The structure of the Botanical Seminar was designed with a Lord Warden (LW) over the Honorarii, Ordinarii or Seminarii, Novitii, and Candidati. In order to officially become a member of the Sem. Bot., or to attain a higher level of membership, the candidate was required to pass a written examination and an oral defense in front of a committee of examiners. A great deal of effort went into each examination, both by the examinee, and the examiners, who constructed the packets by hand for the first ten years of the Seminar's existence. Below is the examination packet cover for D.A. Saunders to become a Sem. in 1893.

The seal of the Sem. Bot., shown at the bottom of the above cover, changed often. Other forms seen throughout the years included:

The simpler figure was adopted for general use as drawing individual seals in meticulous detail for every examination and piece of correspondence became impossible.