29 October 2025
5 min read
The seeds in the Millennium Seed Bank you can help save today
Help support the vitally important work protecting the world’s most threatened plants by adopting a seed with Kew.
If you’ve been listening to the latest series of Kew’s podcast, Unearthed: The need for seeds, you’ll have heard Cate Blanchett collecting seeds and learning how they are cleaned, dried and stored in the vaults of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at Wakehurst.
If you’ve been inspired by the MSB’s nature-saving mission, you’ll be excited to hear you can be part of the world's most important conservation project.
By adopting a seed, you’re making a £25 donation to support the work of the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, Sussex. You’re not only helping to protect threatened plants, but also supporting our cutting-edge global biodiversity research.
Whether a treat for yourself or the perfect gift for the plant lover in your life, discover the seeds available to adopt today.
Love in a puff (Cardiospermum halicacabum)
The perfect gift for the loved one in your life, love in a puff is instantly recognisable for its small seeds decorated with heart shaped patterns.
These distinctive seeds develop in capsules that resemble tiny green balloons or lanterns, which is why the species is also known as the balloon vine.
If they weren’t already romantic enough, the scientific name of love in a puff, Cardiospermum, literally translates as “heart seed”.
First banked in the MSB in 1994, Kew now has over 20 seed collections of Love in a puff, helping preserve this remarkable plant in a changing climate.
Snow protea (Protea cryophila)
Do you love all things winter? Then the snow protea is the seed for you.
When a snow protea’s flowers appear, they take a full year to open, and individual plants rarely have more than three or four flowers, despite reaching up to seventy years of age.
This alpine, whose scientific name means "lover of ice", grows wild on just a few rocky ledges and scree slopes in South Africa’s Cederberg Mountains, where it withstands impressive weather extremes.
Frequent fires and the effects of climate change mean the snow protea is at risk of extinction. We've banked its seeds in the MSB to help protect it for the future.
Large Christmas bell (Blandfordia grandiflora)
Looking for the perfect Christmas present? Maybe the ideal gift for a Secret Santa? Why not try a festive Christmas bell?
These clusters of red, bell-shaped flowers with yellow tips grow wild in swampy areas on the east coast of Australia, blooming around Christmas.
They’re popular cultivated in gardens, where their nectar attracts birds, and sometimes kangaroos and wallabies! However, their popularity as a cut flower has left them extinct in some areas. Kew is working to protect them by securing their seeds in the MSB.
Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
What could be more iconic than adopting a seed of one of the biggest trees in the world?
The giant sequoia, also known as the giant redwood, is by volume the largest tree in the world and can live for over 3,000 years.
While most wild giant redwoods live in protected U.S. National Parks, the species is classified as endangered due to over-exploitation in the past across the North-West of the United States.
Fire is actually essential for giant redwoods to reproduce. The heat from the fire causes the cones to open and disperse their seeds in the wind. However, climate change is resulting in fires too frequent and intense for the redwoods to thrive.
Madagascan wing-fruited coffee (Coffea pterocarpa)
The perfect gift for a coffee lover, the Madagascan wing-fruited coffee is a rare species only found on the African island nation.
Discovered on a Kew expedition, the Madagascan wing-fruited coffee is visually striking, relying on lemurs for seed dispersal. Madagascar is a globally important biodiversity hotspot where Kew has established the Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre.
Researchers from Kew have been investigating the impact of climate change on coffee and conducting studies to aid in the preservation of wild coffee species. Understanding the potential use of wild coffee species is vital to protect the future of your morning cuppa!
Sausage tree (Kigelia africana)
An icon of the African landscape, the sausage tree's unique fruits grow up to 90cm and can weigh up to 12kg.
The MSB has partnered with seed banks in Africa to store sausage tree seeds, while also collaborating with local farmers to grow and sell seedlings.
The sausage tree is sacred to many African communities. Some consider the tree a symbol of fertility, use its pods as religious charms, or hang the fruits indoors to ward off bad weather.
Even the large blood-red flowers are a bit strange: they give off a distinctive pong, often described as being “mousy”. The flowers only open at night, to attract bats as pollinators.
How to adopt a seed in the Millennium Seed Bank
First, browse the available seeds on the Kew Shop.
Complete the form with your name and email address. If you're adopting a seed as a gift, add the recipient's name and email address, as well as your message. You'll be able to download a Certificate of Adoption and we'll email a copy to the email address you provided.
If you have any questions about Adopt a seed or your certificate, please email us at donate@kew.org
Remember, by adopting a seed, you’re directly supporting the truly crucial work of the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst.
Read & watch
Memories from helping to create the Millennium Seed Bank and its Partnership
