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Contributions Seeds and shopping centres H Trevor Clifford HonoraryAssociate,QueenslandHerbarium,EnvironmentandResourceManagement, BrisbaneBotanicGardens,MtCoot-thaRd,Toowong,Queensland4066. Abstract Shoppingcentres are a rich source ofviable seeds and in this study 58 species were raisedfrom sources not intendedforcultivation.The speciesrepresented50genera,belongingtoapproximately40%ofthecurrently recognisedangiospermclades. (TheVictorianNaturalist127(1)2010,11-14) Keywords: Shoppingcentres,viable seeds, seedbanks,plantquarantine Many seeds (and small fruits) present in soils ingmixtures, herbalmedicines, andsoiladher- areviableandassuchcanberegardedasconsti- ingtorootvegetables.Theseedsextractedfrom tutingaglobalseed-bank,thespeciescomposi- fresh fruits, if imported from overseas, were tionofwhichvariesfromplacetoplace.Theex- also testedforviability. istence ofseedbankslonghas been recognised Dependinguponthetimethathaselapsedbe- andwerereferredtobyTheophrastus (370-288 tweentheirharvestandpurchase,thetreatment BCE) who reported that ‘in some places, ifthe receivedduringstorageortosatisfyquarantine ground is merely lightly worked and stirred, regulations, theviabilityoftheseedstested dif- the plants native to the district spring up, for fered considerablyfrom sample to sample. For instance the cypress, Cupressus sempervirens example,thepercentagegerminationofseveral , in Crete.’ He also noted that plants other than samples ofSweetBasil seedstestedwaszero. In those native to an area may spring up after contrast,some samples ofsesameseedfailedto heavy rain. For example, Silphium Ferula tin- germinatewhileotherswerenearly100%viable. gitans had been known to appear from such Furthermore,theseedsofsomespecies,includ- cause (heavy rain), where there was none be- ingthoseofOpiumPoppy,appearedtobequite fore (Hort 1948). However, it is debatable as fertile, asjudged from the proportion ofthose to whether the appearance ofthese plants was that germinated and developed to the cotyle- due to the germination ofseeds that had been don stage, butmostseedlings failedtoproduce longdormantinthesoil,orhadwashedinwith more than a fewleavesbefore dying. Rarely, as floodwaters. withtheseedsofafewavocadosimportedfrom Inan elegant pioneerpaper, CarrollandAsh- NewZealand,theseedlingsproducedgrewinto ton (1965) studiedthe seed-banks ofnine Vic- monstrouschlorophyll-deficientplants. toriansoils.Overaperiodofsixmonths,begin- Itisremarkablethatafewseedsremainviable ning in April, theyrecorded both the numbers despite the damage sustained during process- and identities of seedlings that sprouted from ing. Healthyplantshavebeenraisedfromseeds sampleswhichhadbeenplacedonasterilesub- ofpearl barley Hordeum vulgare polished rice , strateinaglasshouseandregularlywatered. Oryzasativa andsplitpeasPisumsativum. , Thoughshoppingcentresareinnosenseplant Allseedsweretestedatambienttemperatures communities, they may be regarded as seed- and none, other than those of legumes, were banks, for on the shelves of some merchants’ subjected to any pretreatment. Boiling water premises there are products that contain large was poured over the latter to soften any hard numbers ofviable seeds. Many ofthese seeds seeds. Seed samples which did not promptly aresourcesoffoodforpeopleoranimals,espe- germinate were kept under test conditions for cially birds. Accordingly, the diversity ofseeds many months to allow for the breakdown of present on the shelves is far from a random dormancy. Soil associated with root crops was sampleoftheEarth’s flora. maintained under conditions