Seed collections are the most compact and cost-effective method of storing a wide range of plants.
Did you know that we store over 100,000,000 seeds in our vault?
One seed packet of Juncus bufonius, a small toad rush that grows in moist and muddy places, holds over 2.3 million seeds. Several of our orchid collections, including Cymbidium suave, an epiphytic snake orchid, may hold as many as 10 million seeds! Some plants are so rare that we only have a few seeds of those species.
PlantBank seed collections at June 2019
| Total number of collections |
11,104 |
| Australian species held in collection |
5,156 |
| Number of new collections (2018-19) |
437 |
| % NSW species represented (seedbearing only, total 5929 species) |
46.20% |
| % NSW threatened species represented (from total of 623 species) |
61% |
However, not all species are suitable for seedbanking, including those that do not produce seeds or those that produce seed that cannot be dried. Tissue culture is an alternative to seedbanking for these species but it is more time-consuming and expensive and requires specialist laboratory facilities.
Plantbank tissue culture collections at March 2018
| Total number of collections (jars) |
723 |
| Number of plant species represented |
35 |
| Number of plant families represented |
18 |