When buying seeds from wholesaler, seeds are sold by weight. Seeds are mostly described with the following terms:

Common name

Some common names of tree species would be: maple, pine, boxwood.

Latin name

Latin name of the previous mentioned would be: acer for maple, pinus for pine and buxus for boxwood. These latin names constitute the scientific name for each species.

After the description section, the next information is technical. First, every supplier will have a monitor measure. Two measures are commonly used. The first is the count of seeds per pounds, and the second is the weight per thousand seeds.

Purity

Purity is expressed in %, and it represent the number of seeds versus the number of debris (dead leaves, stem) in the batch of seeds.

Germination rate

Germination rate is also expressed in %, it represents the number of seeds that will germinate with proper conditions.

Origin / source

The origin and source will determine the country the seeds originate from; where they were collected. Some suppliers will also list the state or province of origin.

Growing info

Growing info will refer to the needed condition for germination. Common details are pre-treatment, such as scarification and stratification, both hot or cold, and sowing technique.

Common use

Suppliers will often state the common uses or classification of species. For example, you could find all of the following:

Edible Fruit/Nuts

Fall Color
Medicinal
Rootstock
Shade Tree
Urban Tolerant
Tree
Poisonous
bonsai
Drought Tolerant.

Conditions of seeds

You can get winged or dewinged, refering to seeds that grow with a wing or two. Usually, dewinged seeds cost more since they require an additionnal step of preparation before they are sold.

You can get clean or uncleaned seeds. This usually happens with seeds that come from fruit trees. A clean seed will have the pulp of the fruit removed, while an unclean seed will almost come with the complete fruit.

You can also come across green or dry seeds. Green seeds are the freshest. The supplier has skipped drying the seeds for proper storage and is selling untreated seeds. A dry seed is not completely dry, but rather has a 5-8% humidity rate. The treatment is done to prevent decay of seeds in their shelf life. It mainly prevents rot.