Seeds to exchange with other similar institutions have always been collected together with herbarium material.

During the summer season, the Garden staff collects plants and related seeds throughout Sicily, which are then identified and stored in special containers. The systematic list of available seeds, known as the Index Seminum, which was already printed in the early 19th century, is then sent to other botanical gardens in order to maintain exchange relationships and increase the Garden's living collections.

Thus, the seeds stored in the Palermo Botanical Garden seed bank have always been representative of Sicily's wild flora as well as that present in the Garden. Until recently, the Index Seminum was published annually; through it, the Garden maintained contacts and exchange relationships with about 500 other botanical gardens in accordance with the guidelines of the International Convention on Biodiversity (Rio de Janeiro 1992). Today, the Index is only printed for internal use but it is published online every two years and can be downloaded in pdf format.

Requests should be made by sending an email to direzione.ortobotanico@unipa.it: the shipment of requested seeds to botanical gardens and research institutions is free and exclusively for scientific, educational and other nature conservation purposes.

The nomenclature used is based on Pignatti Flora d'Italia (Bologna, 1982), Greuter & al., Med-Checklist 1, 3 & 4 (Genève 1984-1989) and Tutin & al., Flora Europaea 1-5 (Cambridge 1968-1993).

The identification of some plant material may not be correct and we welcome any recommendations. Hybridization is also possible, especially for seeds collected within the Botanical Garden. As already mentioned, in accordance with the international rules established by the Rio Convention, requests must be accompanied by a signed declaration of agreement to the rules mentioned above.

Index Seminum 2017

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