Native Plant Trust

Banking Seeds

Saving the Seeds of New England's Rare Plants

Conserving biodiversity for the future

Today, 17 percent of New England's native plant species are on the brink of being lost—and another 5 percent have already disappeared from the region. With threats to our native plants accelerating, seed banking is a critical strategy for ensuring the preservation of genetic diversity and for potentially reintroducing species to the wild. Our goal is to collect and preserve seeds from most populations of the 389 globally and regionally rare species in New England in accord with the goals of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.

Native Plant Trust uses ex situ seed banking to help conserve the rare flora of New England. Ex situ seed banks are collections of seeds gathered sustainably in the wild (in situ) and stored under environmentally regulated conditions to maximize their longevity. The seed bank, an initiative of the New England Plant Conservation Program (NEPCoP), has been receiving and storing seeds collected by Native Plant staff and member organizations since the late 1980s. As of 2024, the seed bank houses more than 200,000 seeds representing close to 500 unique plant taxa. These banked collections serve as a safeguard against the decline or extirpation of rare plants in situ, in which case we can withdraw seeds and propagate them to augment or reestablish the population.

Read an article in the New York Times about how a Vermont botanist recently used our seed bank.

To ask about how to donate seeds or get involved with our seed bank, please contact Seed Technician Kate Wellspring or Director of Conservation Michael Piantedosi.

More about Our Seed Bank

Priorities, protocols, and how to contribute or request seeds

Adlumia fungosa - Neela de Zoysa

Which Plants Come First?

We compiled Flora Conservanda, the list of plants in need of conservation in our region, to guide prioritization of plant taxa for seed collection.

Download Flora Conservanda