ABSTRACT
For a few centuries, botanical gardens played a major role as suppliers of wild seed material either to institutions or to individuals. They covered many different purposes, including a wide range of practical uses: exhibition, pharmaceutical applications, and also botanical research. The annual publication of an “index seminum” has been a common policy in most gardens. Not only has this practice favored seed exchange among different gardens, but it has also promoted free availability of their seed material to the general public and therefore contributed to the knowledge and popularity of the gardens themselves.
