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National Geographic : 1950 Apr
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The National Geographic Magazine A Seed Banker Counts the Currency of Plant Life Kew, following a world-wide exchange system, shares the prizes of its collect ing expeditions with other botanic gardens. Seeds of Metasequoia, the "fossil" big tree recently discovered alive in southwest China, were parceled out to Kew in such fashion. Here John Paske, drawing on the Gardens' seed bank, makes up packets for distribution. been done on plants producing drugs, camphor, and spices, oils, gums, fibers, food grains, papers, and timbers. In East Africa a subsidiary industry is de veloping now in essential oils from peppermint, geranium, and lavender plants, species sug gested and supplied with the help of Kew. In World War II, Kew experimented with substitutes for Japanese agar and European elder pith, both needed in the war effort. Syrup was made from rose hips to supply Britain's babies with the vitamin C which they could no longer get in quantity from imported citrus fruit. It seemed as if the plants were trying them- selves to repay Britain for centuries of nurture and care. Princess Augusta's aim, however, still di rects Kew's scientific energies. Though eco nomic returns are wel come, Kew studies plants for their botanic interest generally rather than for the hope of profit. Rescuing a Dinosaur's Companion I was fascinated at Kew by the story of Metasequoia, a tree rescued from the mists of antiquity, a living link with the age of dinosaurs. Metasequoia is a working name tempo rarily identifying a genus which, until World War II, bota nists had known only as a fossil. Coal seams had shown the imprint of its leaf pattern, and Kew's taxonomists had analyzed such evidence as part of their general study of plant ancestry. Like the dinosaur and pterodactyl, Metase quoia was assumed to be lost except as some of its genes survived in subsequent modifica tions. But, lo, out of that Elysian field for botanic explorers, southwest ern China, came rumors that Metasequoia still lived. Merrill at Arnold (page 481) provided funds for a search and rescue party, and the seeds reaching him in 1948 were parceled out through the long-established exchange system to gardens like Kew. Here they have now grown into healthy young foot-high "pups," the darlings of British naturalists. I watched distinguished members of Brit ain's Royal Society shake their heads in won der at such living fossils. And Metasequoia was rescued in the nick of time! For Merrill told me that perhaps 504
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