Mast year brings in record collection of seeds from Critically Endangered Wollemi pines at Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden
Release date: 21 October 2025
- Wakehurst’s Nursery team collected five times more Wollemi pine seeds than previous years
- First time that Wollemi pine seeds from Wakehurst have been banked in Kew's Millennium Seed Bank
- Milestone event in conservation efforts for Millennium Seed Bank’s 25th anniversary
- Wollemi pines now on sale at Wakehurst’s Plant Centre
At Wakehurst, Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex, the Nursery team have noticed the effects of a ‘mast year’ on their annual seed collections. As trees have produced an abundance of fruit to ensure new growth, the team have collected even more seeds. This summer, 168 seeds were collected from IUCN Critically Endangered ‘dinosaur trees’ Wollemi pines (Wollemia nobilis), compared to collections of 20-30 seeds in previous years. With around 134 potentially viable seeds, this means that for the first time, they’ll be able to bank Wakehurst-collected Wollemi pine seeds at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, the world’s largest store of wild seeds.
Coinciding with celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Millennium Seed Bank, this achievement for the Nursery staff and seed scientists is a milestone moment for plant conservation. As Wollemi pines were thought to be extinct for millions of years until their rediscovery in Australia in 1994, this collection is a huge step in Wollemi pine restoration efforts, creating a new insurance policy against future extinction due to climate change and biodiversity loss.
Fay Davies, Nursery Manager, commented: ‘We’re thrilled to have been able to collect such an outstanding number of Wollemi pine seeds at Wakehurst this year, a major milestone in the conservation of this remarkable species. These trees have such a fascinating past, and we’ve been caring for Wollemi pines in our Nursery for over a decade, so it’s a privilege to now play a part in securing their future.’
These valuable Wakehurst-collected seeds will be added to an existing collection of Wollemi pine seeds collected from Kew’s living collection in 2011. The seeds were banked, with a small sample removed earlier this year and successfully germinated. These seedlings have now been sent to be cared for at the Millennium Seed Bank Nursery. At Wakehurst, six young Wollemi are also growing as part of a meta-collection - a unique resource shared by 28 botanic gardens across the UK and Europe, to research and monitor the Wollemi pines and safeguard their existence. For the wider collection growing in the landscape, the future is looking bright, as the team have noticed how they are thriving in the temperate Sussex woodland, happily growing at a rate of 30cm a year.
At Wakehurst, visitors can find the thriving living collection of Wollemi pines in Coates Wood, where they have adapted to the suitable climate and success of their neighbours from the southern hemisphere, eucalyptus and southern beech (Nothofagus sp). This woodland habitat represents just one of Wakehurst’s collections of wild threatened landscapes. Visitors can take home a piece of history and purchase their own Wollemi pine sapling from the Plant Centre. 45-minute free parking is available for those who only wish to browse the shop.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
Images above left to right: Wollemi pine seed cone, Ellen McHale © RBG Kew / Wollemi pine seed collecting © RBG Kew / Wollemi seed germinating in the Millennium Seed Bank © RBG Kew
Download images and b-roll here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Zw47-XM4Av5TPFKYm1_vmzDmglHU9EMS?usp=sharing
Find out more about celebrations for the 25th anniversary of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst here: www.kew.org/about-us/press-media/millennium-seed-bank-25-anniversary
Entry to Wakehurst
Until 26 October: 10am to 6pm (last entry 5.30pm) From 27 October: 10am to 4.30pm (last entry 4pm)
Tickets
Wakehurst and Kew members: free
Children aged 16 and under: free
National Trust members: free (parking charges apply)
Adults: £18.50 (post-3.30pm: £9.25)
Young person (ages 17 to 25): £9.25 (post 3.30pm: £5)
Recipients of Universal or Pension Credit: £1
About Wakehurst
Wakehurst is Kew’s wild botanic garden in the Sussex High Weald National Landscape. Its ancient and beautiful landscapes span 535 acres and are a place for escape, exploration, tranquility, and wonder. Its diverse collection of plants from Britain and around the globe thrive within a tapestry of innovative gardens, temperate woodlands, meadows, and wetlands. Wakehurst is a centre for UK biodiversity and global conservation, seed research and ecosystem science. At its heart is Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, the world’s largest store of seeds from wild plant species.
The National Trust was bequeathed the Mansion and grounds of Wakehurst in 1963. Whilst Wakehurst is not a National Trust property, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has a longstanding relationship with the National Trust dating back to 1965 when Kew took over the running of Wakehurst’s 535 acres of botanical landscapes and Elizabethan Mansion.
RBG Kew receives approximately one third of its funding from Government through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and research councils. Further funding needed to support RBG Kew’s vital work comes from donors, membership and commercial activity including ticket sales. In the first six months since implementing a new accessibility scheme for those in receipt of Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Legacy Benefits, Kew has welcomed over 100,000 visitors with £1 tickets.
At the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, we’re dedicated to harnessing the power of plants and fungi to end the extinction crisis and secure a future for all life on Earth. With our world-leading research, global partnerships and beloved gardens – home to the world’s most diverse collections of plants and fungi – we’re using our trusted voice to shape policy and practice worldwide. As a charity we rely on the critical support of our visitors, not only to sustain the gardens, but to protect global plant and fungal biodiversity for the benefit of our planet and humanity.