JC Raulston Arboretum Index Seminum 2025
An index seminum (Latin for 'seed index') is an international seed exchange system between botanical gardens, arboreta, and research institutions that is free of charge, regulated, and based on reciprocity. The index seminum system was created in Europe the 1750s for the purposes of display, ex-situ conservation, education, and scientific research. Seed catalogs are published annually and sent to participating institutions. Today, over 1000 institutions worldwide produce index semina.
The JC Raulston Arboretum participates in seed exchanges in order to develop our living plant collection in support of our mission. Collecting and exchanging seeds through an index seminum is one of the essential missions of a botanical garden in order to develop scientifically valuable living plant collections. Each year, the JC Raulston Arboretum acquires over 700 accessions from seed exchanges.
The JC Raulston Arboretum collects seeds from our garden and publishes an annual index seminum. The index is published in early January. Our index seminum is produced in conjunction with our sister institution the Juniper Level Botanic Garden.
If your botanic garden would like to participate in the JC Raulston Arboretum/Juniper Level Botanic Garden Index Seminum, contact our curator, Dennis Carey at djcarey@ncsu.edu.
JC Raulston Arboretum Index Seminum Statistics
| Year | Number of Participating Institutions | Number of taxa | Location of Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 89 | 315 | 19 countries, 19 US States |
| 2024 | 107 | 290 | 22 countries, 25 US States |
| 2023 | 127 | 311 | 28 countries, 22 US States |
| 2022 | 67 | 204 | 23 countries, 17 US States |
| 2021 | 34 | 186 | 17 countries, 12 US States |
| 2020 | 34 | 225 | 16 countries, 10 US States |
| 2019 | 42 | 294 | 14 countries, 10 US States |
Member Seed Distribution
The JC Raulston Arboretum also shares seeds for free with its members via an annual event called the Member Seed Distribution (MSD). The Member Seed Distribution seed catalog is published each March. This event is enormously popular and is the largest members-only event at the JC Raulston Arboretum.
JC Raulston Arboretum Member Seed Distribution Statistics
| Year | Number of Participants | Number of taxa | Number Seed Packets Given Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | |||
| 2024 | 636 | 222 | 3,175 |
| 2023 | 598 | 220 | 2,985 |
Seed Collection at the JC Raulston Arboretum
Seeds are collected, cleaned and packaged at the JC Raulston Arboretum by a team of dedicated volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering on the seed collection team at the JC Raulston Arboretum, contact the JCRA Volunteer Coordinator. Information on volunteering at the JC Raulston Arboretum can be found here.