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A latter-day Noah’s Ark for plants was officially opened in Britain this
week. Seeds from more than 24,000 plant species—a tenth of the world
total—will be collected and frozen for posterity in the Millennium Seed
Bank. The £80 million vault, located in Sussex at the Wakehurst Place site
of the Royal Botanic Gardens, will be the world’s largest seed bank. It will
host a research centre linked with plant conservation institutes all around the
world. Researchers will refine methods for conserving seeds and make material
widely available.