The plant resource library at the Hangzhou Botanical Garden in east China's Zhejiang Province has continued its rapid growth as it recently welcomes its 2,000th seed species, the woody-fruit melliodendron.
After being cleaned and picked, the seeds were sent to the resource library, also known as a seed bank, where they are immediately put into a drying room.
According to staff, the seeds will be stored at a temperature of four degrees Celsius for a short time after the drying process. The seeds will then hibernate for a long time at a temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius once they are sealed in jars.
The Hangzhou Botanical Garden also hosts some extremely rare seeds, including the seeds of the only Putuo hornbeam tree in the world. which come from Mount Putuo, an island southeast of Shanghai.
The seed bank provides an effective way to collect endangered seeds and protect plants' genetic diversity. The Hangzhou Botanical Garden expects to build the largest seed resource in east China in the future.
