“To see things in the seed, that is genius.” ~ Lao Tzu

My son asked me a series of questions about seeds on the “Daddy Bus” ride to school yesterday morning that got me thinking.

It began with “Where do seeds at the garden store come from, Daddy?”

“The kind in the little packets?” I replied.

“Yes, Daddy, the little packets of seeds.”

“I imagine they come from plants originally and then someone puts them in the packets.”

“Before there were stores, where did they get seeds from?” he continued.

The five year old mind is amazing, isn’t it? The conversation continued for a few more minutes, and we touched on plant reproduction, food crops and biodiversity. Those fifteen minutes of conversation sparked an entire day of “back of the mind” consideration on the importance of seeds to you and me, here and now.

Together with protecting the cleanliness of air we breath and the purity of the water we drink, maintaining crop diversity is one of the most important issues of our time. No single country is self-sufficient in crop diversity, so this is a matter of international concern, especially given population growth and the subsequent demands placed on our food supply.

You’ve probably heard about the seed banks, such as the Svalgbard Global Seed Vault, a state-of-the-art seed facility buried deep inside a mountain on an island between Norway and the North Pole. These seed banks store seeds in case of every imaginable natural or manmade disaster, a backup plan for humanity.

There are two primary types of seeds: orthodox and recalcitrant. Orthodox seeds may be viable after decades or in some cases after thousands of years, with little to no damage to their DNA if stored in a cool and dry environment. While there is a persistent myth that seeds were found in an Egyptian pyramid that germinated some 3,000 years later, the fictitious story was apparently the work of scam artists seeking to capitalize on the European obsession with all things Egyptian during the 1800s. The oldest carbon-dating verified germination was actually from 2,000 year old Judean date palm seeds, excavated from Herod the Great’s palace in Israel…quite old by any measure!

Recalcitrant seeds, on the other hand, are easily damaged and must be replenished constantly, making them difficult or in some cases, impossible to store. In-situ conservation is a strategy used as an alternative to seed banks, and is part of the reason behind the establishment and preservation of National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges. This approach subjects the flora to natural selection but also exposes it to eradication by natural or man-made influences.

To see things in a seed is wise, both metaphorically and literally speaking. Seeds are easy to overlook, for they are insignificant in relation to that which they are destined to become. Seeds typically continue within themselves a store of nutrients for the seedling that will grow from the embryo, a useful fact you are wise to remember when dealing with the delicate seeds resident in your friends, families and associates.

The next time you eat a fruit, a vegetable or animal, think of the seeds that make that food chain possible. The next time you encounter a friend or enemy whom you feel you know very well, look beyond the surface appearance and take note of the seeds of greatness that lie dormant in the bank of their hearts and minds.

I hope that we’ll never need to make a withdrawal from the seed banks around the world, though I do appreciate the efforts being made on our behalf. Tending to the seeds of the future is an important responsibility not to be overlooked!