In keeping with the mission of the botanic garden, the seed collections of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden consists primarily of species that occur within the state of California, the northern regions of Baja California, Mexico, and cultivars derived from California native plant species.

The Garden makes no claims as to the viability of seed offered through this electronic index. In addition, participants should be aware that seed from cultivated plants (Provenance Type Z or G) is derived from open pollination and no guarantee as to their purity is implied.

Requesting Seed

Participation

This seed index is published for access by botanic gardens, or conservation, research, and educational institutions and  on a limited basis for supporting RSABG members. Requests for membership can be obtained by contacting our Membership Services Department at (909) 625-8767 x 258. For a list of commercial enterprises offering native seed please see: Other sources for seeds of California native plants.

Fees

A U.S. $3.00 per packet fee* is charged to offset processing, shipping and handling costs. Important note: Orders from outside the United States must be paid by Visa or Mastercard. Requests within the U.S. may be paid by check payable to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.

Seed sample packets usually contain between 25 and 200 seeds.

California institutions offering documented wild collected seed through their Index Seminum program are exempt from fees for up to 20 packets per year.

The Index is available in various formats.

• You may download the seed list in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format (601 kb)
• You may download the seed list as tab delimited text, seedlist.tab (316 kb) (This file may be preferential for those who want to import the information into the spreadsheet program of their choice)
• The seed list is also available as a pdf document

You can use the find command to search the list. PC: (ctrl + F)   Mac: (apple command + F)

This seed list was last updated in September 2009.

Organization of Seed List

The accessions are sorted in alphabetical order by genus then by accession. In all of the lists the following fields accompany each accession in the collection. For many accessions, the spreadsheet file also contains references to and allows sorting by habitat.

• ACC NUM: RSABG accession reference number
• NAME: Nomenclature primarily follows The Jepson Flora Project Online Interchange
• STATUS: Restricted collections. Collections with the following designations are either not available or are accessible for research or conservation purposes only:
  
  • SE, ST, FE, FT: Species protected under the Federal or State Endangered Species Acts. Seed samples of these restricted taxa are not available without first securing a federal or state research permit.
  • R: Available for research purposes only or restricted due to limited availability. Availability and release of samples from these collections will be determined by proposed use and quantity of seed available for distribution.
  • N/A: Not available generally due to limited quantities or because the collection is part of a core Garden collection.
• STORE_DT: Storage year
• PT: Provenance type
  • (W) Seed collected from plants growing in native habitats
  • (Z) Seed collected from plants in cultivation from known wild origin
  • (G) Seed from cultivated plants not of known wild origin
• ORIGIN: County, country locality, or source of the collection
• FAMILY:
• HABITAT: Plant community or habitat information on the collection site

Every effort has been made to qualify each accession as to any restrictions on its availability; however availability cannot be guaranteed on any accession. If you have questions on an accession's current availability or status contact the Seed Conservation Program Manager.

Placing an Order

• Send in your order using a copy of the Seed Request Form (available as a Microsoft Excel or pdf file). Please include your name, institution, shipping address, e-mail address, request date, and the required payment . Orders from outside the United States need to be paid for by Visa or Mastercard. Requests within the U.S. may also pay by check made payable to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.
• It may occasionally be necessary to substitute a different accession of the same species. If this is unacceptable please mark 'No Sub.' on the order form or indicate an acceptable substitution.
• Include a statement as to how the collections are to be used.
• Orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to limited quantities or prior requests, we may not be able to fill all requests.

Convention on Biological Diversity

In response to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Garden supplies the seed requested on condition that:

•   They are used for the common good in areas of research, trials, breeding, education and conservation.
•   If the recipient seeks to commercialize the genetic material, its products or research derived from it, then written permission must be obtained from the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.
•   The genetic material, its products or research derived from it are not to be passed on to a third party for commercialization without written permission from the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.

Seed Distribution and Invasive Exotic Plants

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden is concerned about the serious impact that alien plant introductions can have on local native plant populations. It is assumed by this institution that the receiving institution or individual will not order seeds of species that might escape from their garden and become invasive weeds or through their introduction, genetically pollute local native plant populations.

Importing Seed Outside the United States

It is the goal of this institution to abide by all government restrictions regulating the import and export of seed. It is assumed that the receiving institution, in placing an order, is in compliance of any local regulations. Organizations and individuals should therefore contact the Agricultural or Plant Health authorities in their country to check on any restrictions before ordering seed.

Publications

The Garden requests copies of any publication produced with reference to this collection, as well as acknowledgment in any such publication.

The Garden would appreciate receiving any germination data obtained on seeds from our collection. In addition, any error in identification should be brought to our attention. This will help us monitor and maintain the highest standards in our Seed Storage and Index Seminum Program.