Ancillary Collections
The Bonaventura Seed Herbarium (19th and 20th century).
Geographical area of origin of the collections: Italy and other countries (especially Europe).
Material: 3.411 specimens of fruits and seeds preserved in glass tubes; 4000 samples of seeds and fruits glued on cardboards.
Collectors: various.
Gustavo Bonaventura (1902-1976) was an agronomist, firstly he was an assistant at the University of Pisa, then, following a competition, he passed to the Institute of Book Pathology in Rome of which he became later Director pro tempore (1961-1963). His large Spermoteca/Carpoteca was acquired by the Herbarium at Sapienza University in 2004. The fruits, seeds and other materials that compose it were collected over a period of time ranging from 1843 to 1975. Part of the collection is contained in small glass tubes that are placed in 42 small wooden boxes, while the remaining part is stored in 40 small wooden boxes, each of which contains 100 seeds glued on white cardboard and arranged in alphabetical order, by family and gender. The materials are of various origins: Herbaria, Botanical Gardens, Agricultural Institutes all over the world. A good part refers to genera of agronomic interest, each with different cultivars. The great biodiversity that characterizes this collection is one of the reasons for its importance.