Seed bank

The Palermo Botanical Garden Seed Bank is a facility of crucial importance as an ex situ centre for the conservation of plant genetic diversity.

This facility essentially operates as a seed bank, maintaining a valuable collection of seeds stored in optimal conditions for future sowing. Its primary mission is the conservation of biodiversity, a fundamental task for the protection of plant species, particularly those that are endemic or at risk.

The value of the Seed Bank is twofold: scientific and educational. The seeds collected and stored are an irreplaceable resource for research and study. They form the basis for programmes to reintroduce endangered species into the wild, actively contributing to the preservation of ecosystems.

Finally, the Botanical Garden of Palermo plays an active role in the international scientific community thanks to the Index seminum, the annual seed catalogue that allows the free exchange of genetic material with other botanical gardens and research institutions around the world, thus strengthening the global network for the conservation of flora.

Thanks to the work of its seed bank, the Botanical Garden of Palermo publishes an annual Index seminum, a catalogue of seeds and related species available for exchange with other scientific institutions that request them.

This publication facilitates and implements international research and seed exchange between botanical gardens, scholars and related research institutions (for the Botanical Garden of Palermo, over 150 national and international scientific institutions).

The Index seminum lists, in two separate lists, the taxa of wild plants whose seeds are available, collected directly from nature in various locations in Sicily (sporae et semina e plantis spontaneis  in loco natali lecta) and the taxa of plants cultivated in the Palermo Botanical Garden (semina plantarum in horto botanico cultarum).

The species are grouped systematically (by family), arranged alphabetically and identified by a code number. For seeds collected in the wild, some useful information is provided, such as the date and location of collection.

Le specie sono raggruppate per via sistematica (famiglia), ordinate alfabeticamente e contraddistinte da un numero di codice; per i semi raccolti in natura vengono riportati alcuni dati utili: la data e la località di raccolta.

Requests for seeds should be sent by email to ortobotanico@unipa.it, indicating in the subject line: ‘Index seminum – Desiderata’ and at the bottom of the email the exact address to which the requested seeds should be sent.

Please note that the possibility of requesting seeds is limited to universities, research institutions and botanical gardens, for reasons of study, conservation and education.

In accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), seeds are supplied under the following conditions, which are deemed to be accepted when ordering seeds or other plant material:

• the material must be used for the common good in the areas of research, teaching, conservation and development of botanical gardens;
• if the applicant intends to commercialise genetic material or derivative products, they must obtain prior authorisation from the Palermo Botanical Garden;
• the material may not be transferred to third parties without authorisation from the Palermo Botanical Garden;
• any scientific publication related to the material sent must mention the Palermo Botanical Garden as the supplier.