You need to find out if the country in question will allow export of specimens. I don't think India does because I have tried in the past. If any of the other countries do, then you need a letter from you local institution saying that they are willing to accept those specimens. You will then need a letter from the government of that country saying that they are willing to let you export the specimens. After you have all the letters, then you will need to contact quarantine authorities and ask them about their paperwork. After all your ducks are in a row, you will mail those specimens to your country with labels affixed saying "dried plant material - no monetary value" or something like that. Good luck! Let me know if India allows this.

You need to get into collaborations. Without that It is practically impossible. In simple words, Biodiversity prospecting and IPR are the reasons.

You can send your queries to Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority, India. He (Hem Pande) can help you out.

You can read more about the procurement of specimens from here http://www.nbaindia.org/

thanks all for the information. I have received material from the Millennium seed bank, but they don't have more than a few accessions of each species. I'll let you know how I get on with the National Biodiversity Authority, India.

Musesh, what is the situation in Korea? I've written to several people there, but not received a response. Perhaps it is a problem of language. From the whole of Asia I've so far only received a promise of a specimen from Japan. You would have thought people would like to get rid of their weeds;-)

What you think as weed may into be the case with others. For them it is plant genetic resource with unexplored potentials. And I am a plant ecologist, for me nothing is weed. This is pure anthropocentric view. Anyway, I am not debating your quest or research, Its just their prerogative because their land houses the biodiversity.

As far as Korea is concerned, I dont know what it the problem. May be you haven't approached the right authority. 

You can ask Chairman of this institute. Its Korea Forest Research Institute

http://www.forest.go.kr/newkfsweb/kfs/idx/SubIndex.do?orgId=kfri&mn=KFS_14

I doubt that you will be able to obtain material officially. Although officially export permits are available in practice they are never issued. The same situation is present for Ethiopia, Brazil etc . This draconian legislation has been set up to stop commercial or industrial bio-piracy but in fact is only a stumbling block to bona fide researchers. Criminals operate in an illegal manner regardless of permits: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/01/ancient-cycad-plants-under-threat-poachers

Yes, it is a bit silly banning everything, because there is no possibility of biopiracy with a global weed such as Oxalis corniculata. I'll have to see how I get on.

Mukesh, I did contact the Korea Forest Research Institute, but so far no luck, but I didn't try the chairman. Thanks for the tip. 

Sorry Dr. Quentin. I totally disagree with  over this. From your perspective, as you may be working on weed ecology, its useless or to say redundant, but actually there is a lot of scientific work going on over this species in India.

You are looking it unilaterally. Please follow the link to get more insight about this plant.

http://www.arjournals.org/index.php/ijpm/article/view/268

The Botany, Chemistry, Pharmacological and Therapeutic Application of Oxalis Corniculata Linn– A Review

One more thing- You can also try

1. http://www.nbri.res.in/ (National Botanical Research Institute)

Hi Mukesh. I disagree with your analysis. Please answer this question: don't you think that if Dr Quentin receive samples a Oxalis corniculata in an official form from an Indian Government authority this will make a very strong legal case in favor of the Indian Government to claim royalties in the eventuality something valuable is discovered in Oxalis corniculata? 

Sorry I am unable to understand your point. I dont know in which direction you are dragging the discussion.

Your agree or disagree is none of my concern. The thing is, there is a convention and everybody stick to that, especially in the case of so called "WEEDS". This is how things work in world.

This is all together a different topic to discuss its morality, legality and royalty.

You are not unable to answer you simply do not want to answer.   

Hi Mukesh, I'm not sure what you disagree with, but I am not going to find anything that will receive royalties as I'm doing a phytogeographic and phylogenetic study.  But even if I did this kind of study I could just collect the wild Oxalis corniculata from my garden. It grows all over the place in Europe too. I only want to get Indian material to try and trace how it has spread across the earth and figure out where it has come from.

If I was less scrupulous I could ask friends to send me some Oxalis corniculata, but I think this is immoral and would rather get specimens legally.

The website of the National Biodiversity Authority, India was useful. There are many exceptions to the rules for plants from non-Indian origin. So as far as I can tell it might be OK to export Oxalis stricta from India, because it was introduced from North-American. The question is, where is the origin of O. corniculata and that is the question I'd like to answer.

Sadly the more I read about the subject the more depressing it gets. It would cost too much in time and money to get samples that in other countries I can get for free. I don't suppose people in India are interested in my research, but it is a pity that India excludes itself from the global botanical community, by the paranoid fear of bio-piracy.

“Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work.” 

Albert Einstein

I would suggest you to contact the Director, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata.

Thanks for the tip Santhosh. Unfortunately, the feedback page on their website is broken as are the links to their scientists' pages. I could try writing a letter, but apparently it costs a lot to get the proper documents.

I've still no response to any of the emails I've sent to India. I think the best option is look for old specimens outside India that were collected before the Convention on Biodiversity and hope that the the DNA is still preserved.

A common occurrence. I had the same experience with at least 4 countries (names withheld!). Try obtaining their working emails searching for emails added to scientific articles written by such persons. It would also increase the chance of a reply if you describe yourself as "Director" or "Chief" etc ;)  . Otherwise the telephone may be the only way to get in touch.  

Dear Dr Groom,

Please contact Dr  P.Lakshminarasimhan, Scientist, Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, P.O.Botanic Garden, Howrah - 711 103, India. His contact email is : [email protected]

I am sure he will guide you to get the specimen legally from India.

Hope this will help you.