[captioning made possible by kcet television] >> paul kirika is one of kenya's leading botanists, who has discovered several new plant species, plants whose seeds are stored at kenya's national gene bank. >> hi, jalil, how are you? >> how are you? >> oh, i'm fine and you? we have to wear this? >> we have to wear this, we're going in the cold room. >> okay. because of the changing landscapes,

extension of agriculture, building of new highways, it is expected that there are many plants there in the wild we are losing and that we may not know and it's initiatives like the seed collection that would save these plants. >> code number is gbk-456001. >> 456001? >> yes. >> at the gene bank, seeds from some of kenya's most endangered plant species are preserved at minus 18 degrees celsius. >> 303, gbk-303. >> a global initiative spanning 50 countries is underway to collect and safeguard seeds from species faced with extinction. tim pearce is one of the project coordinators from kew gardens in london. >> we've all heard about the...the red list of endangered animals, the panda and the tiger. but there are thousands of species of plant going extinct

and we've got to be very careful that we're acting now to do something about it. >> one quarter of the world's plant species are under threat of extinction, including wild varieties of common cultivated crops that could be key to securing food sources in the future. >> so tracking down these crop wild relatives, as we call them, is really important. these relatives of our crop species are here in kenya and they're going to become extinct unless we do something about them. they could hold the key to making sure that our crops can be bred so that they adapt to this changing climate. we can actually get new breeding lines. >> tim has come to kenya to join paul for a very special expedition. >> [indistinct chattering] >> they want to track down some of kenya's most important wild crop species and collect their seeds for the gene bank. >> so we take the nairobi-thika highway... >> okay. >> and then we go all the way up to nyeri... >> right, okay. >> and we get to the

aberdares through mweiga gate... >> yeah, all right. >> paul is the local expert with an uncanny ability to spot species in the wild. tim has the global perspective and expertise on which species are of most use. >> ...where there is a population of wild rice... >> right. >> this is oryza. >> oryza, okay. >> yeah, it's a relative of the cultivated rice. >> and then off to ishiara and around here. >> yes. >> now is a crucial time. the dry season is coming to an end and plants are beginning to seed. it is a window of opportunity for the team. >> we're going to be looking at wild rice. and check the specimen. kind of getting ourselves ready so that when we go into the field we know what we're looking for and we don't just see a whole bunch of green stuff. we're actually...we're actually going to collect species that we're interested in. >> paul knows that these

species exist in kenya and has even made sample collections species in the wild is extremely tough; and it will be an early start for the team tomorrow. >> oh wow, and this is a... >> the new specimen! >> yeah, it is my specimen of a new population. >> very good, very nice. >> paul and tim's mission is to find and collect seeds from the three most important wild crop species in kenya: the solanum phoxocarpum, a wild relative of the tomato and aubergine that is adapted to survive in cold high altitudes.

the wild yam that can withstand scorching temperatures, and lastly and most importantly, a wild rice that could hold the key to a more drought-resistant variety. over the next ten days they will travel across kenya, from the cool mountains of the north to the hot drylands of the east. the first stage of their mission is to collect wild aubergine seeds from the aberdare national park in the northwest. >> one of the areas where we're visiting, that is the aberdares. the aberdares is a volcanic mountain which goes up to about 4,000 meters and at the top, you find is a unique vegetation type and the alpha alpine which has evolved and adapted to very hot temperatures during the day and freezing temperatures at night. apparently, there is concern about the global warming. it is anticipated that when the

temperatures goes up, the plants will try to move higher, but there's nowhere to go. that's the topmost. so, yeah, most likely they will go extinct. [people chanting] we'll be joined by the scientist in charge who is mathenge, we'll also have a ranger with a gun because this is a national park and there are lots of animals. there are elephants, there are buffaloes. there are occasions where we are collecting and an elephant... appears and we have to run for

our lives and get off its way. [speaking in a foreign language] >> the aberdare national park is a protected area, with peaks up to 4,000 meters and it's full of unique plants specially adapted to living in high-altitude areas. but getting to the top is no easy feat. [engine rattling] [engine roaring] [indistinct chattering] >> whoo! excellent british engineering. [chuckles] who would go anywhere without a land rover? [engine roaring]

>> the summit stands at over 4,000 meters and is home to some of the aberdare's most prized plants. >> that's it paul, there's a seed...there's a seed in here. i bet you haven't collected that. >> yeah, i did collect that. >> huh? did you? >> yeah, i collected that. [muttering] >> the most magnificent is the giant groundsel. >> wow! i wish i could bring people here, you know? wish i could just bring people and show them... >> oh yeah, it's just amazing. >> they just get bigger and bigger and more exciting the closer you get to them. i'll just take a picture of you, paul. >> oh, lovely.

