Seeds from 'Self-destructive' Palm Arrive at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank

Seeds from a rare new genus and species of palm tree have arrived at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew's Millennium Seed Bank. Botanists at RBG Kew announced the discovery of Tahina spectabilis, made in Madagascar, in January this year.

Around 1000 grape-sized seeds, harvested by local villagers in collaboration with the Kew team, arrived at the Millennium Seed Bank earlier this week. And the bizarre lifecycle of Tahina spectabilis – it is thought it grows for up to 50 years, flowers spectacularly once in its lifetime, then dies – means there may not be an opportunity to harvest more seeds from the 100 or so individuals that exist on the island for many years to come.

Scientists at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank are testing the seeds for their tolerance to extreme cold and desiccation – seeds are dried out before they are placed in the Seed Bank’s storage vaults at -20°C. They will also be studied to learn how long it takes the seeds to germinate and last in these storage conditions.

As Tahina spectabilis is entirely new to science, this biological information is vital to increasing knowledge of the palm and understanding of how best to conserve it.

"With less than a hundred of these palms in the wild, and the fact that they flower so rarely, the race is on to learn as much as possible, and as quickly as possible, about this spectacular new species," said Moctar Sacande, who heads up Kew's Seed Bank work in Madagascar.

"Not only is our science team at the Seed Bank studying the seeds to assess whether or not we can bank them, but we have also sent seeds to 11 botanical gardens around the world, where we hope the palm will thrive. Ensuring that seeds aren’t kept under lock and key and conserved in living collections is an essential part of the Millennium Seed Bank’s conservation approach," he added.

Seeds have been sent to gardens in countries including the United States, Spain, Australia, South Africa, Singapore and Indonesia. Palm experts at Kew are also propagating the seeds for research and public display in the Gardens.

Find out more about Tahina spectabilis

(February 2008)