Arnold Arboretum Collects Rare Greek, Italian Plant Seeds

Harvard team's 2026 expedition gathered seeds of 17 taxa, eight of them priority desiderata for a conservation campaign.

Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Botany

Wild hawthorn shrub with red-orange berries growing from pale limestone on a sunlit Mediterranean hillside with dry scrub and a distant ridge. — Harvard's Arnold Arboretum team collected seeds of 17 plant taxa across Greece and Italy from September 24 to October 10, 2026, eight of them priority conservation targets. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

From September 24 through October 10, 2026, Michael Dosmann and Miles Schwartz Sax of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University explored plant populations in Greece and Italy. The team collected seeds from 17 taxa, eight of which are priority desiderata for the Campaign.

Why it matters

The collections target rare species, including Crataegus pycnoloba, which the Arnold Arboretum had not previously accessioned. Seeds from the expedition are being sent to Boston, where they will be grown for study and conservation.

The expedition's field record covers 17 taxa, eight of them priority desiderata for the Campaign, with only one Eriolobus trilobatus tree left in the burned area. Whether the Acer sempervirens will survive Boston winters has not been determined.

The players

Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

A research arboretum in Boston operated by Harvard University that maintains one of the largest living plant collections in the world.

Michael Dosmann

A botanist with the Arnold Arboretum who led the plant collecting work on this expedition.

Miles Schwartz Sax

A member of the Arnold Arboretum team who joined Dosmann on the Greece and Italy collecting trip.

The details

The team first collected on the Peloponnese, then moved to Macedonia and Thrace in northeastern Greece, and worked with Federico Selvi, a professor at the University of Florence, in Italy. Collections included Crataegus pycnoloba on Mt. Helmos and Mt. Mainalo, Eriolobus trilobatus with help from Georgios Korakis of Democritus University of Thrace, Acer sempervirens above the Lousios River, and Eriolobus florentinus in Tuscany.

September 24, 2026: Expedition begins in Greece and Italy.
October 10, 2026: Expedition ends.
In the coming months: Collected seeds germinate at the Dana Greenhouse.

Seasonal Patterns

This expedition extends the Campaign's effort to gather wild populations of threatened Crataegus and Acer species from their native Mediterranean range, rather than relying only on material already in cultivation. The collections add living genetic diversity to Boston's grounds for future conservation work.

Home gardeners in the Boston area may eventually see Crataegus and Acer species that the Arboretum propagates and distributes. The work is still at the research stage, so no near-term changes to nursery stock are reported.

The takeaway

Wild plant collecting in the Mediterranean region is a practical way to capture genetic diversity that may not survive in cultivation. Seeds gathered in the field can help future conservation projects.