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  • Carey Fowler at the "Doomsday" seed bank in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway.  Dug into the frozen mountainside above the town, the seedbank is a last chance repository for millions of seeds, that could be used to restore agriculture should a disaster wipe out many of the plants we depend upon for food.
    MM7753_20100311_0010.jpg
  • The herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens contains thousands of plant samples collected over the last two centuries.<br />
<br />
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are 121 hectares[1] of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England.<br />
Kew Gardens originated in the exotic garden at Kew Park formed by Lord Capel John of Tewkesbury. It was enlarged and extended by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales, for whom Sir William Chambers built several garden structures. One of these, the lofty Chinese pagoda built in 1761 still remains. George III enriched the gardens, aided by William Aiton and Sir Joseph Banks. The old Kew Park (by then renamed the White House), was demolished in 1802. The "Dutch House" adjoining was purchased by George III in 1781 as a nursery for the royal children. It is a plain brick structure now known as Kew Palace.
    MM7753_2010-07-24_12232.jpg
  • Harvesting potatoes in the Andes commuity of Pampallacta at the Potato Park near Pisac, Peru. Hundreds of varieties of potatoes are grown in high mountain fields on a seven year rotation.  These fields belong to Mariano Sutta Apucusi, who is a technician at the park and a varayoc, a traditional spiritual "mayor" of the community.  Someone who has a lot of knowledge about the rituals and maintains these rituals in their home. In their family field in Pampallacta at 14,000 feet altitude.  It is an hour trip each way to the fields.  The horses are loaded with bags of potatoes that take two strong men to load.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.<br />
<br />
The Parque de la Papa, or potato park, near Pisac, Peru is using potatoes as a focal point to aid biodiversity and local economics, as well as bringing the community together through traditional values.
    MM7753 2010-05-29 5036.jpg
  • Harvesting potatoes in the Andes commuity of Pampallacta at the Potato Park near Pisac, Peru. Hundreds of varieties of potatoes are grown in high mountain fields on a seven year rotation.  These fields belong to Mariano Sutta Apucusi, who is a technician at the park and a varayoc, a traditional spiritual "mayor" of the community.  Someone who has a lot of knowledge about the rituals and maintains these rituals in their home. In their family field in Pampallacta at 14,000 feet altitude.  It is an hour trip each way to the fields.  The horses are loaded with bags of potatoes that take two strong men to load.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.<br />
<br />
The Parque de la Papa, or potato park, near Pisac, Peru is using potatoes as a focal point to aid biodiversity and local economics, as well as bringing the community together through traditional values.
    MM7753 2010-05-29 4252.jpg
  • The Svalbard Global Seed Bank, also known as the "Doomsday" seed bank, in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway.  Dug into the frozen mountainside above the town, the seedbank is a last chance repository for millions of seeds, that could be used to restore agriculture should a disaster wipe out many of the plants we depend upon for food.
    Svalvard Pan I.jpg
  • Seed Savers Exchange is one of the oldest and largest heirloom seed conservation organizations in the world. <br />
Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange members have passed on approximately one million samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. The non-profit organization of gardeners is dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
    MM7753_20100904_35446.jpg
  • Seed Savers Exchange is one of the oldest and largest heirloom seed conservation organizations in the world. <br />
Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange members have passed on approximately one million samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. The non-profit organization of gardeners is dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
    MM7753_20100903_34175.jpg
  • Carey Fowler at the "Doomsday" seed bank in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway.  Dug into the frozen mountainside above the town, the seedbank is a last chance repository for millions of seeds, that could be used to restore agriculture should a disaster wipe out many of the plants we depend upon for food.
    MM7753_20100311_0585.jpg
  • Oca is a tuber relative of the potato, grown in the high Andes.  Oca is part of the vast biodiversity of some 1,300 varieties of potatoes and tubers grown here. Seen here at the home of Mariano and Antonia Sutta Apucusi at ther home in Pampallacta, at the Parque de la Papa near Pisac, Peru.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.
    MM7753 2010-05-28 3909.jpg
  • Harvesting potatoes in the Andes commuity of Pampallacta at the Potato Park near Pisac, Peru. Hundreds of varieties of potatoes are grown in high mountain fields on a seven year rotation.  These fields belong to Mariano Sutta Apucusi, who is a technician at the park and a varayoc, a traditional spiritual "mayor" of the community.  Someone who has a lot of knowledge about the rituals and maintains these rituals in their home. In their family field in Pampallacta at 14,000 feet altitude.  It is an hour trip each way to the fields.  The horses are loaded with bags of potatoes that take two strong men to load.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.<br />
<br />
The Parque de la Papa, or potato park, near Pisac, Peru is using potatoes as a focal point to aid biodiversity and local economics, as well as bringing the community together through traditional values.
    MM7753 2010-05-29 4252.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Martynia annua (Martyniaceae) - small-fruited devil's claw, cat's claw (not to be confused with Uncaria (Rubiaceae) which is also called cat's claw); native of Mexico, introduced and naturalized elsewhere in the tropics worldwide; a 'devil's claw' whose seed capsules resemble the upper jaw and fangs of a pit viper. Guatemalans use the sticky leaves of this plant to remove lice from fowl.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11926.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Tipuana tipu (Leguminosae) – tipu tree; native to South America (Brazil, Bolivia & Argentina) – fruits (samaras); the 1-3-seeded, unilaterally winged samaras of the tipu tree bear a striking resemblance to the fruitlets of maples (Acer spp., Sapindaceae). A unilateral wing causes a helicopter-like flight as the diaspore rotates around its centre of gravity (i.e. the thickened, seed-bearing part of the fruit); length c. 5cm. ---  The tipu tree is widely planted as a street tree in the tropics; it is very vigorous and can become an invasive pest, such as in South Africa. The timber of the tipu tree is used for furniture.<br />
From: http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/GBASE/data/pf000407.htm: This is mainly an ornamental tree, used in urban forestry, but the leaves also constitute e good feed for stock. It is also one of the many "rose woods". It has been used in the South Sahel and North Sudanese ecozones for street and amenity plantations, as well as in Dakar, Cairo, Lisbon, Tunis, Sousse, Jerusalem etc.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11791.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.<br />
Mariama Abdouleye and her children (left) Idrissa Abdourahmane and (right) Abdoulaye Aboubakar.<br />
<br />
Her sister is Rabi Aboubakar.
