uair01
Antediluvian
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2005
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- 5,447
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- The Netherlands
Of a list of 361 extinct plant species, specimens containing fruits with ripe seeds were searched in 61 herbaria, including Naturalis' collections. Of 161 species (45 percent), one or more specimens with seeds were found. Thus, there are at least 161 extinct plant species for which seeds still exist and can potentially be revived. Very little is usually known about these species themselves; they were already rare and were often collected only once or twice in the distant past. Such as Achyranthes mangarevica, a distant relative of spinach and beet, known only from a cliff on a Pacific island. And Lepidium remyi, a relative of garden cress that grew on an island in Hawaii and was last collected 170 years ago.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
https://www.naturetoday.com/intl/nl/nature-reports/message/?msg=30207
Still, sowing the seeds of these plants will not be so simple. Not only are most of them very old, but herbaria are not set up to keep seeds alive. Indeed, most herbaria take all sorts of measures to kill unwanted organisms, such as museum beetles that prey on the dried flowers. In the past, Dutch herbaria have protected their plants by poisoning them with mercury, and in recent decades by freezing the material. Tropical seeds, in particular, are very resistant to frost, and many of the top 50 species are tropical. Possibly these conservation measures have actually killed the last chance of reviving these extinct species. But who knows what new techniques science still has in store.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
https://www.naturetoday.com/intl/nl/nature-reports/message/?msg=30207
Still, sowing the seeds of these plants will not be so simple. Not only are most of them very old, but herbaria are not set up to keep seeds alive. Indeed, most herbaria take all sorts of measures to kill unwanted organisms, such as museum beetles that prey on the dried flowers. In the past, Dutch herbaria have protected their plants by poisoning them with mercury, and in recent decades by freezing the material. Tropical seeds, in particular, are very resistant to frost, and many of the top 50 species are tropical. Possibly these conservation measures have actually killed the last chance of reviving these extinct species. But who knows what new techniques science still has in store.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)