Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are heterogeneous and primitive cells discovered first in the bone marrow (BM). They have putative roles in maintaining tissue homeostasis and are increasingly recognized as components of stem cell niches, which are best defined in the blood. The absence of in vivo MSC markers has limited our ability to track their behavior in vivo and draw comparisons with in vitro observations. Here we review the historical background of BM-MSCs, advances made in their prospective isolation, their developmental origin and contribution to maintaining subsets of hematopoietic cells, and how mesenchymal cells contribute to other stem cell niches. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.