    MM6977_071212_33717.jpg
  • Li Kaixin family harvesting rice near Sheng Cun Village in Yuanyang County, Yunan province, China.  The grain is threshed in the field before bagging to carry out.  The stalks are laid out to dry in the terraces.
    MM6977_071020_21594.jpg
  • Antonia, wife of Mariano Sutta Apucusi. At their home in Pampallacta.  Oca is a tuber relative of the potato, grown in the high Andes.  Oca is part of the vast biodiversity of some 1,300 varieties of potatoes and tubers grown here.
    MM7753 2010-05-27 3487.jpg
  • The market in Bati is incredibly large, diverse and crowded, being the place where people from the lowlands and highlands of northern Ethiopia meet to exchange their crops, livestock and wares. Something like 20,000 people show up at the Monday market every week. <br />
<br />
Grain is an extremely important commodity, including the all important teff for making injera. Farmers and sellers lay their grain out in bags and piles on plastic sheeting on the ground, and measure it out with tin cans. <br />
<br />
The cattle and camel market is equally large, with pastoral herders from the lowlands, many of them Afar people, coming to sell their livestock to the highland people. The market takes place in one big corral, with buyers and sellers squeezed in amongst the animals.
    MM7753_20101101_44576-Edit.jpg
  • Wheat harvest in northern Montana.
    Montana Wheat 2.jpg
  • Windmill quilt in Kansas
    Windmill Quilt II.jpg
  • Planting onions in India.
    IN-0006 Seeds.jpg
  • Cattle feedlot in Kansas, CAFO,
    Cattle Feedlot.jpg
  • Threshing and winnowing wheat in Ethiopia. The grain is thrown in the air to let the wind blow away the chaff, letting the grain fall to the ground.
    MM8154_20131106_24350.jpg
  • Cary Fowler at the Svalbard Global Seed Bank, also known as the "Doomsday" seed bank, in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway.  Dug into the frozen mountainside above the town, the seedbank is a last chance repository for millions of seeds, that could be used to restore agriculture should a disaster wipe out many of the plants we depend upon for food. Giving a tour to a group of Norwegians.
    MM7753_20100313_1121.jpg
  • Cary Fowler at the Svalbard Global Seed Bank, also known as the "Doomsday" seed bank, in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway.  Dug into the frozen mountainside above the town, the seedbank is a last chance repository for millions of seeds, that could be used to restore agriculture should a disaster wipe out many of the plants we depend upon for food.
    MM7753_20100312_0667.jpg
  • Papa wata ceremony, performed after potatoes are brought in from the field, to call the spirit of the potato because the spirt of the potato sometimes stays in the field.  Mariano Sutta Apucusi and his wife Antonia are seen holding the potatoes over incense.  Part of the ceremony is the kintu ceremony, where three coca leaves are held up to call the spirits of the mountains, or apus. <br />
<br />
When he is holding up the coca leaves it is the Kintu ceremony, part of many ceremonies, an offering to Mother Earth and to thank the apus, the sacred mountains. <br />
<br />
<br />
The Parque de la Papa, or potato park, near Pisac, Peru is using potatoes as a focal point to aid biodiversity and local economics, as well as bringing the community together through traditional values.
    MM7753 2010-05-27 3318.jpg
  • Repatriated potatoes in the warehouse at Pampallacta at the Parque de la Papa near Pisac, Peru.   Varieties shown are being "repatriated" from the seed bank at CIP in Lima, Peru, the international potato center. These varieties were collected from the surrounding area and kept at CIP, and are now being planted and grown by the people living in the potato park.
    MM7753 2010-05-27 2776.jpg
  • Seed bank at USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa.
    Ames Seed Bank.jpg
  • The National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Ft. Collins, Colorado is a major USDA facility for the preservation of crop biodiversity. Besides preserving seeds and crop material, including cryogenic sorage, they also test for viability and maintain a massive cold storage vault.<br />
<br />
Contact:
    MM7753_20100909_36981.jpg
  • Seed Savers Exchange is one of the oldest and largest heirloom seed conservation organizations in the world. <br />
Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange members have passed on approximately one million samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. The non-profit organization of gardeners is dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds. A beautiful barn.
    MM7753_20100903_33337.jpg
  • Carey Fowler at the "Doomsday" seed bank in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway.  Dug into the frozen mountainside above the town, the seedbank is a last chance repository for millions of seeds, that could be used to restore agriculture should a disaster wipe out many of the plants we depend upon for food.
    MM7753_20100311_0001.jpg
  • Harvesting potatoes in the Andes commuity of Pampallacta at the Potato Park near Pisac, Peru. Hundreds of varieties of potatoes are grown in high mountain fields on a seven year rotation.  These fields belong to Mariano Sutta Apucusi, who is a technician at the park and a varayoc, a traditional spiritual "mayor" of the community.  Someone who has a lot of knowledge about the rituals and maintains these rituals in their home. In their family field in Pampallacta at 14,000 feet altitude.  It is an hour trip each way to the fields.  The horses are loaded with bags of potatoes that take two strong men to load.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.<br />
<br />
The Parque de la Papa, or potato park, near Pisac, Peru is using potatoes as a focal point to aid biodiversity and local economics, as well as bringing the community together through traditional values.
    MM7753 2010-05-29 5036.jpg
  • Harvesting potatoes in the Andes commuity of Pampallacta at the Potato Park near Pisac, Peru. Hundreds of varieties of potatoes are grown in high mountain fields on a seven year rotation.  These fields belong to Mariano Sutta Apucusi, who is a technician at the park and a varayoc, a traditional spiritual "mayor" of the community.  Someone who has a lot of knowledge about the rituals and maintains these rituals in their home. In their family field in Pampallacta at 14,000 feet altitude.  It is an hour trip each way to the fields.  The horses are loaded with bags of potatoes that take two strong men to load.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.<br />
<br />
The Parque de la Papa, or potato park, near Pisac, Peru is using potatoes as a focal point to aid biodiversity and local economics, as well as bringing the community together through traditional values.
