Located within the Centre for Seed Science and Technology at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Saskatoon Laboratory, the National Seed Herbarium is Canada's only reference collection of seeds for identification purposes.
The herbarium's experts provide seed identification services to support CFIA plant health programs and commercial seed testing laboratories. Seeds are the primary pathway for the long-distance dispersal of invasive plant species or noxious weeds, which can be spread through global trade. Seed identification is an essential and preventative step in making sure that growers, farmers, gardeners, landscapers and land owners are planting quality seeds of the crop they want, and not inadvertently planting or spreading weedy or invasive species.
The herbarium collection includes over 21,000 reference specimens of seeds of plant species from around the world. The oldest known specimen in the collection is a sample of larkspur seed (Delphinium bicolor), dated 1869.
The specimens from the National Seed Herbarium are available digitally in the Seed Identification Guide®. The Seed Identification Guide is a free, open access, peer-reviewed online publication (ISBN: 978-1-7753419-0-1) that shares and expands knowledge on seed morphology and identification for economic crops, wild species, weeds and invasive plants.
More information
Contact SSTS@inspection.gc.ca for more information on the National Seed Herbarium, including opportunities for students and seed scientists.