similar to those Seeds tested for viability were purchased in fortestingseedviability.Seedlingsfromallseed Brisbane shopping centres. They derived from sources were grown until their identities could the following sources: dried fruits, bird-seed, beconfirmed. pulses,muesli,spiceseeds,grains,nuts,sprout- Vol 127 (1) 2010 11 Contributions From the Appendix it is clear that, from the In this study, 58 specieswere raised and these labelling on packages, viable seeds came from represented 50 genera and 19 ofthe 42 orders ten countries including Australia. It is likely and eight other terminal clades recognised other countries should be added to the list, by Soltis et al. (2005) in their classification of for several samples were labelled as deriving angiosperms. Because the samples tested ex- from either ‘Imported’ or‘Local and Imported’ cluded not only species intended for cultiva- sources andsotheirorigin mustbe regardedas tionbut alsothoselocallygrownforfresh fruit, indeterminate. Unlabelled samples were prob- this number must be much less than the total ably sourced in Australia but may have come available in Brisbane shopping centres. Fur- fromoverseas. thermore, the requirements ofcustomers vary Althoughthespecificidentitiesofalltheseeds from place to place, as is evidenced by seeds of purchased were known, the same was not true Lupini Bean being sold only in suburbs with for the few contaminants encountered. Their largeGreekcommunities. It would beexpected identities were determined by germinating the that at a world level the diversity ofseeds sold seedandgrowingtheresultingseedlingstoma- inshoppingcentreswouldfarexceedthosethat turity. are available in Brisbane. These centres may, Two other seed sources encountered in shop- therefore, be regarded collectively as constitut- ping centres were those incorporated in the ing an immense world seed bank, biased in fa- soil attached to root crops and in Sphagnum vourofspeciesuseful forfeedinghumankind. Moss. Because these seeds were not part ofthe Acknowledgements ptarmoidnuacnttsp.urTchheassoeidl stahmepylweesrceonrteagianreddeduapstcoosni-x ThispaperisdedicatedtothememoryofDavid Ashton, a distinguished ecologist and some- germinableseedsper 100gofdrysoilandthese time member of the Field Naturalists Club of without exception were of Australian adven- tive species. The most common fellowtraveller wViocrttohriao.fIttheisRaoyplaelasTuarsematonitahnanBkotNaantiaclaile GPaarp-- with the Sphagnum Moss wasJuncus bassianus dens, Hobart, for cultivating plants of Juncus whose seeds germinated to produce healthy bassianus, forwarded from Brisbane, and Dr plants. After several years’ cultivation in Bris- DI Morris ofthe Tasmanian Herbarium for its bane these plants failed to flower but they did identification. so within a few weeks ofbeing transferred to Hobart. References The species raised are listed in the Appendix. Anon.(2009)IntroducedFloraofAustraliaanditsweedsta- aAdbvoeuntti8v0e%floofrat.heAsefaerweomfemthbeersspecoifesA,ustirnaclliuad’-s Catreurrsao.lll<VhiEtcJttpao:rn/id/awnAesepdhlsta.onctnbicDto.Hmumq(u.1ne9id6tu5i.)easuS.>eeTdhsetoVriacgteoriinansoNilastuorfasleivs-t innogxiVoaursiewgeaetdesd (ThRiasntdlaelslS2i0l0y2b)umbumtamroisatnuarme,raerle- Eb8(b2eCl,As1B0ID2LP-u1b1(l02i0.s0h3i)ngP:riWnacliplliensgfoofrPdl)antHealthandQuarantine. ativelybenign (Anon2009). However,thisdoes HeatherNWand Hallman GJ (2008) PestManagement and notprecludethemfrombelongingtogenotypes Phytosanitary TradeBarriers. (CABI Publishing: Walling- that do not occur locally and with which they HofrotrdA) (1948) Theophrastus-EnquiryintoPlantsandminor could competeorinterbreedtobecomeaggres- works on Odours and WeatherSigns, (parallel Greekand siveweeds. RaEnndgallilshRPte(xt2s0)02()WiAllGilaombaHleCionmepmeanndniLutmd:ofLoWneeddosn.)