    MM7753 2010-05-29 4252.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Pterocarpus indicus (Fabaceae)<br />
<br />
Pterocarpus indicus (Pashu Padauk, Malay Paduak, New Guinea Rosewood, or, ambiguously, "Narra" which can refer to several Pterocarpus species) is a species of Pterocarpus native to southeastern Asia, northern Australasia, and the western Pacific Ocean islands, in Cambodia, southernmost China, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. Other names include Narra (Philippines), Sonokembang (Indonesia), Angsana or Sena (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore), Tnug (Cambodia).<br />
other interesting websites:<br />
http://www.winrock.org/fnrm/factnet/factpub/FACTSH/P_indicus.html
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11942.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Butea monosperma (Fabaceae) - Flame of the Forest, bastard teak; native to southeast Asia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butea: Butea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the pea family, Fabaceae. It has two species. Butea monosperma, also known as Flame of the Forest or Bastard Teak in English, Kingshuk or Palash in Bengali or Hindi, is native to India and Southeast Asia, where it is used for timber, resin, fodder, medicine, and dye. Butea is also a host to the Lac insect, which produces natural lacquer.<br />
In West Bengal it is associated with Spring (season). Butea is named after John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), member of parliament, prime minister for one year, and a patron of botany.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11938.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Alnus glutinosa (Betulaceae) - black alder, common alder, European alder; native to Europe (and SW Asia);<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alnus_glutinosa: Alnus glutinosa is important as coppice-wood on marshy ground. The wood is soft, white when first cut and turning to pale red; the knots are beautifully mottled. Under water the wood is very durable, and it is therefore used for piles. The supports of the Rialto at Venice, and many buildings at Amsterdam, are of Alder wood. It is also the traditional wood burnt to produce smoked fish and other smoked foods, though in some areas other woods are more often used now. Furniture is sometimes made from the wood, as were clogs, and it supplies excellent charcoal for gunpowder. The bark is astringent; it is used for tanning and dyeing. Alnus glutinosa is also cultivated and locally naturalised in eastern North America.<br />
<br />
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Alnus+glutinosa: medicinal and other uses:<br />
The bark is alterative, astringent, cathartic, febrifuge and tonic[4, 7, 14, 46, 269]. The fresh bark will cause vomiting, so use dried bark for all but emetic purposes[21]. A decoction of the dried bark is used to bathe swellings and inflammations, especially of the mouth and throat[4, 9, 21, 254]. The powdered bark and the leaves have been used as an internal astringent and tonic, whilst the bark has also been used as an internal and external haemostatic against haemorrhage[21]. The dried bark of young twigs are used, or the inner bark of branches 2 - 3 years old[9]. It is harvested in the spring and dried for later use[9]. Boiling the inner bark in vinegar produces a useful wash to treat lice and a range of skin problems such as scabies and scabs[21].
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11929.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Prosopis strombulifera (Fabaceae) - Argentine screwbean, creeping screwbean; native to Argentina - Prosopis strombulifera is classified by the U.S. Federal Government as a NOXIOUS WEED (present esp. in California).<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopis_strombulifera: Prosopis strombulifera is a species of mesquite or algarrobo, a shrub in the legume family. It is known by the English common names Argentine screwbean and creeping screwbean and the Spanish common name retortuño.[1] This shrub is native to Argentina, where it grows in saline soils. It became well-known in California after it was introduced to Imperial County and took hold in the wild, growing as an invasive noxious weed.[1] The plant grows from a network of long, spreading roots and may grow to three meters in height. Many plants may grow together in an area, forming a monotypic stand. The shrub has waxy-textured leaves made up of a pair of leaflets which are each divided into several pairs of secondary leaflets each up to a centimeter long. Whitish spines up to 2 centimeters long appear near the leaf bases. The inflorescence is a spherical head of many very narrow tubelike yellow flowers, the head measuring about 1.5 centimeters wide. The fruit is a bright yellow seed pod coiled tightly into a cylindrical stick up to 5 centimeters long. It contains several greenish seeds each about half a centimeter long.<br />
other weblinks:<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesquite
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11922.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Trapa bicornis (Lythraceae) - devil's pod, also known as bat nut, goat head, null nut, and buffalo nut - this species is sometimes even combined with Trapa natans (i.e. the two are treated as a single variable species) and much of the description above also applies to T. bicornis. --- Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_caltrop]: The water caltrop, water chestnut or Singhara or Paniphal is either of two species of the genus Trapa: Trapa natans and Trapa bicornis. Both species are floating annual aquatic plants, growing in slow-moving water up to 5 meters deep, native to warm temperate parts of Eurasia and Africa. They bear ornately shaped fruits, which in the case of T. bicornis resemble the head of a bull, each fruit containing a single very large starchy seed. It has been cultivated in China and India for at least 3,000 years for these seeds, which are boiled and sold as an occasional street side snack in the south of that country<br />
<br />
[http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Trapa+bicornis]: Seed edible after cooking. A crunchy texture with a bland flavour. Rich in starch, the raw seed contains a deleterious principle that is destroyed by cooking. The cooked seed can be dried and ground into a powder. The flowers are astringent in fluxes. The fruit is used in the treatment of fever and sunstroke. The plant is anticancer, antipyretic and tonic.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11912.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Pterocarpus angolensis (Fabaceae) - kiaat tree; native to southern Africa<br />
Pterocarpus has remarkable fruits: anemochory, dispersal by means of barbed fruits and "Bodenroller" (winged fruits rolling along the ground), a triple strategy. The fruits are enclosed by a flat, dry involucre with a large surface and a relatively high weight. The spiny centre helps the fruit to stick to an animal (epizoochoric dispersal), the arrangement of the wings allows a dispersal by wind currents at the ground. Pterocarpus occurs in the savannah in the south of Africa (from Peter von Sengbusch, botany-online).<br />
The genus has been given a name which describes the unusual seed pods, pter meaning "wing" in Greek and carpus which means "fruit" in Greek. The central, hardened seed case is surrounded by a broad, membranous wing and is therefore called "wing fruit" or Pterocarpus. There are roughly 30 species in the genus and these may be found in the more tropical regions of the world. Four species occur in southern Africa. The specific name, angolensis means "of Angola". The brilliant dramatically red sap found in Pterocarpus gives it the common name of "bloodwood". The wood apparently bears some resemblance to the unrelated true teak from tropical east Asia (Tectona grandis) hence the common name "wild teak".
