Grass back from the brink

10 January 2006

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One of the rarest plants on Earth

One of the world's rarest and most threatened plants has been brought back from the brink of extinction in a collaborative effort between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium.

According to www.rbgkew.org.uk, the grass "Brome of the Ardennes" from Belgium was, until recently, thought to be extinct. Now the grass, not seen in over 70 years in its native Ardennes, has been given the 'kiss of life' thanks to joint work by staff at the two botanic gardens.

Now fresh, green shoots of this grass are emerging in Britain and Belgium from recently discovered seeds from the National Botanic Garden, Belgium. The plant has a new hope of survival.

"This species was thought to be extinct and illustrates the key role that Botanic gardens play in the survival of many plants", says Simon Linington, head of curation at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank. "This is a good example of how modern seed banking is a vital tool for conservation, and can complement work to conserve plants where they grow in the wild."

In a plea for help, and for fear of putting all their eggs in one basket, so to speak, the Belgians called on their European conservation partners at Kew for help.

This is one of the first successes of the recently formed conservation network across Europe funded by the EU. ENSCONET was formed last November and is headed by Kew's Millennium Seed Bank team. Kew, the NBG Belgium and 17 other institutes from a dozen countries in Europe have joined forces to protect the continent's most endangered species. Working together they can reduce duplication and improve data collection and management. This will be to the advantage of the many plants, such as Bromus bromoideus facing extinction.

The future of the "Brome of the Ardennes" is brighter. Seedlings are being grown at the two gardens so fresh seeds can be collected to be conserved in the two seed banks for safety and the long-term preservation of the plant.

There are now fewer than 3,000 Bromus bromoideus seeds left in the world, making this species one of the most threatened on the planet. Of the total amount of seeds discovered in the Belgium bank under a quarter were viable, so time was running out fast for this species.

The grass, formerly common in old-style hayfields around Liège and Rochefort south of Brussels, is thought to have declined dramatically from the early 1900s due to changes in farming practices.

One of Britain's own bromes has also had a torrid time, and Kew stepped in to help here too. Seed from the Millennium Seed Bank was used last summer (August 2004) in Oxfordshire in an effort to introduce this species back to the wild. Bromus interruptus grew successfully, flowered and produced sufficient seed this year to allow some to be sent back to the seed bank as a safeguard. The seed which fell naturally should germinate this autumn and help promote the resurgence of this once popular UK wild grass.