Britain's "Noah's Ark" for plants has just collected its billionth seed. The Millennium Seed Bank will present the seed, from an African bamboo, to Chancellor Gordon Brown, as it seeks funds to continue operating after 2010. Part of the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) at Kew, the bank already stores material from 18,000 species, some of which have become extinct in the wild. Seed banks are seen as an essential part of plans to curb the rapid loss of biodiversity, in Britain and worldwide. By 2010, Kew plans to have amassed seeds from 30,000 species, representing 10% of the world's plants. "Now we're starting to think about where we go beyond 2010," the project's head, Paul Smith, told the BBC News website. "And we want to get to 25% of species stored away by 2020. If policymakers are serious about funding adaptation to climate change, seed banks are a key part of that."

Seeds are collected by Kew's partner organisations around the world and sent to the RBG site at Wakehurst Place in Sussex. They come from all over the globe, although British varieties are particularly well represented, with seeds from 88% of its native flora sequestered away. Most of the seeds can be preserved by careful drying, after which they are stored at minus 20C. A few need more specialised, tailor-made treatment.

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