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Rainforest Seeds

From the smallest to the largest seeds in the world, rainforests contain an amazing array of seeds and fruit in a variety of colours, shapes, and sizes.

Collecting rainforest seeds requires careful planning and the right equipment. Once the seeds are returned to the laboratory, the collections usually need to be cleaned to separate off any unwanted material such as flesh, leaves, twigs and abnormal seeds. Rainforest seeds often need to be handled in a different manner to seeds from drier habitats and this must be considered at all stages of collection, processing and storage.

Collection

Collecting seed from rainforest plants has a number of challenges, from timing field trips to coincide with fruiting to handling the delicate seed collections prior to their return to the lab.

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Processing

Post-collection processing removes seeds from fleshy fruits or hard capsules. This ensures we have a good quality, clean collection that is ready for research, transport or storage. 

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Rainforest and Dryland Seeds

Rainforests are not naturally dry habitats and rainforest seeds are often not used to drying out. This can make seed storage difficult so we optimise storage conditions for each species.

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