Lightscape

Banksia saxicola (Rock Banksia)
1) False colour image of highly magnified seed, image from the Victorian Conservation Seedbank. 2) Mature plant, image by Geoff Lay (VicFlora 2025). Flora of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Available online

Artists: Victorian Conservation Seedbank & NOVAK

From micro to macro — these incredible images show highly magnified seeds and spores of Victorian plants. These precious future plants are stored at Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne in the Victorian Conservation Seedbank, Victoria’s primary facility for conserving the state’s most threatened flora.

The Seedbank houses material from our most at-risk plants, allowing Gardens’ plant scientists to conduct vital research to help these wonderful species survive into the future.
The rare species displayed here have all been threatened by fire, particularly the recent fires in Gariwerd (Grampians) and the 2019/20 megafires across much of eastern Victoria. To safeguard these species against extinction, our expert teams collect their seeds, work out how to germinate them and store them in the long term, and work with regional partners to set up safe havens so these species don’t vanish forever.

Seedbank conservation collections are vital when disasters like fire threaten a species’ survival in nature. To date, the Seedbank team have collected seed from around 1,550 species, including 900 threatened Victorian plants. Still, this represents just 50% of the rare and endangered species in the state, and the team works very hard every growing season to collect as many unbanked species as possible.

The Seedbank is housed within the National Herbarium of Victoria. The Herbarium was founded in 1853 by global scientific powerhouse Baron Ferdinand von Mueller to safeguard the State Botanical Collection — Australia’s most significant repository of plant biodiversity knowledge. Two-thirds of the current herbarium holdings were amassed by Mueller, whose bicentenary is commemorated this year, through his Australia-wide network of collectors, international exchanges of specimens, purchases of overseas collections, and the c. 25,000 specimens he collected himself.

Mueller’s legacy lives on through the vital work of Gardens scientists today, particularly in seed conservation and biodiversity research. With several of the preserved species in the Herbarium now extinct in the wild, the Collection’s role in guiding conservation efforts has never been more critical.

If you’d like to help these important rescue missions bloom, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria is currently seeking donations. Even a small contribution can help to fund the valuable collection trips, seed banking, and conservation work that make all the difference to species’ survival.

Donate now to help save our plants