Save a Species
There are an estimated 400,000 plant species on Earth - as many as a quarter are threatened with extinction. You can help Kew protect threatened plants by saving a species outright today.
The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership works with partner countries to collect seed from plants and habitats at risk from climate change and the ever-increasing impact of human activities.
We also save the seed of plants faced with the threat of extinction and those of most use in the future. The seeds are banked at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank and in partner seed banks around the world. Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) and its partners have banked over 2.4 billion seeds since 2000 and are working on new techniques to expedite the conservation of at-risk species.
The average amount it costs to ensure a species of plant will never become extinct is £2,000.
To recognise your extraordinary contribution, we will send you a certificate of the plant species that you are responsible for safeguarding. You'll also be invited to visit Kew's Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, West Sussex and meet some members of the team.
How to sponsor
To save a species, email donate@kew.org or call us on 0208 332 3248.
Cornflower
£1,000
Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) is an annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe. In the past it often grew as a weed in cornfields, hence its name. It was almost wiped out as a result of agricultural intensification, through loss of its habitat and the increased use of herbicides but is now starting to recover.
English yew
£1,000
The English yew (Taxus baccata) is a species of coniferous tree, native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. All parts of the plant are highly toxic, with the exception of the aril – the fleshy red 'berry' that surrounds the seed. Yew trees are extremely long-lived and can survive for more than 2,000 years.
Sea holly
£1,000
Sea holly (Eryngium maritimum) is a species of Eryngium in the plant family Apiaceae and native to most European coastlines. It resembles a plume thistle in that its flower is burr-shaped, but the flowers are metallic blue rather than mauve. Although widespread, its fragile dune habitat is under threat from coastal development across its range.
Glossy-leaved gardenia
£1,000
Native to tropical West Africa, glossy-leaved gardenia (Gardenia nitida) has long been praised for its beauty. Its handsome glossy leaves and fragrant flowers make it a popular houseplant in temperate regions, and it’s considered sacred in some of the villages where it grows wild. We’ve secured its seeds in the Millennium Seed Bank from Burkina Faso, where it’s considered one of the country’s rarest plant species.
Acampe orchid
£2,000
Found growing on trees and rocks in the humid forests of southern Africa and Madagascar, Acampe orchid (Acampe pachyglossa) has evolved thick leathery leaves and the same metabolism as cacti to cope with the dry conditions of its epiphytic lifestyle away from groundwater. All orchids are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Pygmy Rwandan waterlily
£2,000
The world's smallest waterlily, with pads as little as 1 cm wide, the pygmy Rwandan waterlily (Nymphaea thermarum) was thought to be extinct in the wild after it disappeared from its only known location at a thermal spring in Mashyuza. A new population was discovered in 2023 and it is now classed as Critically Endangered. We’re protecting its seeds at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, and thanks to the hard work of our horticulturists, the plant is now successfully propagated and thriving at Kew.
Support our work
Kew scientists are looking at how plants and fungi might offer solutions to climate change, including cleaning the air we breathe. Together, we will end the extinction crisis and help create a world where nature is protected, valued by all and managed sustainably