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11880.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Zeyheria sp. (probably Z. montana; Bignoniaceae) - Zeyheria is a South American genus with two species, occurring mostly in drier environments of sub-Amazonian Brazil and ranging west to Bolivia (Gentry 1992). Zeyheria montana Martius is widely distributed in the Brazilian territory, occurring between 350–1000 m elevation from the states of Maranhão, Paraná , specially in the Brazilian Central Plateau ‘‘Cerrado’’ vegetation. It is a 1–3 m tall shrub, which eventually develops into a tree.<br />
Uses: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19148414: Zeyheria montana leaf possesses anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities, which could be of relevance for the pharmacological control of pain and inflammatory processes
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11861.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Bixa orellana (Bixaceae) - annato, lipstick tree; native to South America. The genus Bixa is monotypic and a member of the family Bixaceae (16 species in 3 genera). The species is especially cultivated for its red colouring obtained from the testa of the seeds, the original Amerindian body paint which is also effective as an insect repellent. The red colour is due to several apocarotenoids located in the seed epidermis, of which bixin (9'Z-6,6'-diapocarotene-6,6'-dioate) is the most important. Several more carotenoids and apocarotenoids have been identified; their total amount varies strongly, but may reach up to 7% of the dry seeds' mass. Bixin was formerly an important dyestuff but is now replaced by Congo red for fabric but still used in food esp. cheese, butter, margarine and chocolate as it is almost tasteless. It is also used in soaps and other skin products (there sometimes also called the lipstick tree). Bixa orellana, also called annato, possesses extrafloral nectaries to attract ants that ward off predators (seed production doubles in the presence of ants) (from Mabberley 1997 and Gernod Katzer’s Spice Pages). Common names for Bixa orellana include: Orleansbaum, achuete, annatto, urucum, urucu, rocucou, anato, achiote, kuswé.<br />
The scientific species name orellana reminds to Francisco de Orellana, a Spanish explorer of the 16th century. Together with Francisco Pizarro, Orellana had been involved in the destruction of the Inca empire; in 1540, he participated in another expedition led by Gonzalo Pizarro. Following rumours about gold and cinnamon trees, about 2000 Spaniards entered to Peruvian and Brazilian jungles, where most of them perished. Orellana abandoned the party and made his way eastward, where he (more or less by chance) discovered the Amazonas river and earned scientific fame quite undeservedly. By confusion of the Spanish name with the French town Orle
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11854.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Nelumbo nucifera (Nelumbonaceae) – sacred lotus; native from Asia to Australia – fruit consisting of the enlarged floral axis with numerous chambers each containing a single-seeded nutlet. As the long flexible fruit stalks sway in the wind, the nutlets are flung out and thrown into the water where they immediately sink to the bottom. Enclosed in the extremely hard pericarp of the nutlet, lotus seeds can retain their viability for more than 1,000 years.  With its waterlily-like flowers and aquatic lifestyle the sacred lotus superficially resembles waterlilies (Nymphaeaceae) although its closest living relatives have been shown to be the plane trees (Platanaceae) and members of the Proteaceae family. The sacred lotus has a deep religious meaning for Hindus and Bhuddists in India, Tibet and China where it has been cultivated since the 12th century BC. 
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11795.jpg
  • Xylomelum pyriforme (Proteaceae) - woody pear; native to SE Australia; please see this website for more detailed information: http://anpsa.org.au/x-pyr.html<br />
For more info visit: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Xylomelum~pyriforme
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11783.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Lodoicea maldivica (Arecaceae) – Seychelles nut; native to the Seychelles islands – the single-seeded nuts of the Seychelles nut belong to one of the most extraordinary palms and take 7-10 years to mature. At the time the Seychelles were still undiscovered, specimens like the illustrated one were highly prized in Europe; length of fruit: 33cm.<br />
Snippets from the internet: Classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List --- http://www.arkive.org/coco-de-mer/lodoicea-maldivica/#text=Biology 
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11734.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Bertholletia excelsa (Lecythidaceae) – Brazil nut; native to Brazil – large woody fruit with animal-made hole affording a view of an eroded seed. In its natural habitat, the Brazilian rainforest, the mature fruits fall on the ground where agoutis (cat-size brown rodents) are the only animals that are able to gnaw their way through the fruit wall into the seeds. They eat some of the seeds of a fruit and cache the rest for subsequent use. Seeds left in a forgotten cache eventually germinate after 12 to 18 months and give rise to a new Brazil nut tree. <br />
Snippets from the internet: A forest tree, native to northern Brazil and Guiana, that grows 100' tall and has been grown in Hawaii. The fruit is round, woody, 6" long and contains 12-24 nuts per fruit. Almost all of the commercial crop is collected from wild trees<br />
Very good info about the economy etc. of the Brazil nut: http://www.rain-tree.com/brazilnu.htm
    MM7753_2010-07-22_11725.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Pinus radiata (Pinaceae) - Monterey pine; wikipedia: The Monterey Pine is widely used in private gardens and public landscapes in temperate California, and similar climates around the world. It is a fast-growing tree, adaptable to a broad range of soil types and climates, though does not tolerate temperatures below about -15°C. Its fast growth makes it ideal for landscapes and forestry; in a good situation, P. radiata can reach its full height in 40 years or so.<br />
interesting weblinks: http://www.conifers.org/pi/pin/radiata.htm
    MM7753_2010-07-22_11681.jpg
  • Restoration in the Loess Plateau region of China.  Fo Tang Yan village in Zizhou County where there is a very large restoration project planting date trees.  The propaganda moto on a terrace read "Plant a thousand mu (Chinese acres) of date trees for a thousand years of prosperity."
    MM6977_071020_27188.jpg
  • The worst erosion on Earth is seen in the deeply gullied hills of the Loess plateau in Shaanxi province of China.  Small fields are all that is left as the erosion whittles away at the land available for crops.
