An Unbroken Line of Seed Collecting

Exchange

TU Delft Hortus Botanicus, in collaboration with TU Delft Library, presents the exhibition A Complete Chain of Seed Collecting. The exhibition tells the story of the Hortus’s active role in a global network of seed exchange that has existed for more than a century.

Collection

At the heart of the exhibition is the Hortus’s historic seed collection. The collection contains thousands of seeds from different parts of the world, some dating back to the 1890s. The seeds show how botanical collections are built up and preserved through international exchange.

Collaboration

In collaboration with the Maatwerk Facultaire Collecties programme, the collection has recently been registered and reorganised. A selection of the historic seeds is now on display for the first time since this work was completed.

Exhibition

The exhibition offers a glimpse into the history of collecting, exchanging and preserving seeds, and shows how the Hortus has been part of an international network of botanical collections for generations.