Collection at the Tasmanian Herbarium

The collection covers all terrestrial groups of plants and fungi, as well as marine algae.

Large numbers of specimens of lichens, bryophytes and fungi, including material from the Antarctic continents and sub-Antarctic islands, are yet to be accessioned and databased.

Curation

Development of the collection includes preparation and incorporation of new acquisitions, correction of label information on specimens, updating of species nomenclature according to recent taxonomic treatments, and databasing of label information. These tasks are aided greatly by the generous assistance of volunteers.

The Herbarium’s volunteer program is orientated to the vascular plant collection and is overseen by Lyn Cave. Regular participants include:  Kerry Black, Jennifer Cooke, Alan Gray (when not Flora-writing), Sue McGuigan, Jo Slijkerman and Penny Tyson.

Dr Genevieve Gates, a specialist in Basidiomycetes (mushrooms) is also volunteering her time to database the large collection of fungi amassed during her Ph.D. studies and during the Bush Blitz surveys. These fungi collections have been donated to the Herbarium.

Acquisitions

The Herbarium’s collection continues to grow steadily, with new specimens being received from international and national institutions, and also from within Tasmania, from researchers, amateur enthusiasts and staff.

Countries/Institutions Donating Specimens (including exchange material)

• Australia: National Herbarium of Victoria; National Herbarium of New South Wales; University of New South Wales; Australian National Herbarium; Western Australian Herbarium
• Austria: Karl-Franzens-University, GrazEngland: Natural History Museum, London
• Japan: National Museum of Nature and Science, Ibaraki, Tokyo
• New Zealand: Allan Herbarium, Lincoln
• South Korea: Kyung Hee University, Seoul
• Tasmania: The Millennium Seed Bank; University of Tasmania
• The Netherlands: Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Leiden
• United States of America: Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago

Individuals Donating Specimens

K Atherton, P Collier, P Dalton, E Daley, C Davidson, J Elix, K Felton, G Gates, E Hayward, M James, G Joseph, K Kalb (Germany), I Kärnefelt (Sweden), P Lane, K. McGee, W Obermayer (Austria), A Povey, R Schahinger, F Scott, R Seppelt, E Sérusiaux (Belgium), R Skabo, J Slijkerman, G Stewart, A Wapstra, H Wapstra, M Wapstra, M Whitaker, R Williams, J Worth, C Young, K Ziegler

Exchanges

Duplicate specimens are distributed and received through an active exchange programme that includes all major Australian herbaria, and many international herbaria. The specimens have helped to build a valuable reference collection of the floras of other parts of Australia and the world, and are important in establishing a context for the local flora. The Herbarium’s exchange programme is managed by Kim Hill.

Digitisation

Access to the collection and its associated data is being greatly facilitated by the digitisation program. Current efforts are directed primarily at new acquisitions and material requested for loan, with work on other collections progressing gradually as time allows.