    MM6977_071020_24250.jpg
  • Storing grain on a street in rural Nebraska
    Scan-110216-0001.jpg
  • Seed Savers Exchange is one of the oldest and largest heirloom seed conservation organizations in the world. <br />
Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange members have passed on approximately one million samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. The non-profit organization of gardeners is dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
    MM7753_20100904_35760.jpg
  • Seed Savers Exchange is one of the oldest and largest heirloom seed conservation organizations in the world. <br />
Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange members have passed on approximately one million samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. The non-profit organization of gardeners is dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
    MM7753_20100903_32356.jpg
  • Farmer  with the harvest of ground peas that he grows by intercropping with his sorghum in his village of Kolokani, Mali.
    MM8154_20131030_22193.jpg
  • Sunflowers being grown out are kept in insect-prooof bags to prevent cross pollination, at the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa.<br />
<br />
Seeds must be grown out periodically to keep them viable, one of the issues that makes proper maintenance of a seed bank difficult and expensive.
    MM7753_2010-08-06_31830.jpg
  • Antonia, wife of Mariano Sutta Apucusi. At their home in Pampallacta.  Oca is a tuber relative of the potato, grown in the high Andes.  Oca is part of the vast biodiversity of some 1,300 varieties of potatoes and tubers grown here. Seen here at the home of Mariano and Antonia Sutta Apucusi at ther home in Pampallacta, at the Parque de la Papa near Pisac, Peru.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.
    MM7753 2010-05-27 3487.jpg
  • The National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Ft. Collins, Colorado is a major USDA facility for the preservation of crop biodiversity. Besides preserving seeds and crop material, including cryogenic sorage, they also test for viability and maintain a massive cold storage vault.<br />
<br />
Contact:
    MM7753_20100909_37254.jpg
  • Seed Savers Exchange is one of the oldest and largest heirloom seed conservation organizations in the world. <br />
Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange members have passed on approximately one million samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. The non-profit organization of gardeners is dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
    MM7753_20100904_35760.jpg
  • Carey Fowler at the "Doomsday" seed bank in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway.  Dug into the frozen mountainside above the town, the seedbank is a last chance repository for millions of seeds, that could be used to restore agriculture should a disaster wipe out many of the plants we depend upon for food.
    MM7753_20100311_0516.jpg
  • The Palouse of Washigton is an area of loess hills built out of wind-blown dust.  High hills are extremely fertile, with exceptional production of dryland wheat.
    MM6977_070625_03870.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) - castor oil plant; native to tropical Africa, naturalized throughout the tropics - seeds; the seeds of the castor oil plant, called 'castor beans', contain a very valuable oil that is used both as a purgative as well as a lubricant for jet engines and heavy machinery. The seeds are also infamous for containing ricin, one of the strongest poisons found in nature. One milligram can already be enough to kill an adult. At their micropylar end the seeds bear a fatty elaiosome to attract ants for dispersal; seeds c. 12mm long.<br />
Some interesting facts about Ricinus:<br />
Ricin: The seeds from the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, are poisonous to people, animals and insects. One of the main toxic proteins is "ricin", named by Stillmark in 1888 when he tested the bean's extract on red blood cells and saw them agglutinate. Now we know that the agglutination was due to another toxin that was also present, called RCA (Ricinus communis agglutinin). Ricin is a potent cytotoxin but a weak hemagglutinin, whereas RCA is a weak cytotoxin and a powerful hemagglutinin. Poisoning by ingestion of the castor bean is due to ricin, not RCA, because RCA does not penetrate the intestinal wall, and does not affect red blood cells unless given intravenously. If RCA is injected into the blood, it will cause the red blood cells to agglutinate and burst by hemolysis. Perhaps just one milligram of ricin can kill an adult. The symptoms of human poisoning begin within a few hours of ingestion. The symptoms are: abdominal pain, vomiting and (sometimes bloody) diarrhea. Within several days there is severe dehydration, a decrease in urine, and a decrease in blood pressure. If death has not occurred in 3-5 days, the victim usually recovers.<br />
Castor oil: Castor beans are pressed to extract castor oil which is used for medicinal purposes.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11952.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.     <br />
<br />
Acacia auriculiformis (Fabaceae), commonly known as Auri, Earleaf acacia, Earpod wattle, Northern black wattle, Papuan wattle, Tan wattle, is a fast-growing, crooked, gnarly and thorny tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It grows up to 30m tall. Acacia auriculiformis has about 47 000 seeds/kg. This plant is raised as an ornamental plant, as a shade tree and it is also raised on plantations for fuelwood throughout southeast Asia Oceana and in Sudan. Its wood is good for making paper, furniture and tools. It contains tannin useful in animal hide tanning. [from Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_auriculiformis]<br />
interesting weblinks:<br />
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/plants/acacia.htm<br />
http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=10: Products: Fodder: Not widely used as fodder, but in India 1-year-old plantations are browsed by cattle. Apiculture: The flowers are a source of pollen for honey production. Fuel: A major source of firewood, its dense wood and high energy (calorific value of 4500-4900 kcal/kg) contribute to its popularity. It provides very good charcoal that glows well with little smoke and does not spark. Fibre: The wood is extensively used for paper pulp. Plantation-grown trees have been found promising for the production of unbleached kraft pulp and high-quality, neutral, sulphite semi-chemical pulp. Large-scale plantations have already been established, as in Kerala, India, for the production of pulp. Timber: T
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11910.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Trapa natans (Lythraceae) - water caltrop, water chestnut, horn nut; native to Eurasia & Africa<br />
Trapa natans (water caltrop, horn nut), has been cultivated in China for more than three thousand years but the crunchy water chestnuts commonly used in Chinese cooking are the fleshy corms (not seeds) of the totally unrelated spike rush (Eleocharis dulcis, Cyperaceae).<br />
weblinks:<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_caltrop<br />
http://www.invasive.org/species/subject.cfm?sub=3499
