The Gardens has established a nationwide program of associate, or affiliate, collectors, who are enthusiastic amateur or professional botanists who spend much of their time in the field searching for particular taxa of interest. They are able to take advantage of detailed regional knowledge and seasonal variability of flowering and fruiting patterns to collect material that may otherwise not be available to the Gardens. These collectors are formally accredited by the Gardens and their names are included, where possible, and the collecting permits issued to the Gardens.
Associate collectors will be enthusiastic individuals who have demonstrated competence and responsibility in field collecting and who are strategically located in regions of particular botanical interest. They will be trained in the techniques of botanical collecting and instructed in the obligations imposed by permits for plant collecting. Where this is acceptable to the permit-issuing bodies, associate collectors will be provided with institutional collecting permits.