An 11,840-square-foot vault buried beneath the grounds of an English country manor in Sussex isn't concealing gold or diamonds, but something more precious - seeds. Designed to withstand vandalism and nuclear attack, the Millennium Seed Bank is fitted with labs and cold storage units where the seeds of plants are cleaned, dried, x-rayed, dried again, and then stored in glass jars at -4 degrees Fahrenheit in the hope that they'll survive for at least 200 years. After preserving 93 percent of the UK's flora last year, the bank is now racing to catalog specimens from 10 percent of the world's plants by 2010; it's predicted that global warming and population growth will destroy a quarter of Earth's vegetation in the next 50 years. Battling scorpions, land mines, and global diplomacy, Michiel van Slageren, who coordinates the MSB's efforts in northern and western Africa and the Middle East, has gathered more than 1,000 species. He is particularly proud of acquiring the Bombax costatum's seeds, which are used as stuffing for mattresses, VD prevention, and food. "The trees are so tall, we had to throw sticks at them, and then collect the seeds off the ground," he says. "It was quite scientific, really."
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