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11897.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Harpagophytum zeyheri (Pedaliaceae) – devils’ claw, grapple plant; native to southern Africa (widespread in southern Africa, from Namibia and Zambia south to Botswana and Zimbabwe) – fruit with large woody grapples adapted to cling to the feet and fur of animals. The tough feet of ostriches are well protected against the sharp spines of this fruit but animals with cleft hoofs or relatively soft soles can suffer terrible wounds. The Khoisan peoples of the Kalahari Desert have used the tuberous root of the devil’s claw for thousands of years to treat pain during pregnancy and to prepare ointments to heal sores, boils and other skin problems. Extracts from dried roots are presently sold as a natural remedy against pain and inflammation caused by arthritis and other painful ailments; length of fruit: 9cm.  --- THE FRUIT YOU PHOTOGRAPHED BELONGS TO HARPAGOPHYTUM ZEYHERI, WHICH IS VERY SIMILAR TO HARPAGOPHYTUM PROCUMBENS; THE TWO SPECIES MAINLY DIFFER IN GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AND THE STRUCTURE OF THEIR FRUITS; The fruits of H. procumbens have very long, curved arms, while those of H. zeyheri are much less extravagant (pretty cool as mousetraps but the plants have significant medicinal properties! See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpagophytum). Both species are probably used in the same way by the Khoisan bush people as well as the pharmaceutical industry. <br />
 <br />
The most infamous member of the sesame family is Harpagophytum procumbens, aptly called grappling hook, grapple plant or, like its New World relatives, devil’s claw. Used as mouse traps in Madagascar, the almost preposterously horrid looking woody pods can inflict gruesome wounds to animals with cleft hoofs or relatively soft soles.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11844.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Heritiera littoralis (Malvaceae) – looking-glass mangrove, native to the Old World tropics; the seawater-proof nut-like fruit contains a single round seed surrounded by a large air space. The prominent keel on their back acts like the sail; fruit up to 10cm long <br />
http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1062.htm: Low, much branched, evergreen tree, to 15 m tall; bark pinkish gray, smooth becoming flaky when older; leaf blades dark green above and silvery white below, withering dull orange-yellow, oblong to elliptic, leathery; flowers in hanging yellowish tassels; fruits purple-brown, woody, shiny with a stiff keel on one side. The hard and strong timber is valued for masts, when it can be got straight enough. It is also used for canoes, firewood, house posts, joists, pressers, telegraph poles, wheel-hubs and boat-ribs. An extract of the seed can be used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery .<br />
http://plants.jstor.org/flora/ftea009311?cookieSet=1: LOCAL USES (in East Africa). Trunks of this species are used for dhow masts in Lamu (Abdulla 1139) and Zanzibar (U.O.P.Z.) and were formerly used for railroad sleepers (Farquhar 6).  This species is widespread and common in mangrove, and its habitat not significantly threatened as far as is known. It is provisionally rated here as of “least concern” for conservation.  The capsules are common in drift along the shore. The dorsal ridge of the capsule, often described as a keel, is homologous with a wing and actually functions as a sail. Fruits float on the surface of the ocean always with the ridge or wing upward and they are widely distributed by a combination of currents and wind. The record from T 8 is based on a sight record by Luke (pers. comm.) at Mtwara Mnazi Bay/Ruvuma Est MNP)<br />
http://database.prota.org/PROTAhtml/Heritiera%20littoralis_En.htm: Uses: In eastern Africa the tree boles are used to make masts of boats, for sh
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11804.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Leguminosae) – guanacaste; native to tropical America, the native tree of Costa Rica – fruit (camara); attractive to modern introduced horses, the guanacaste's fruits were once probably dispersed by extinct, horse-like herbivores; diameter 8cm<br />
 
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11773.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Cerbera manghas (Apocynaceae) – pink-eyed cerbera, sea mango; native from the Seychelles to the Pacific – drift fruit; commonly found as flotsam on beaches in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. After the outer skin of the fruit has rotten away, the cage of woody vascular bundles enclosing a massive corky mesocarp with large intercellular air-spaces that affords the fruit excellent and long-lasting buoyancy in sea water; length of fruit: 9cm. <br />
Wikipedia: The leaves and the fruits contain the potent cardiac glycoside cerberin, which is extremely poisonous if ingested. People in olden times used the sap of the tree as a poison for animal hunting. The fruit was reportedly eaten to commit suicide in the Marquesas Islands. Because of its deadly poisonous seeds, the genus name is coming from Cerberus, the hell dog from the Greek mythology, hence indicating the toxicity of the seeds. In Madagascar, the seeds were used in sentence rituals to poison kings and queens  
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11767.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Ceiba pentrandra (Malvaceae) - kapok, Java cotton, Java kapok, silk cotton; native to tropical America; Inside the large capsules, the smooth, globular seeds are embedded in a mass of white silky hair produced by the carpel walls. These hairs have some valuable properties. Due to the wide air-filled lumina they are extremely light and provide a good insulation material and stuffing for mattresses. Moreover, the hairs possess a waterproof outer layer (cuticle) which renders them almost unwettable. Able to support thirty times its own weight in water, kapok is therefore also used as a stuffing for life vests. Kapok has also been used e.g. for arrow-proof jackets by Matico Indians.<br />
Websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapok<br />
http://www.tropilab.com/ceiba-pen.html
    MM7753_2010-07-22_11698.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Swietenia mahagoni (Meliaceae) – West Indian mahogany; native to tropical America – fruit (septifragal capsule); typical of the mahogany family, the fruit contains many unilaterally winged seeds tightly packed around the central column of the fruit; length 11.5cm<br />
weblinks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swietenia_mahagoni
    MM7753_2010-07-22_11693.jpg
  • Seed Savers Exchange is one of the oldest and largest heirloom seed conservation organizations in the world. <br />
Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange members have passed on approximately one million samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. The non-profit organization of gardeners is dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
    MM7753_20100904_35760.jpg
  • Watering crops in greenhouse in Africa
    AF-0004 Watering.jpg
  • Daniel, who is a papa arariwa, or guardian of the potato, people chosen in their community who knowedgeable about the varieties of potatoes and their uses and stories. Seen here in the field of repatirated potatoes in Chawaytire. <br />
<br />
The Parque de la Papa, or potato park, near Pisac, Peru is using potatoes as a focal point to aid biodiversity and local economics, as well as bringing the community together through traditional values.
