'Breathtaking' seeds on display

Details of images from the 'Dispersal' exhibition

The Dispersal exhibition will be on display at Wakehurst Place in Sussex.

"Breathtaking" images of seeds gathered from across the world will be displayed in Sussex for Kew's 250th anniversary.

Dr Wolfgang Stuppy said the Dispersal exhibition was inspired by seed conservation work at Wakehurst Place - Kew's country garden near Ardingly.

Seeds were dusted in gold or platinum and photographed with a powerful scanning electron microscope, before being carefully coloured by an artist.

Wakehurst's seed bank is the world's largest wild plant seed project.

'Striking and beautiful'

The exhibition is the result of a unique collaboration between artist Rob Kessler, a professor at Central St Martin's College of Art and Design, and seed expert Dr Wolfgang Stuppy, a morphologist at the seed bank.

Dr Stuppy said he hoped their "important collaboration" would "inspire new audiences and raise awareness of the important work at the Millennium Seed Bank through the dispersal of the images in this exhibition".

"The seeds are breathtakingly beautiful under the microscope, they are also very tough and have evolved to survive in all kinds of conditions - they are masterpieces of biological engineering," he added.

Wakehurst Place said the "striking and beautiful" photographs would give visitors an insight into the pioneering plant research and conservation work conducted at Wakehurst, Kew's country estate in Sussex.

The Millennium Seed Bank is working to safeguard 10% of world's wild plants from extinction by the end of the decade.