Many plant species produce seed that can be dried and stored for very long periods. This is one of the best ways to preserve genetic resources. However, seed from a substantial number of species cannot be dried without losing their viability. Therefore, these so-called recalcitrant species cannot be stored in a seed bank. In this study we found that under certain conditions recalcitrant seed tissues may become tolerant to drying. A number of stress-related genes were proposed to play a role in this process but the absence of cell cycle activity seemed to be the most critical event in the re-establishment of drying tolerance. In addition, methods were tested to allow long term storage of moist recalcitrant seeds. The combined use of osmoticum and the plant hormone abscisic acid in the storage medium at low temperature suppressed the metabolic activity of the seeds and extended their storability. One of the main conclusions was that recalcitrant seeds are more similar to growing seedlings than to seeds.