    MM7753 2010-05-28 3761.jpg
  • Morning views from Steptoe Butte of the agricultural lands of the Palouse.  The Palouse of Washigton is an area of loess hills built out of wind-blown dust.  High hills are extremely fertile, with exceptional production of dryland wheat.
    MM6977_070627_04151.jpg
  • Sufia Begum collects and sells milk in the village of Molmolia, Dumvnia, Khulna, Bangladesh. She basically goes around to the various houses, collects excess milk in her vessel, then goes around and sells it by the glass. Part of the village good system.
    MM8154_20131025_21461.jpg
  • Testing for Ug99 wheat stem rust in the field station at Asella, Ethiopia.<br />
<br />
Kulumsa Research Centre, P. O. Box 489, Asella, Ethiopia  Wheat being tested for Ug99 wheat stem rust and other rust diseases at the Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center in Asela, Ethiopia. <br />
<br />
Ug99 is devastating to wheat, leaving the heads with nothing but small, shriveled grain in the otherwise normal looking heads. It was discovered first in Uganda in 1999 and has since been moving east, having recently been found in Yemen.<br />
<br />
The rust is seen as red patches along the stem of the wheat, hence the name.  <br />
<br />
KULUMSA AGRICUTURAL RESEARCH CENTER (KARC) is about 167 km southeast of Addis Ababa. It is located in the Oromiya Regional State in the northeast periphery of the town of Asela, Arsi Zone.
    MM7753_20101029_41771.jpg
  • Testing for Ug99 wheat stem rust in the field station at Asella, Ethiopia.<br />
<br />
Kulumsa Research Centre, P. O. Box 489, Asella, Ethiopia  Wheat being tested for Ug99 wheat stem rust and other rust diseases at the Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center in Asela, Ethiopia. <br />
<br />
Ug99 is devastating to wheat, leaving the heads with nothing but small, shriveled grain in the otherwise normal looking heads. It was discovered first in Uganda in 1999 and has since been moving east, having recently been found in Yemen.<br />
<br />
The rust is seen as red patches along the stem of the wheat, hence the name.  <br />
<br />
KULUMSA AGRICUTURAL RESEARCH CENTER (KARC) is about 167 km southeast of Addis Ababa. It is located in the Oromiya Regional State in the northeast periphery of the town of Asela, Arsi Zone.
    MM7753_20101029_41501.jpg
  • Packaging seeds for shipment to the Svalbard seed bank at the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa.<br />
<br />
These shipments act as a backup in the event that seeds are lost at the primary storage facility.
    MM7753_2010-08-06_32054.jpg
  • Inside the seed bank rooms at the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa.<br />
<br />
Seeds are stored at low temperatures and low humidity to keep the viable for a longer time. The Ames facility focuses on corn, as well as sunflowers and other grains.
    MM7753_2010-08-06_32016.jpg
  • The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are 121 hectares[1] of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England.<br />
Kew Gardens originated in the exotic garden at Kew Park formed by Lord Capel John of Tewkesbury. It was enlarged and extended by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales, for whom Sir William Chambers built several garden structures. One of these, the lofty Chinese pagoda built in 1761 still remains. George III enriched the gardens, aided by William Aiton and Sir Joseph Banks. The old Kew Park (by then renamed the White House), was demolished in 1802. The "Dutch House" adjoining was purchased by George III in 1781 as a nursery for the royal children. It is a plain brick structure now known as Kew Palace.
    MM7753_2010-07-24_12456.jpg
  • Oca is a tuber relative of the potato, grown in the high Andes.  Oca is part of the vast biodiversity of some 1,300 varieties of potatoes and tubers grown here. Seen here at the home of Mariano and Antonia Sutta Apucusi at ther home in Pampallacta, at the Parque de la Papa near Pisac, Peru.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.
    MM7753 2010-05-28 3909.jpg
  • The market in Bati is incredibly large, diverse and crowded, being the place where people from the lowlands and highlands of northern Ethiopia meet to exchange their crops, livestock and wares. Something like 20,000 people show up at the Monday market every week. <br />
<br />
Grain is an extremely important commodity, including the all important teff for making injera. Farmers and sellers lay their grain out in bags and piles on plastic sheeting on the ground, and measure it out with tin cans. <br />
<br />
The cattle and camel market is equally large, with pastoral herders from the lowlands, many of them Afar people, coming to sell their livestock to the highland people. The market takes place in one big corral, with buyers and sellers squeezed in amongst the animals.
    MM7753_20101101_43924.jpg
  • Carey Fowler at the "Doomsday" seed bank in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway.  Dug into the frozen mountainside above the town, the seedbank is a last chance repository for millions of seeds, that could be used to restore agriculture should a disaster wipe out many of the plants we depend upon for food.
    MM7753_20100311_0524.jpg
  • Sunflowers being grown out are kept in insect-prooof cages to prevent cross pollination, at the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa.<br />
<br />
Each cage has it's own beehive so that the plants are properly pollinated. Seeds must be grown out periodically to keep them viable, one of the issues that makes proper maintenance of a seed bank difficult and expensive.
    MM7753_2010-08-06_31388.jpg
  • Antonia, wife of Mariano Sutta Apucusi. At their home in Pampallacta.  Oca is a tuber relative of the potato, grown in the high Andes.  Oca is part of the vast biodiversity of some 1,300 varieties of potatoes and tubers grown here. Seen here at the home of Mariano and Antonia Sutta Apucusi at ther home in Pampallacta, at the Parque de la Papa near Pisac, Peru.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.
    MM7753 2010-05-27 3487.jpg
  • Papa wata ceremony, performed after potatoes are brought in from the field, to call the spirit of the potato because the spirt of the potato sometimes stays in the field.  Mariano Sutta Apucusi and his wife Antonia are seen holding the potatoes over incense.  Part of the ceremony is the kintu ceremony, where three coca leaves are held up to call the spirits of the mountains, or apus. <br />
<br />
When he is holding up the coca leaves it is the Kintu ceremony, part of many ceremonies, an offering to Mother Earth and to thank the apus, the sacred mountains. <br />
<br />
<br />
The Parque de la Papa, or potato park, near Pisac, Peru is using potatoes as a focal point to aid biodiversity and local economics, as well as bringing the community together through traditional values.
