The articles in this special issue contribute to our understanding of the historical emergences (Curry, Peres) and present-day functionings (Chacko, Jones) of various modes of conserving plant genetic diversity in seed banks. Exploring both crop plant and wild species conservation at different times and scales, the papers examine how various actors have articulated their role in stewarding plant life for the future as seeds, whether vegetable gardeners, seed bank curators and volunteers, restoration ecologists, or standard-setting agencies. They reveal seed banking and its corollary, seed saving, as a response to uncertainty, one which does not resolve this condition but instead generates new ambiguities and new uncertainties.