ICPS Seedbank Seed-Drive

ICPS Seed Bank Seeds

My friend Devon, who runs the wonderful Sundews Etc., asked me to post about the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society's (BACPS) seed drive for the International Carnivorous Plant Society's Seed Bank. This two-week drive (Dec. 1 - Dec. 14) is geared towards replenishing the ICPS's all-volunteer seed bank which, for several years, has been languishing.

Freshly Collected Seed

As far as donating goes, the ICPS would prefer donated seed to be freshly collected, cleaned, and packaged. As many of my readers know, freshly collected seed typically consists of a ton of seeds and a quite a bit of chaff. Separating the two is pretty easy. All you need is a kitchen sieve, something that can be had for as cheaply as $8. Smaller seeds like Drosera seeds can be easily separated with finer mesh, while larger seeds, like Sarracenia seeds, require larger mesh.

Packages of Seed

Packing the seeds is just as easy. All it requires is some wax paper and a little practice folding. You can find a wonderful pictorial description over at the ICPS's website.

Package of Seeds

Once all that's done, you need to place the packets in a small envelope, label the packets with the date collected, number of seeds per packet, and the number of packets. Then, mail them to the ICPS at

International Carnivorous Plant Society Seed Bank

2121 N. California Blvd.

Suite 290 

Walnut Creek, CA 94596-7351

If you live outside the United States, you can still donate to the ICPS Seed Bank, but you might want to see if your local carnivorous plant organization has a seed bank or is willing to do a larger, single donation to the ICPS seed bank.

Various Carnivorous Plant Seeds
Credit: Carnivorous Plants Garden

As far as genera to donate, Drosera, Sarracenia, Drosophyllum, Byblis, and Cephalotus are good ones. They're fairly common, have long shelf-lives, and generally have a high germination rate. Genera such as Pinguicula, Nepenthes, and Utricularia don't usually last as long in storage and typically require a little extra care, but certainly feel free to donate any seeds you have. (Please be considerate, however, and don't overwhelm the Seed Bank with Drosera capensis and the various forms of Drosera spatulata. Both are quite well represented in the Seed Bank).