Ancient Plants Among Us!

Photo credit: Elly Vaes 200 year-old seeds were found in the notebook of a Dutch merchant.

Nature is not what it used to be. If we were able to take a glimpse at what the world was like hundreds or thousands of years ago, we would find different species of plants and animals that no longer exist today. It may seem impossible that we could ever witness this extinct life again, but scientists have recently been able to sprout old seeds that have thrived into plants.

At the Millenium Seed Bank of Kew Gardens in London, scientists announced this week that they have successfully germinated 200 year old seeds. A researcher at the National Archives in Britain had found the seeds while examining the notebook of Jan Teerlink, a Dutch merchant who brought them back from a voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa in 1803.

Out of the 32 species found in tiny packages in the book, three species are now developing into plants. Liparia villosa, a shrub-like plant, is now 10 cm tall and two other unidentified species - one a type of acacia tree and one a flowering protea plant are also growing well. The acacia plant was a particular challenge since there were only two seeds, one of which had been partially eaten by an insect.

Photo credit: Elly Vaes Ancient plant: This Liparia villosa plant grown from seeds 200 years old is now 10 cm tall.

Sprouting old seeds is especially difficult because of all the conditions they have been exposed to over the years. To increase their chance of success, the scientists tried to replicate the natural conditions that the seeds would have been exposed to. In this case, the Cape region is subject to lots of fires which trigger seeds to germinate, and so the scientists stood over some seeds with bubbling smoke while removing the outer coating of others.