[tim laughs] >> how old, paul? how old do you reckon that is? >> i have no idea. >> this is quite comfy. and somebody has to do it. i could stay here for a while. [paul chuckles] >> despite the beauty and the splendor of the giant groundsel, it's not what paul and tim have come for. this is the less assuming, but perhaps much more important solanum phoxocarpum, a wild relative of the tomato and aubergine. [indistinct chattering] >> yeah. next time you go to a supermarket, you have a look at an aubergine. it's... it's quite similar to this. genetic material that's in these seeds, you know...

uhm, you know, when we germinate all those, we're going to release the genetic material and make it available for breeding programs. >> yeah, for breeding programs. >> the wild aubergine is a living treasure chest of genes for plant breeders. it is by far the easiest to find of the three wild crop species they're looking for. but it is still a crucial collection and a good start to the expedition. >> i was telling paul i've got some pictures of that hill up there. so what i need to do is dig out the old pictures and then we can compare them, we can look at how the vegetation is growing. >> yeah, to see if it's receding in the forest. if it's receding or it grows in the forest area. >> today paul and tim leave the cool highlands of the aberdares and travel down to the hot drylands of tharaka in the east. it is a 200-kilometer journey

and along the way there are constant reminders of the threats to the plants they're trying to preserve. >> this quarry here, well, this was...it was nothing like this. this...beyond where that chap's walking? >> yeah? >> well, that's new. >> they're pushing right there. >> the tana river screwpine only exists in this particular valley in northern kenya, but a recently-developed quarry is putting it at risk. >> what i see in front of me doesn't look good for this population. >> this is not kenya's only indigenous tree under threat. overexploitation and the planting of exotic species is also threatening the melia volkensii, a tree crop that is highly important to the local community. >> the melia volkensii is a kind of bit one of these wonder trees that's useful for any... a whole variety of uses: it's very good timber, they use it for beehives, the goats will be eating the fruits and it's a

really good fast-growing tree that grows very well on these dryland areas. >> the survival of a tree crop like melia depends on farmers willing to grow it, instead of more profitable exotic counterparts. and on their way to tharaka, paul and tim stop off to meet one such farmer. >> [indistinct chattering] >> john githinji is a commercial farmer who is also passionate about kenya's indigenous trees like the melia. >> right. all right. >> so if you were to sell today, how much would a tree like this...? >> five. >> yeah. >> $5,000. >> john grows these trees in amongst his crops, providing him with extra income while also preserving the melia species. >> [speaking in a foreign

language] >> paul and tim hope that john will spread the word to other kenyan farmers, making the farmers profits and saving a rare tree species. >> farmers like john, then, good farmers, good plantsmen, give him the seeds, and he'll grow the plants. we know where these species with direct value are. so we're going to go out and hopefully we're going to find this wild yam. >> the yam is the second most important crop in africa and the search for its wild relative is the second stage of paul and tim's journey. there are thought to be around 12 species of wild yam in kenya, but exact locations are often unrecorded. paul discovered one of the species ten years ago around mumoni hill, but didn't record exactly where. they will have to explore the entire mountain range on foot and will need the help of a local guide. >> [speaking in a foreign

language] >> this beautiful white bark of albizia adamsoniorum subspecies tanganyicensis today is only found in this part of kenya, so--and it doesn't produce an awful lot of seeds, so every time we go past some, we tend to collect it, but we're not equipped to kind of go tree-climbing at the moment, so we're not going to do that one. but it's--i tell you, it's nice to know that it's here. >> [speaking in a foreign language] >> it's a highly valuable [indistinct] plant. >> it's a beautiful place. >> so they use it as tea leaves. the leaves are dried and... >> oh really? >> yeah. >> yeah, citrus. so this is the only place in the world that this grows. >> yeah. >> that's what keeps me going.

so you ask why i find interest, i just see here and there's so much work. so much more to do, you know. >> the wild yam is resistant to high temperatures, and they hope it will unlock new possibilities in agriculture and secure an important food source in a changing climate. >> well yeah, we've been working for a couple of hours now. er...we haven't got the species of the yam yet, but maybe we are going to head back. >> tim and paul decide to call it a day and head back to the camp. but just as they set off, paul spots something on the side of the road. >> okay. >> got it, go on. >> it's the wild yam they've been looking for, just meters from their car.

