions of seed germination, dormancy, and longevity to increase our understanding of native seed biology

Related Projects

Regent Honeyeater Revegetation Project
Ecology of Cumberland Plain Woodland
Storage of Terrestrial Orchid Seed
Wollemi Pine Seed Research

Why seedbanking? - Our conservation role in NSW

Well sampled and documented seed collections provide a very cost effective means of conserving genetic diversity for future conservation work, and may include reintroduction into the wild. Under good storage conditions, some species may retain viability for hundreds of years.

NSW contains many biogeographical regions, supporting over 6000 vascular plant taxa. However, continued pressure on the landscape for human use has altered the native vegetation, and there are now nearly 600 threatened plant species and 81 threatened ecological communities listed under NSW state legislation. The diversity of vegetation and the need to conserve what we can, provides the impetus for the NSW Seedbank to continue collecting and storing seed as an important aspect of plant conservation. The NSW Seedbank holds collections of both threatened and non-threatened native species.

Recognising the conservation role that ex-situ seedbanking can provide, the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation has a target of 60% of threatened plant species in accessible ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and 10% of them included in recovery and restoration programmes.

Seed collection, storage and research are some of the strategies identified in the NSW Priorities Action Statement (Department of Environment and Conservation), to complement in-situ (on-site) conservation measures. Building on many years of experience in seedbanking for threatened species recovery plans, the NSW Seedbank is expected to play a key role in the implementation of ex-situ actions identified in the Priorities Action Statement. However, it is important to note that not all types of seed will survive conventional seedbanking conditions, and so other methods for conservation of these seeds must be investigated.

How is the seed used?

Seed collections entering the NSW Seedbank are collected from accurately recorded wild source locations, and are germination tested before storage. Seed is used for a number of purposes including:

Ex-situ collections held as an ‘insurance policy’ against extinction for threatened species, and where appropriate used for re-establishment in the wild
Research experiments
Routine viability testing to check if viability is being maintained over time
To provide living plants for display at Mount Annan and other BGT sites
Revegetation and expansion of natural areas at Mount Annan
Community revegetation projects and contract growing of local species

Seeds are made available for non-commercial scientific research and community revegetation projects, please contact the Manager – Natural Heritage, Mount Annan Botanic Garden, for further details.

Who looks after the Seedbank?

Peter Cuneo, Manager – Natural Heritage Project leader for SeedQuest NSW, and manages the NSW Seedbank and natural areas at Mount Annan Botanic Garden

Cathy Offord, Senior Research Scientist Manages Conservation and Horticultural Research program at Mount Annan Botanic Garden, and conducts research on seed germination and storage, as well as other plant physiology projects

Richard Johnstone, Seedbank Officer Supervises daily operations of the NSW Seedbank, and coordinates and carries out collecting trips throughout NSW

Leahwyn Seed, Seed Technology Officer (SeedQuest NSW) Responsible for germination testing, assisting with seed processing and research, and managing seedbank records and equipment

Andrew Orme, Seedbank Assistant (SeedQuest NSW) Carries out seed collecting throughout NSW, collects data including photographs and herbarium vouchers (pressed plant specimens) to accompany seed collections, and maintains seedbank records

Amelia Martyn, Seed Research Officer (SeedQuest NSW) Conducts research into the seed biology of NSW native species, specifically targeting plant groups considered difficult to germinate or store

John Siemon, Laboratory Manager, Horticultural Research Manages laboratories on site, and conducts research into storage and germination of terrestrial orchid seed and fungal symbionts

Tours of the Seedbank

Guided tours of the NSW Seedbank run for 1 hour once a month. For further information see event Tours of the NSW Seedbank in the Mount Annan Botanic Garden events calendar.

Further information and training

The NSW Seedbank provides formal and informal training in conservation seedbanking. They also host workshops presented by international seed researchers when the opportunity arises. For more information about the NSW Seedbank and upcoming workshops please contact the Manager – Natural Heritage, Mount Annan Botanic Garden. Phone: +61 2 4634 7915.

>> Download the NSW Seedbank brochure