    MM7753 2010-05-27 3318.jpg
  • Antonia, wife of Mariano Sutta Apucusi. At their home in Pampallacta.  Oca is a tuber relative of the potato, grown in the high Andes.  Oca is part of the vast biodiversity of some 1,300 varieties of potatoes and tubers grown here. Seen here at the home of Mariano and Antonia Sutta Apucusi at ther home in Pampallacta, at the Parque de la Papa near Pisac, Peru.<br />
<br />
Mariano Sutta Apucusi is wearing the traditional hat and a dark red sweater. Sabina Sutta Apucusi is his sister, wearing a brown hat and a light red sweater.
    MM7753 2010-05-27 3487-Edit-Edit.jpg
  • Restoration in the Loess Plateau region of China.  Fo Tang Yan village in Zizhou County where there is a very large restoration project planting date trees.  The propaganda moto on a terrace read "Plant a thousand mu (Chinese acres) of date trees for a thousand years of prosperity."
    MM6977_071020_27188.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Ravenala madagascariensis (Strelitziaceae) – traveller’s palm; native to Madagascar - a close relative of the bird-of-paradise-flower, the traveller’s palm has very similar fruits but the seeds are wrapped in blue instead of orange arils.<br />
Interesting weblinks:<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravenala_madagascariensis
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11956.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
<br />
Afzelia africana (Fabaceae) – African mahogany; collected in Burkina Faso – open fruit (legume) consisting of the two halves of the single carpel; inside the fruit are a number of large black seeds with a bright orange-red aril attracting birds for dispersal. Because of their attractive appearance the seeds are also used by makers of botanical jewellery; length of pod: 17.5cm.<br />
From Wikipedia: Mature trees grow between 10 and 20 meters in height. They are prized for their quality wood, their bark which has many medicinal uses, and their nitrogen-rich leaves which enrich the soil.
    MM7753_2010-07-22_11715.jpg
  • Center pivot irrigation system watering corn in Nebraska.
    USAgriculture_0081.jpg
  • Cattle feedlot in Kansas, CAFO,
    Cattle Feedlot.jpg
  • Combines cutting wheat during harvest near Goodland, Kansas. Seen from the air.
    Combines in Kansas.jpg
  • The Palouse of Washigton is an area of loess hills built out of wind-blown dust.  High hills are extremely fertile, with exceptional production of dryland wheat.
    MM6977_070625_03297.jpg
  • Threshing rice in the fields of Bali, beating the bundles of freshly cut rice against boards to get the rice out.
    MM8154_20131020_19373.jpg
  • Seed Savers Exchange is one of the oldest and largest heirloom seed conservation organizations in the world. <br />
Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange members have passed on approximately one million samples of rare garden seeds to other gardeners. The non-profit organization of gardeners is dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds.
    MM7753_20100902_33088.jpg
  • Horses, ponies, cobs, and sheep graze the lush rolling hills of mid-Wales in the UK. Breeds are selected and adapted for local conditions with consideration of maximum economy. The hills of mid-Wales profide rich grazing on moderate slopes with plentiful rainfaill and moderate winters.
    MM7753_2010-07-27_15858.jpg
  • The Palouse of Washigton is an area of loess hills built out of wind-blown dust.  High hills are extremely fertile, with exceptional production of dryland wheat.
    MM6977_070625_02787.jpg
  • Harvesting rice in the field around the village of Jogahat, Chunamonhathi, Jessore, Bangladesh.
    MM8154_20131024_20771.jpg
  • Megate Worku and his brother Gizehany Worku winnowning barley in the wind near Dalota village in Ethiopia. <br />
<br />
Barley is widely grown in this area of Ethiopia north of Addis Ababa.
    MM7753_20101031_43086.jpg
  • Testing for Ug99 wheat stem rust in the field station at Asella, Ethiopia.<br />
<br />
Kulumsa Research Centre, P. O. Box 489, Asella, Ethiopia  Wheat being tested for Ug99 wheat stem rust and other rust diseases at the Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center in Asela, Ethiopia. <br />
<br />
Ug99 is devastating to wheat, leaving the heads with nothing but small, shriveled grain in the otherwise normal looking heads. It was discovered first in Uganda in 1999 and has since been moving east, having recently been found in Yemen.<br />
<br />
The rust is seen as red patches along the stem of the wheat, hence the name.  <br />
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KULUMSA AGRICUTURAL RESEARCH CENTER (KARC) is about 167 km southeast of Addis Ababa. It is located in the Oromiya Regional State in the northeast periphery of the town of Asela, Arsi Zone.
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  • Market day in Goro, Ethiopia where women bring grain to sell and farmers bring cattle and other livestock. The cattle market is very busy with sellers and buyers mingling side by side with the animals. <br />
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The grain may be ground into flower or may be used as seed for the next season's crop. They pour the grain to show it off and to further winnow and clean it to make it more valuable. Some were selling corn and chickpeas, but many were selling the typically Ethiopian grain called teff. <br />
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Some choose to sell their grain directly to a broker or middleman rather that sit all afternoon in the hot sun. They can be seen with their bags of grain on a scale, waiting anxiously to see what price they will get for it.
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  • Trampeling wheat for the winnowing process in Ethiopia. The oxen help break down the wheat stalks and loosen the grain in the heads to make the winnowing easier.
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  • Rice threshing in the fields of the village of Jogahat, Chunamonhathi, Jessore, Bangladesh.  The men are using a foot powered thresher to beat the rice off the still-wet rice plants. Rice harvested in the field will be carried back to the village where it will be cleaned and dried. <br />
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The woman sweeping rice up is Shukhjan Begum.<br />
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The two guys with rice sacks on their heads are:<br />
Muhammed Dobibar Rahman (Red printed shirt)<br />
Jinnat (white shirt)<br />
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The others at the machine are: Robiul Islam, Joshim, Tobiban Rahman and Anisur Rahman.<br />
Cell: +8801711375573
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  • The Palouse of Washigton is an area of loess hills built out of wind-blown dust.  High hills are extremely fertile, with exceptional production of dryland wheat.
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