>> hey, well, i'm doing botany from the land rover, you know? >> [indistinct] >> well done. well done. yeah, definitely. >> yeah, that's it. >> well done. fantastic. well we're going to have a good look at the seed. many of them, it feels good. if the seed's all knackered and if it's empty, it says, you know, we've got to go and start again. absolutely full. full of endospermic seeds, you know. it's proper... proper seed. so it's all there. >> despite the heat, the seeds are good, and tim and paul are able to make their second collection of the trip. >> yeah, well, you want more seeds? >> yeah. >> quick, guess what, 200 or 300 fruits multiplied by three. >> 1,000 seeds there. >> it's 1,000 seeds, yeah. that's quite good. >> with seeds from the wild aubergine and wild yam,

paul and tim have already achieved great things. but tomorrow the hunt for the most important wild crop species will begin. for the last and most important collection, paul and tim are going in search of a wild rice that is more adapted to high temperatures and could provide the answer to a more stable and drought-resistant variety. rice is one of the world's most important crops, but most species require large amounts of water and are vulnerable to drought. >> [speaking in a foreign language] >> he's saying that...this year the harvest was not very good because they had the problem of the water supply so there was a reduction in the production of the rice. >> in recent years severe drought has affected the entire east africa region and caused a food crisis across somalia, djibouti, ethiopia and kenya.

paul found the wild rice specimen about seven years ago in the hot drylands near mutha, but just as they're approaching the town, they find worrying news in a national newspaper. >> some local people were abducted by somalis. we are heading into this area called mutha where we will find the wild rice, and there is a conflict between the communities. the somalis have abducted a young boy from the kamba community. the police went to rescue the boy and they were also abducted in the process and currently there is tension in the area. >> okay. let's just see how it goes. >> mutha is a town relatively close to the somali border, a no man's land where

clashes between communities are commonplace. political instability, social unrest and food prices are inextricably linked. a more stable rice crop could mean more stable prices and greater social cohesion. the key to this could be the wild rice species hiding somewhere in the local area. >> this is a wild rice and just like the cultivated rice it grows in these depressions where after the rains they collect water, so we are going to look for these depressions. >> is it--do you recognize this area? >> yeah, it's this area. this area, yeah. >> mutha has a very harsh dry climate with unreliable rainfall, where only the toughest species can survive. a wild rice that can survive here could hold vital genetic material. >> they have some...

a few crops that are well adapted to these conditions and even in aberdare there are some types of sorghums that would be able to survive and give some crop, which would help people living in these very dry areas where the environment is very harsh and where they have persistent droughts. >> i mean, it's just too dry. it's just gone... sometimes you can, you know, find remnants or you might find a little wetter place than most, but this is just... it's just all burnt up. paul took the original specimen; he took a gps reading. you know, theoretically, we should be able to go back to the exact same spot. it's 1.8, yeah, so we're not far off. yeah. >> 1.8. >> okay. >> ten minutes.

so the gps says exactly around...this around here, so we check the gps that we're getting at the moment. read out the... the longitude again. >> 1.8 degrees. >> okay, that's fine, yeah. >> that is south, and east is 38.47. >> 38.47. >> yeah. >> it should be 38.5. are you recognizing anything, paul? >> yeah, i mean, it looks the same. yeah, yeah, exactly. we're about to just walk around and see if we can get it. >> paul and tim manage to track down the exact spot where paul last saw the rice, but everything is dry to a crisp and tim is about ready to call it a day. >> so it just goes to show that even with a good gps, with an excellent gps reading, the plant is dotted around the place. you can't always just go back

and find it. so let me go and join paul. [sighs] >> actually, it's the same spot. i've got a few plants but... [tim laughs] this is it. >> well done. [both laugh] >> this is it, tim. have a look at this. >> so this is the... this is what a young african botanist is capable of doing. they're capable of coming back in the drylands in the dry season without any rain, 35 degrees, just about to go home and out pops the wild rice. >> this is what you get. [both laugh] >> [indistinct] >> tim, just a couple of plants. these are broken. >> ah, i needn't worry. >> yeah, but it's the same spot. >> let's go have a look.

>> yeah. >> well done, mate. >> botanists have a special eye for what they are looking for. so they would just be able to spot whatever they are looking for from a distance. i feel very excited and very happy that i'm able to go back to the same spot that i collected seven years ago and to, you know, still find the plants. i mean, i realize it's still there and maybe in a good season we'll be able to come back and collect seeds of it. >> this is really important, this is not just another grass. we want those genes, we want that variety to add to the gene pool of the cultivated rice. this is what the breeders are looking for. >> the wild rice is the pinnacle to a successful botanical road trip, and paul and tim return to

the national gene bank of kenya to deliver their hard-earned seeds. >> for the rest of my lifetime, the next 15-20 years of my working life, i want to... i want to--i want to grow this so that we're not just collecting the seed, but we're collecting more of the seed from more areas, increasing our genetic pool that we can deal with and then give it out. i want to see it getting out to the plant breeders, getting it out to the farmers, getting it out to the horticulturists, getting it out to the medical people. so we have a job ahead of us and over the next ten years we set ourselves as target that we want to not only collect more across the partnership, but also get more out. >> a seed collection in kenya would ensure that the wild germplasm is conserved for posterity, for breeding programs, for crop improvement. so this is really exciting for me, having to, you know, collect

things that are near to science for future generations. [captioning made possible by kcet television] [captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--]

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