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Definitions:

Provenance Definitions: 

On this page:
1. Conservation Grade
2. Trusted seed source 
3. Native and Native origin
4. Wild, native
5. Native 'provenance'
6. Local provenance
7. Provenance

Weight & Measurements:
Seeds per gram:
Seeds per metre:

Cultivation / Growing Terms:
Wild-harvested: Generations 1,2, & 3.
Wild Crop: 
Provenance: 
Artificially propagated: 
Local and regional:
Wild-collected: 


On a different page in new browser:
Genetic diversity- Seed Triggers, Facts you should know about.

1. Conservation Grade:  Seed of the highest standards DBN can achieve, 

1.a. the source of the seed is native Irish, confirmed by our staff, or another reputable source as seed or plant propagation material from a site where only sustainable or traditional land management practices, without introduced soil or seed, gave rise to the 'Source' and that that source is 'Wild Native'.
1.b. the origin is native Irish origin, and is traceable

At Design By Nature the emphasis is on creating living Gene Banks for ' Irish genotypes' and 'native only' species, so that our seed is always vitally native, as all the seed from our crops is only ever sourced in the wild in Ireland.

You can be sure that Design By Nature Irish wildflower seeds are ideal for nature conservation. The proof is that nearly every Irish government agency when they get a chance to sow native species, now uses our seed. Our seed is used in national genebanks and plant collections.

2. Trusted seed source:  A term to describe a supplier or site where legal guidelines are implemented. At Design By Nature, we are certified by DAFM. Ireland's Department of Agriculture.

Our emphasis is on creating living Gene Banks for ' Irish genotypes' or 'Irish germplasm' and 'native only' species, so that our seed is always vitally native, as all the seed from our crops is only ever sourced in the wild in Ireland.

You can be sure that Design By Nature Irish wildflower seeds are ideal for nature conservation. The proof is that nearly every Irish government agency when they get a chance to sow native species, now uses our seed. Our seed is used in national genebanks and plant collections.

3. Native and Native origin: 
As there are a number of different definitions for the term "origin" within the horticultural trade, for the purposes of describing native plants, the term "Native Origin" is used. 

Native origin is: 
The location of a wild (unplanted) native plant community (in which a stand of native plants grow) or from which a native plant was originally introduced, the place where the parent wild plants grow or grew (e.g. where a cutting of a plant was taken from, to grow in a nursery).

In the UK, crop-grown wildflowers and grasses can be described as being of native origin to the wild location for up to six generations removed from the wild parent (providing no artificial selection has taken place in cultivation).  A generation having parents and or progeny. In the USA and Ireland we choose 3 generations to describe 'Irish Native Origin', as each crop produces seed for many years as a crop, first generation seed can produce seed from the second year up to 7 or more years,  if seed was collected in the second year and resown as a crop to produce more seed, in six years from start to finish our crops progeny would be no longer 'native origin'. 

However, if seed was collected from a crop growing from 10 years and sown and recollected ten years later and so on, 30 years would still be third generation Native Origin..

Why? Because in the case of Meadowsweet, and other long lived perennials, 6 generations removed may represent up to 300 years of growing and producing seed.
As such long term crops would have had to be managed we choose three generations of no more than 10 years as a crop. 
Why? Because we believe the 'seed trigger' cannot be maintained as 'Native origin' over long periods of time. This make Irish native seed produced by Design By Nature the most native origin seed in the British and Irish Islands, and most suitable for conservation.

A seed collected from a seed orchard grown from native origin seed from a specified locality can also be described as being of 'native origin' to that locality providing the seed orchard is within the same region or locality as the wild parents. 

A plant of native origin is one whose genetic makeup has been inherited from and which is representative of plants which still grow in the wild. 
Unlike cultivated varieties, plants of native origin have not been subject to levels of human interference, or selection processes induced by ex situ cultivation, that have resulted in distinctive changes to its wild traits. 

The term native origin is synonymous with the definition of origin as provided by E.U. Directive 199/105/EC on the marketing of forest reproductive material. Since we first wrote this definitive page, The EU Have introduced new directives.

There will always be uncertainties about the origin of many plants, even those which grow in the wild.
Many species have probably been "introduced" into localities in the past (e.g. hay meadow wildflowers, such as red clover, yarrow and chicory, spread around where landowners could afford, when meadows were re-seeded before c.1930 and again c.1960). 
Native origin can be claimed for flora originating from wild plant communities where there is a high probability that the plants have not been deliberately introduced in recent times (e.g. c.1930 for grassland & wetland species, in the UK, a most probably c.1960 in Ireland, c.1750 for tree and shrub species). 

