Kew Millennium Seed Bank Project Holds 10% Of World's Wild Plant Species

HAYWARDS HEATH, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 15: Trevor Denham examines germinating seeds in petri-dishes in the germination area of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, which now holds 10% of the world's wild plant species, at Wakehurst Place on October 15, 2009 near Haywards Heath, Sussex, England. The 24,200th seed species is a pink, wild banana from China which is an important staple for wild Asian elephants. The seed bank intends to collect and store a quarter of the world's plant species by 2020 to support conservation and safeguard biodiversity. The bank is the largest wild seed bank in the world holding 3.5 billion seeds from around the world in its vaults, storing them at -20 degrees Celsius to preserve them for hundreds of years. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)