The largest seed collections are multi-national affairs, backing up national seed collections for large numbers of crop varieties and wild species.
On a smaller scale are local seed lending libraries. Such a library operates by providing seed to members of their local community at the start of the year, then receiving seeds back from those gardeners (that had success) for distribution in the next year. Some growers will ensure their plants are isolated and produce "pure" selfed seed to return to the library. Other growers won't realize they might need to do anything and will occasionally produce hybridized seed to return to the library. Over the scale of many years, the plants that grow from these seeds will be continuously changing. They will be adapting to the local environment and the tastes/favors of the growers contributing seeds back to the library.
Though such a localized variety may have always had the (hypothetical) name "Tomato Alpha", it will be a distinct variety from the "Tomato Alpha" that has been preserved in the seed banks. The common name being applied to what have become multiple different localized varieties will lead to confusion that makes it difficult for people to know what seeds they've received. (This sort of confusion is now seen in tomatoes called "Brandywine".)
Seed lending libraries can't effectively keep an eye out for hybrids (or mistaken identity) in their seeds (nor should they, as this is necessary for developing localized varieties), but they can minimize confusion by ensuring their name is attached to every seed they distribute. "Tomato Alpha, library #1 strain" will be distinct from "Tomato Alpha, library #2 strain" or "Tomato Alpha" (from a seed bank).
Part of my seed-saving philosophy says it is very important for people to save seeds from the plants they grow because it will put incorporate their goals and desires into the future of the plant. This is well captured by the seed lending libraries. I also appreciate the importance of preserving varieties the way the seed banks do because it maintains genetic diversity which can otherwise be easily lost. So, what should we do about the issue of single names coming to refer to multiple varieties?
My personal seed library includes seeds from a variety of sources. I record the variety names for seed that I buy and I'll continue to use the name for seeds I've saved as long as the plants match what the variety is supposed to be. I actively look for hybrids in my garden. If they're interesting, I'll save seeds from them, and then from some of their progeny (etc.). None of these seeds belong to the starting variety, so they get labeled with a description of what the mother plant looked like (since I don't know the daddy) as well as if I know they're F1, F2, etc. Eventually over a several seasons I'll get a better idea of what I want them to be. At the same time their genetics will be stabilizing as they get a better idea of what they want themselves to be. Eventually we'll come to some sort of agreement. I might give them a name at that point, or I might just wait until they tell me what their name is. It might take a while.
References:
Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The Svalbard global seed vault is designed as a backup for national seed banks. It protects crop biodiversity against regional (and potential global) catastrophes of natural or man-made origin. The facility is protected from many problems that can impact national seed banks by its extreme isolation. Dug into a mountain on an island well north of the Arctic circle, the extreme persistent cold helps to preserve the seeds stored there even with complete power failure. Nations retain ownership of the seeds they store in the global vault. After some event has damaged their local seed banks (or whenever they choose), they can request their seeds back from the vault. Nobody else is given access to the seeds unless the owning nation allows it.
Millennium Seed Bank Partnership. This organization has the goal of banking seeds from 25% of the world's bankable wild species. (Some plant species produce seeds that can't be preserved in a dry state. These have to be preserved through active growth instead of banking.) They focus on species from mountain, dryland, coastal, and island environments that are the most vulnerable to climate change. They also focus on wild relatives of crop species. Their seed collection is used for research, for conservation/restoration projects, and as a back-up for local seed banks (much like Svalbard).Their overall goal is preservation. Stored crop varieties and species will be maintained (usually in cold storage) in their current form, skipping through time without experiencing any evolutionary changes.
On a smaller scale are local seed lending libraries. Such a library operates by providing seed to members of their local community at the start of the year, then receiving seeds back from those gardeners (that had success) for distribution in the next year. Some growers will ensure their plants are isolated and produce "pure" selfed seed to return to the library. Other growers won't realize they might need to do anything and will occasionally produce hybridized seed to return to the library. Over the scale of many years, the plants that grow from these seeds will be continuously changing. They will be adapting to the local environment and the tastes/favors of the growers contributing seeds back to the library.
Though such a localized variety may have always had the (hypothetical) name "Tomato Alpha", it will be a distinct variety from the "Tomato Alpha" that has been preserved in the seed banks. The common name being applied to what have become multiple different localized varieties will lead to confusion that makes it difficult for people to know what seeds they've received. (This sort of confusion is now seen in tomatoes called "Brandywine".)
Seed lending libraries can't effectively keep an eye out for hybrids (or mistaken identity) in their seeds (nor should they, as this is necessary for developing localized varieties), but they can minimize confusion by ensuring their name is attached to every seed they distribute. "Tomato Alpha, library #1 strain" will be distinct from "Tomato Alpha, library #2 strain" or "Tomato Alpha" (from a seed bank).
Part of my seed-saving philosophy says it is very important for people to save seeds from the plants they grow because it will put incorporate their goals and desires into the future of the plant. This is well captured by the seed lending libraries. I also appreciate the importance of preserving varieties the way the seed banks do because it maintains genetic diversity which can otherwise be easily lost. So, what should we do about the issue of single names coming to refer to multiple varieties?
My personal seed library includes seeds from a variety of sources. I record the variety names for seed that I buy and I'll continue to use the name for seeds I've saved as long as the plants match what the variety is supposed to be. I actively look for hybrids in my garden. If they're interesting, I'll save seeds from them, and then from some of their progeny (etc.). None of these seeds belong to the starting variety, so they get labeled with a description of what the mother plant looked like (since I don't know the daddy) as well as if I know they're F1, F2, etc. Eventually over a several seasons I'll get a better idea of what I want them to be. At the same time their genetics will be stabilizing as they get a better idea of what they want themselves to be. Eventually we'll come to some sort of agreement. I might give them a name at that point, or I might just wait until they tell me what their name is. It might take a while.
References:
- Svalbard Global Seed Vault
- www.croptrust.org/what-we-do/svalbard-global-seed-vault/
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault
- Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Seed_Bank_Partnership
- www.kew.org/science-conservation/collections/millennium-seed-bank/about-millennium-seed-bank
- Seed Lending Libraries
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