(RG&FJ Therefore, imported seeds and fruits are sub- Richardson:Meredith,Vic.) MW ject to strict quarantine regulations (Ebbels SoltisDE,SoltisPS,EndressPKandChase (2005)Phy- 2003), but as noted by Heather and Hallman togenyandevolutionofangiosperms. (Smithsonian Books: Washington) (2008, p.6) ‘Phytosanitary barriers cannot offer WiersemaJH and Leon B (1999) WorldEconomicPlants:A absolutesecurityagainsttheentryofapestspe- StandardReference.(CRCPress:BocaRaton,Florida) cies but risk management will reduce the pos- sibilityofentryandestablishmenttoacceptable levels’Theconceptofwhatisan acceptablerisk level hasbeen the subjectofmuch debate, cen- Received27November2008;accepted1 October2009 tred largelyon the need to ensure that quarantine regulations do not become a substitute for tradebarriers inthe form ofprotectionism. TheVictorian Naturalist 12 ** Contributions Appendix Species grown from seeds sold in Brisbane Shopping Centres, for human or animal consumption, plus the contaminants thereof, and those from a few imported fruits. The vernacular names given are those widely usedinAustraliaandthecountriesfromwhichsourcedasgivenonthepackaging. Speciesnamesaccording toWiersemaandLeon(1999). *=speciesnotknownasadventivesinAustralia(Anon2009);L&I=LocalandImported. Species VernacularName SeedSource Amaranthuscaudatus Inca-Wheat Bolivia Arachishypogaea Peanut Australia Avenasativa Oats Australia Brassicanigra Canola Australia Carthamustinctorius Safflower Australia,L&I Castaneasativa Chestnut Australia Chenopdiumquinoa Quinoa Bolivia Cicerarientinum* ChickPea Australia Citruslimon Lemon USA Citrusparadisi* Grapefruit Israel Citrusreticulata* Mandarine USA Coriandrumsativum Coriander India Cucurbitapepo Pepitas China Cuminumcyminum Cumin India Echinochloaesculenta JapaneseMillet Australia Fagopyrumesculentum Buckwheat China Foeniculum vulgare Fennel India Glycinemax* SoyaBean India Helianthusannuus Sunflower Australia Hordeumvulgare Barley Australia Juglansregia Walnut Australia Lensculinaris Lentil L&I Litchichinensis Lychee Thailand,China Linumusitatissimum Flax Australia,China Lupinusalbus WhiteLupin Australia Lyciumbarbarum GogjiorWolfBerry China Lycopersionesculentum SundriedTomato Turkey Medicagopolymorpha Medick India Medicagosativa Alfalfa,Lucerne L&I Nigellasativa Blackcumin India Oryzasativa Rice Italy Panicummiliaceum MilletPanic Australia Papaversomniferum OpiumPoppy India Perseagratissima Avocado NewZealand Peucedanumgraveolens Dill India Phalariscanariensis CanaryGrass Australia Phaseoluslimensis* LimaBean USA Phaseolusvulgaris KidneyBean USA Phoenixdactylifera DatePalm Turkey Pimpinellaanisum* Anise Turkey Pisumsativum GardenPea NewZealand Prunusdulcis* Almond Australia Punicagranatum Pomegranate USA Salviahispanica* Chia Australia Secalecereale Rye Australia Sesamum indicum SesameSeed Australia Silybummarianum VariegatedThistle Australia Sorghum bicolor GrainSorghum Australia Trachyspermumcopticum* Caraway India Trigonellafoenum-graecum Fenugreek India Triticumaestivum Wheat Australia Vacciniumcorymbosum* HighbushBlueberry NewZealand Vol 127 (1) 2010 13 Contributions Appendixcont. Species VernacularName Seed Source Viciafaba BroadBean Australia Vignaangularis* AdzukiBean Australia Vignaradiata* MungBean Australia,L&I Vignasinensis CowPea USA Zeamays Maize L&I One HundredYears Ago VICTORIANVEGETATION INTHEMELBOURNEBOTANICGARDENS BYEPITCHER. (ReadbeforetheFieldNaturalists’ClubofVictoria, 