The Dáil records of parliamentary speeches even refer to the import of weeds found in grass seed naming many of the weed species we grow. Since much of Ireland meadows were sown with imported seed prior to 1935 when seed laws started to be passed, it has proven extremely difficult to source truly native Irish wildflowers.

4The terms "wild" and "native" should only be used when the country or locality of native origin or native provenance is given.
(e.g. " Native Wild flowers for the garden" native origin: Irish) or
(e.g. " Native Wild flowers for the garden" native origin: California).

This is to ensure that the consumer is given sufficient information to make a choice over buying and using wildflowers and other plants of exotic, as opposed to British native, origin. 
Any material so described should not include cultivated varieties or material that does not comply with the definitions of native origin or native provenance.

5. Native ' provenance': 
Native provenance should normally only be used to describe trees, shrubs or cornfield annuals, whose native origin is unknown or uncertain.  Most Irish cornfield annuals could be said to be native provenance.
Native provenance is: defined as the place where a stand of native plants grows "in the wild" but where there is a possibility that the plants were planted or introduced and originated from somewhere else. However, the plants appear to be native and well adapted to the site and locality. DBN uses this term honestly. 

6. Local provenance:
Local provenance describes plants whose native origin or native provenance is close to that where they are going to be planted (i.e. in the same local area). It is a broadly descriptive term that should not be used on its own to specify for or describe native plants.
Local provenance / Landscape Specification: If intending to specify or order 'Local provenance' with DBN. the landowner permission must be granted, the customers purchase order placed preferably two years in advance and a full specification written with an agreed and sanctioned budget in place, where an agreed percentage is prepaid prior to collection, during , after and in storage relating to Local Provenance collection. For true local provenance could never all be collected in one single year as the weather dictates what grows and produces seed. 

7. Provenance:  
The use of this term can be misleading is not encourage its use when describing a seed mixture. Provenance is used on wildflowers.ie to describe the terms used to categorize seed origin.
(Provenance is the place from where the plants on sale were collected. This could be the plant nursery or a wild site and the term is often used when the origin of plants is unknown.)

PROVENANCE:, IRELAND, WILD SOURCED, NATIVE ORIGIN. This is correct.  

8. Seed Trigger: See Genetic diversity- Seed Triggers, Facts you should know about.

Definition: Wild-crafted; Carefully hand harvested from the wild. 
The knowledge and seed gained with harvesting wild population seed is used to produce and restock commercial crops. DBN has developed guidelines on sustainable harvesting of wild populations. Species and populations are considered individually.

Definition: Farm crafted; Picked by hand or with machines from managed commercial crops.
Farmed crops are grown on five-year rotations and greatly benefit wildlife.

#. Weight & Measurements: Weight (or % by weight) of individual constituents of the mix, including the weight of any non-living material (e.g. chaff, soil, sawdust).

A. Seeds per gram: Amount of seeds counted per gram
B. Seeds per metre: Amount of seeds sown per metre at 1.5 grams


Cultivation / Growing Terms: The following terms may be used to describe the type of place from which the plants were collected or grown and not necessarily sourced in the wild:

DBN internal seed categories:

  • Generation 1 = from the wild.

  • Generation 2 = from the wild, grown as a crop one generation removed

  • Generation 3 = Grown from gen 2, from crops, and not intended for re-sowing to generate new crops.

Accepted international seed categories:

  1. Wild-harvested: Seed harvested from a native wildflower meadow, where the meadow is assured as Native Origin but not managed by DBN.  

  2. Wild Crop: The crop in the wild where the seed is collected and the meadow or crop is managed by DBN.

  3. Provenance: The 'REAL' WILD origin of a crop 

  4. Nursery propagated or nursery grown: a nursery propagated plug, plant, 'Planteen' or aquatic.

  5. Artificially propagated: Using micropropagation, or similar techniques.

  6. Seed Crop or Orchard: For seed mixtures originating from crop-grown seed.

  7. Local and regional - Seed Crop or Orchard: when describing flora of native origin or native provenance, grown to the local areas or region and referred to in our marketing literature or other sales information.

  8. Wild-collected: Could mean anything!!!  it poorly attempts to mean Wild-harvested

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