Seed banking is an important ex situ conservation means of rare and threatened flora and the NTBG Seed Bank and Laboratory currently includes over 17 million seeds representing 533 native Hawaiian taxa (923 total taxa, ecotypes and cultivars), which are routinely checked for viability. The seeds are either collected by NTBGs field botanists or deposited by State departments and collaborating institutions.
The emphasis of the Seed Lab is determining seed and pollen storage behavior, seed longevity, seed borne pathogen abatement, and seed dormancy and dormancy alleviation of native Hawaiian plant species of conservation importance. Our research aims to understand how seeds respond to desiccation and subfreezing temperatures, identifying regeneration intervals, and determining optimal seed propagation techniques. To help secure Hawai‘i’s foundational ‘ōhi‘a trees (Metrosideros species), which are now threatened by fungi causing Rapid Ohia Disease (ROD), the Seed Bank has been collecting and now holds over 6.4 million ‘ōhi‘a seeds with an additional 2.4 million seeds backed up at partner institutions.
In addition, we are using more than 30 years of occurrence, distribution and viability data associated with the collections to understand more about the health of Hawai‘i’s flora and rare plants, which can be used to prioritize and improve collecting and conservation efforts.
Examples of recent scientific publications from NTBGs Seed Bank and Laboratory:
Walsh, S.K., Wolkis, D., Maunder M. (2024) Plant Conservation. In: Scheiner, S.M. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Biodiversity 3rd Edition. Elsevier, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-822562-2.00339-X
Saling, E. and Wolkis, D. (2023). Viability of ‘ōhai Sesbania tomentosa seeds after 3 decades of ambient conditions. Oryx – The International Journal of Conservation, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605323001461.
Walsh, S.K., Wolkis, D., Abbriano, R.M., Barton, K.E. (2023). Variability in seed salinity tolerance in an island coastal community, Annals of Botany, mcad129, https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcad129
Hay, F.R., Rezaei, S., Wolkis, D., Mcgill, C., (2023). Determination and control of seed moisture. Seed Science and Technology, 51, 267–285. https://doi.org/10.15258/sst.2023.51.2.11
Wolkis, D., Saling, E., Baskin, C.C., Baskin, J.M. (2023). Seed dormancy and storage behavior of the Hawaiian endemic Coprosma kauensis (Rubiaceae). Pacific Conservation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC22049
Wolkis, D., Baskin, C.C., Baskin, J.M., Rønsted, N. (2022). Seed dormancy and germination of the endangered exceptional Hawaiian lobelioid Brighamia rockii. Applications in Plant Science, e11492. https://doi.org/10.1002/aps3.11492
Hay, F.R., R.M. Davies, J.B. Dickie, D.J. Merritt, and D. Wolkis. (2022). More on seed longevity phenotyping. Seed Science Research: 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960258522000034
Wolkis D, Walsh SK, Barnes CJ, Stacy EA, Rønsted N. (2022). Variation in germination traits inform conservation planning of Hawaiʻi’s foundational ‘Ōhiʻa trees. Journal of Sustainable Forestry, https://doi.org/10.1080/10549811.2021.1999272
Wolkis D, Jones K, Flynn T, DeMotta M, Rønsted N. (2021). Germination of seeds from herbarium specimens as a last conservation resort for resurrecting extinct or critically endangered Hawaiian plants. Conservation Science and Practice, e576. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.576
Wolkis D, Blackwell S, Villanueva SK (2020). Conservation seed physiology of the ciénega endemic, Eryngium sparganophyllum (Apiaceae). Conservation Physiology, 8:1, coaa17.
https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa017.
Jensen SM, Wolkis D, Keshtkar E, Streibig JC, Ritz C. (2020). Improved two-step analysis of germination data from complex experimental designs. Seed Science Research 30(3): 194-198. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960258520000331
Baskin C, Baskin J, Yoshinaga A, Wolkis D (2020). Seed dormancy in Campanulaceae: morphological and morphophysiological dormancy in six species of Hawaiian lobelioids. Botany, 0:ja. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjb-2020-0009
Baskin CC, Baskin JM, Yoshinaga A, Wolkis D. (2020). Physiological dormancy in seeds of tropical montane woody species in Hawai`i. Plant Species Biology 36(1), 60-71. https://doi.org/10.1111/1442-1984.12295
Bernard J, Brock KC, Tonnell V, Walsh S, Wenger JP, Wolkis D, Weiblen GD. (2020). New species assemblages disrupt obligatory mutualisms between figs and their pollinators. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8, 406. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.564653
Chau M, Chambers T, Weisenberger L, Keir M, Kroessig TI, Wolkis D, Kam R, Yoshinaga AY. (2019). Seed freeze sensitivity and ex situ longevity of 295 species in the native Hawaiian flora. American Journal of Botany 106(9): 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1351
Wolkis, D., Deans, S. (2019). Picking from the past in preparation for a pest: assessing the potential for herbaria to serve as novel sources for ʻōhiʻa seed preservation. Biopreservation and Biobanking 17(6) 583-590.
https://doi.org/10.1089/bio.2019.0044
Wolkis D and Walsh SK. (2018). Dormancy and germination of two Kaua’i endemic Hibiscus taxa. Seed Science and Technology 46: 267Á274.
https://doi.org/10.15258/sst.2018.46.2.08
Wolkis D, Baskin CC, Baskin JM. (2018). Dormancy‐breaking and germination requirements of seeds of the Hawaiian endemic Dianella sandwicensis (Xanthorrhoeaceae). Australian Journal of Botany 66: 213Á217. https://doi.org/10.1071/BT17214
To learn more about our collections browse these pages. Some of our underlying databases are public. Access to the herbarium and library collections in the Juliet Rice Wichman Botanical Research Center for scientific or education purposes can be arranged. See contact information under each collection.
Public tours of NTBGs five gardens can be booked online. The Behind the Scenes tour, South Shore Kauai includes the nursery and botanical research center.