11thJan., 1910.) IT is hardlyto be expected that one could find anywherewithin aradius of2Vi miles ofthe centre ofso prosperousaStatecapitalasMelbourneeventhesmallestareaoflandinanythinglikethenaturalcondition inwhichitexistedseventyyearsearlier,tosaynothingofeverhopingtotracewithinsuchanareaamassof vegetationanythingapproachingthenaturalconditioninwhichitexistedpriortothattime. Itmay,however, beremarkedwithagreatdeal ofpleasure, andtothecredit ofthepersons concerned, whetherthey havepassedawayorarestillliving,thatthereare yettobeseen,withinaveryshortdistanceofMelbourne, in our Royal, Studley, Richmond and Yarra parks, numerous specimens ofEucalyptus, Casuarina, and Acacia, now,perhaps,ofverylimitedspecies,whichservetoindicate,inpart,thecharacterofthenatural vegetation which existedon thesiteofourcitypriorto itsdiscoveryandsubsequentsettlement. In addi- tion,thereyetremainto-dayalongthebanksoftheRiverYarra,onwhichourcityisbuilt,anditstributary creeks,withinaveryshortdistanceofthemetropolis,Acacia,Bursaria,Melaleuca,andotherplantsintheir natural condition, which afford additional evidence ofthe character ofthe vegetation which previously occupiedthesiteofMelbourneanditsflourishingsuburbs. Now, when we consider that in the small area so wisely selected by the first Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria,theHon.CharlesJosephLaTrobe,in 1840asaBotanicGardenssite,sinceincreasedtoabout 100 acres, there have been going on continuous changes and transformations ofthe surfaceconditions, such asbytheerectionofastatelyvice-regalresidenceinitsvicinity; theprovidingofsuitableapproachesand thoroughfarestoandfromthecityforitspopulationlivingintheadjoiningsouthernsuburbs;theimprove- ments ofthe course and southern bankofthe Yarra, which formsoneofthe boundaries ofthe site; and, lastbutnotleast,theremodellingandimprovingoftheGardensthemselvesaccordingtothevaryingideas ofthe differentdirectors from time to time duringthe period, named, itisalmostunreasonableto think thatanynativevegetationwouldremainofthatwhichexistedpriortothediscoveryoftheState,yetthere arestill:afewtreeslivingwithinourBotanicGardenswhichwereflourishingonthesitebeforetheadvent ofthefirstofourwhite, population. Itistodrawattentionto these,with thehope oftheirbeingretained as longaseverpossible as memorials ofsuch original vegetation, that theyarehere referred to and their conditionatthisdatementioned. Foranumberofyearsafter 1869,whenthewriterwasfirstintroducedtotheofficeandserviceofthelate Baron von Mueller by Mr. A. C. Neate, a faithful former official ofthe Gardens stafffor. over* 40 years, there remained in the north-eastern portion ofthe grounds an island area cut offfrom the surrounding landbyanarrowstrip ofthethenlagoonwaters. ThisareawasdenselycoveredwiththeSwampTea-tree, Melaleucaericifolia,whichinmanypartswassurmountedwiththeScrubVine,Cassythamelantha.Clumps oftheSwordRush,Lepidospermaelatius,werescatteredamongstthistea-tree,andseveralRedGumtrees, Eucalyptus rostrata, were striking objects in the vicinity, while around the margins and in the adjoining lagoon-waterswerethrivingluxuriantly,intheirnaturalcondition,numerousaquaticplants,includingthe NativeBulrush, Typhaangustifolia. Patchesofthetea-treearestilltobefoundgrowinginthislocality,and areshowninthephotographshereto-night. TheseIhadtakensometimeagowiththeobjectofretaining a remembranceoftheexistenceofthiswildcornershouldthosepatchesbefoundto vanishbyreason of furtherartificialalterationofthesurface,orbytherequirementsofexoticvegetationintheirvicinity. From The VictorianNaturalistXXVI,pp. 164-165,March 10, 1910 14 TheVictorianNaturalist