DonateSeed Bank
Preventing Extinction & Saving for the Future
From Field to Freezer
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Conservation Seed Bank is an insurance policy against extinction, providing a genetic backup for rare plant populations ranging from northern California to Baja California, Mexico. Our Rare Plant Conservation Team spends the spring and summer doing fieldwork searching for rare plants in need of protection across the state, eventually collecting seeds for long-term conservation storage. After the seeds are collected from wild plant populations, they are brought back to the Garden for processing and then dried to 35% relative humidity to slow down metabolic rates and prevent ice crystals from forming during freezing. The seeds are frozen at -4°F to put them into a cryogenic slumber until our scientists are ready to use them for restoration or research.
A portion of each seed collection is sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NLGRP) in Fort Collins, Colorado, as a backup in case of a catastrophe.
Scenes from the Field
Heather Schneider, Ph.D., Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s rare plant biologist, collecting data along the Kings River in Sequoia National Forest
Hubby’s phacelia (Phacelia hubbyi, CNPS 4.2) is a rare annual wildflower that grows in chaparral and grasslands from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles County. This year, the Garden’s Rare Plant Conservation Team made the first-ever conservation seed collection for this species in Los Padres National Forest.
The portion of Sierra National Forest where the Shuteye Peak fawn lily (Erythronium pluriflorum, CNPS 1B.3) grows was burned by the Creek Fire in 2020. In 2021, the beautiful yellow blooms offered a stark contrast to the blackened landscape where seeds were eventually collected for long-term conservation for the first time.
Pismo clarkia (Clarkia speciosa ssp. immaculata, federally endangered, California rare, CNPS 1B.1) is a rare wildflower that only occurs in San Luis Obispo County. In partnership with the California Invasive Plant Council, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Rare Plant Conservation Team is working to understand how invasive plants might impact the long-term persistence of this plant and to develop management recommendations for safeguarding wild populations. This year, conservation seed collections were made at four sites, one of which was banked for the first time.
Hours of technical four-wheel driving up steep slopes and rocky terrain in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest were required to access populations of Mt. Patterson senecio (Senecio pattersonensis, CNPS 1B.3) growing on open talus slopes and fell-fields. At nearly 11,000 feet (3,352 meters) in elevation, this population represents the highest point at which Santa Barbara Botanic Garden collected seeds. Our 2021 collection represents the first time that this unique species has ever been seed banked.
Gambel’s watercress (Nasturtium gambelii, federally endangered, California threatened, CNPS 1B.1) is one of the rarest plants in California. All that remains of this imperiled wetland species is a single genetically pure population on Vandenberg Space Force Base. Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is working with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to understand, protect and restore this species by conducting greenhouse research and saving seeds in our Conservation Seed Bank. Our long-term goal is to propagate enough plants to establish new populations of Gambel’s watercress at suitable sites along the central coast.
Coast wallflower (Erysimum ammophilum, CNPS 1B.2) was first seed banked in 2018 at Fort Ord Dunes State Park by Heather Schneider, Ph.D., Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s rare plant biologist. In 2021, she made another conservation seed collection of this species on Santa Rosa Island, expanding the geographic diversity represented in the Garden’s Conservation Seed Bank.
>2,000,000
The Seed Bank currently houses more than 2,000,000 seeds representing 288 different rare plant species across California and into Baja California, Mexico.
1985
The oldest collection in the Seed Bank is Nipomo lupine (Lupinus nipomensis), a small wildflower that grows in sand dunes, collected in 1985.
10,761 Feet
Patterson’s senecio (Senecio pattersonensis, CNPS 1B.3) was collected in rocky fell-fields near the summit of Mount Patterson in Mono County at 10,761 feet (3279 meters) and is the collection representing the highest elevation in the Seed Bank.
The Seed Bank Is a Living Collection
Small but Mighty
Despite their diminutive stature, seeds contain all the information necessary to produce entire plants, from the tiniest monkeyflower (such as Diplacus vandenbergensis) to the towering coast redwood (Sequioa sempervirens). Put simply, seeds are future plants that have not yet germinated. Thus, the Seed Bank is a living collection that requires long-term curation and stewardship.
Seeds are periodically removed from the Seed Bank and germinated to test their viability and determine when collections need to be replenished. Plants grown from these tests can be added to the Garden’s Living Collection for both the enjoyment of the public and the long-term conservation of these rare and important plant species.
Forked Fiddleneck (Amsinckia furcata var.)
Purple amole (Chlorogalum purpureum var. purpureum)
California jewelflower (Caulanthus californicus)
Tejon poppy (Eschscholzia lemmonii ssp. kernensis)
A new lomatium (Lomatium sp. nov.) documented on Bald Mountain
Salt Marsh bird’s beak (Chloropyron maritimum ssp. maritimum) is a rare, wetland plant.
Soft-leaved paintbrush (Castilleja mollis) is endemic to the Channel Islands of California, where it is currently known only from Santa Rosa Island.
Heterostylous flowers of mesa fiddleneck (Amsinckia spectabilis var. microcarpa), an endemic of California’s central coast
Highlights of the Collection
California’s Rare Plants & Channel Island Endemics
Home to more than 6,500 different kinds of native plants, California is a biodiversity hot spot, and its biodiversity is unique and important on a global level. As a regional conservation hub, the Garden’s Rare Plant Conservation Team has brought dozens of rare plants into conservation seed collections for the first time. In many cases, the collections at the Garden represent the only inventory of these rare plants anywhere in the world.
California’s Channel Islands are a hot spot within a hot spot, with nearly 10% of the species on the islands living nowhere else in the world. The Garden is the official seed bank of Channel Islands National Park and engages with partners ranging from the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy to the U.S. Navy to bring rare plants of the Channel Islands into the Seed Bank, which is recognized as a regional seed bank by the Center for Plant Conservation.
Stronger Together
Partnerships Across the State
The Garden is a founding member of California Plant Rescue (CaPR), a statewide collaboration between botanic gardens and other nonprofits to conserve California’s rare plants. The focus of the collaboration is securing rare plant diversity in conservation seed banks and living collections at botanic gardens, but the partners also engage in conservation and research activities that span from genes to ecosystems.
In 2018, then-Gov. Jerry Brown launched the California Biodiversity Initiative, aimed at securing the future of California’s natural biodiversity. The first budget item approved in that initiative was $3.6 million to leverage the expertise and infrastructure of CaPR member institutions to bring California’s rarest plants into conservation seed bank collections. This funding has allowed the Garden to expand our reach across the state and facilitated work from the Channel Islands to the Nevada border, bringing new rare plant species into conservation each year.
Secure the Future of California’s Rare Plants
Volunteer in Our Seed Bank
Cleaning seeds is a meditative activity perfect for anyone looking to make an immediate impact on California plant conservation.
Meet the Team
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Director of Conservation and Research -
Senior Rare Plant Conservation Scientist -
Isabela Lima Borges, Ph.D.Rare Plant Conservation Scientist -
Manuel HernandezRare Plant Nursery Technician -
Rare Plant Field Program Manager -
Rare Plant Technician
Contact the Seed Bank
If you have a restoration project that includes rare plants, we may be able to help. Our seeds are meant to be used but must be requested by authorized parties with the proper permits.
Please contact our Rare Plant Conservation Team with specific questions or requests related to the Seed Bank.