Resources of Australian Herbaria

Compiled by K.J.Cowley & J.G.West on behalf of the Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (CHAH)

HERBARIUM CODE:

NSW

CITES number:

AU036 (Prior to 11 Jan, 2002 CITES number was AU016)

HERBARIUM NAME:

National Herbarium of New South Wales

DEPARTMENT / ORGANISATION:

Part of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Sydney and Department of Environment and Conservation

CONTACT DETAILS
Street Address:

Mrs Macquaries Road

Postal Address:

Royal Botanic Gardens
Mrs Macquaries Road

City:

Sydney

State:

NSW

Postcode:

2000

Telephone:

(02) 9231 8111

Facsimile:

(02) 9251 4403

Email:

herbarium@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

Location:

Close to Sydney central business district

AUTHORITY/STATUS:

An agency of New South Wales government, part of the Department of Environment and Conservation; controlling body Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust

ACCESS:

Collections accessible to researchers, inquiry services provided to public

ASSOCIATED LIVING COLLECTION:

Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney (including Sydney Gardens, Mount Tomah Botanic Garden and Mount Annan Botanic Garden)

FOUNDATION:

1896

FUNCTIONS:

Research, reference, a major collection documenting the flora of Australia, contributing to documentation and understanding of the world flora

GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE:

Worldwide scope, with emphasis on Australian flora

TAXONOMIC SCOPE:

Flowering plants, conifers, cycads, ferns, bryophytes, lichens, macroalgae and fungi.

NUMBER OF SPECIMENS:

Total

Types

Angiosperms

-

-

Dicots

708,480

-

Monocots

167,505

-

Gymnosperms
& Cycads

15,120

-

Pteridophytes

48,600

-

Mosses

41,535

-

Liverworts

10,365

-

Lichens

30,370

-

Fungi

3,600

-

Algae

172,940

-

Fossils

-

-

Wood Samples

1,000

-

Accessioned

incorporated 894000

-

Unaccessioned

databased 285000

-

NUMBER OF TYPES

NSW contains a substantial number of types but figures are not available

Status:

Database Name:

NSW Collections

Database Description:

Accession-based specimen database, based on EMu software, including living collection record, floristic survey data and images of the Royal Botanic Gardens

Number of Specimen Records:

630,000

Access:

Access restricted to authorised users, data transfers may involve data licence agreements.

Email and Internet:

Home page: http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

Significant Historical Collections:

R.T. Baker, J. Banks & D. Solander, W. Bäuerlen, E. Betche, W.F. Blakely, J.L. Boorman, E.F. Constable, A.D.E. Elmer, W.V. Fitzgerald, C. King, A.H.S. Lucas, J.H. Maiden, E.D. Merrill, G.I. Playfair, F.A. Rodway, F.R.R. , H.M.R.Rupp, Schlechter, J.W. Vickery, W.W. Watts, T. Whitelegge.

Significant Special Collections:

-

Ancillary Collections:

Wet: approx. 5,500;some wood and carpological.

Photographic Collections:

Slide collection, negatives of some types.

Botanical Library:

Accessible to researchers.

Director:

Brett Summerell (Director Science and Public Programs - Head of Science and Public Programs Branch of the Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney)

Curator:

Karen Wilson (Acting Manager Plant Diversity)

Manager:

Louisa Murray

Chief Botanist:

-

Taxonomists:

Elizabeth Brown (Epacridaceae; liverworts), Barry Conn (Australian Lamiaceae; Loganiaceae; Xyridaceae; Oxalidaceae, Urticaceae), Darren Crayn (Ericaceae, Bromeliaceae), Tim Entwisle (freshwater algae), Joy Everett (Poaceae - Stipeae; Asteraceae), Surrey Jacobs (Chenopodiaceae; Poaceae; aquatic plants), Edward Liew (fungi), Bob Makinson (Grevillea), Alan Millar (Benthic marine algae), Stephen Skinner (freshwater algae) Brett Summerell (fungi), Peter Weston (Proteaceae; Rutaceae; Fabaceae; Orchidaceae), Barbara Wiecek (Ericaceae, Caesalpiniodeae, Equidae), Karen Wilson (Cyperaceae; Juncus; Casuarinaceae; Polygonaceae), Peter Wilson (Myrtaceae; Myrtales; Indigofera; macromolecular systematics)

Curators:

Robert Coveny, Wayne Cherry, Katherine Downs, Zonda Erskine (Loan Officer), Clare Herscovitch, Kristina McColl, Seanna McCune, Hannah McPherson, Leonie Standberg, Ifeanna Tooth, Gillian Towler.

Ecologists/Evolutionary Biologists:

John Benson (vegetation mapping, classification and conservation of vegetation communities), Doug Benson (Cumberland Plain Woodlands, Ecology of Sydney Plant Species), M aurizio Rossetto (conservation genetics, northern NSW), Lucy Nairn (freshwater ecology), Lotte von Richtor, Chris Allen.

Centre for Plant Conservation:

Bob Makinson (also Grevillea)

Resources

Tony Martin (Manager), Adam Marchant (Molecular systematics laboratory), Carolyn Porter (laboratory), Alex Newman

Library:

Judy Blood (Librarian) Miguel Garcia (Library Technician)

Horticulture:

Cathy Offord (propagation and biology of Australian plants), Patricia Meagher, John Seimon

Fungi and Plant Pathology:

Edward Liew (plant pathologist/mycologist), Brett Summerell, Sue Bullock, Julie Bates

IT (Plant Sciences):

Gary Chapple (Database Manager)

Volunteers:

58 volunteers assist in the work of the herbarium, mostly in specimen mounting

Honorary Research Associates:

Alan Archer (Australian lichens; Cladonia; Pertusaria), Peter Bernhardt (pollination biology), Barbara Briggs (Restionaceae and allied families; Myrtaceae; Proteaceae; Ranunculaceae), Carrick Chambers (Blechnum), Mike Dingley (desmids), John Leslie (microfungi), David Mabberley (Meliaceae; Rutaceae, botanical history), Peter Michael (Verbenaceae; weeds), Chris Quinn (Ericaceae, Asteraceae, conifers), Helen Ramsay (Australian mosses; Orthotrichaceae; Sematophyllaceae; moss cytology), Bettye Rees (macrofungi), Geoffrey Sainty (aquatic plants), Joy Thompson (Fabaceae, especially Swainsona, Leptospermum, and allies; Callitris; Tetratheca), John Thomson (bracken group of Pteridium; macromolecular systematics), Mary Tindale (Acacia; pteridophytes).

Relating to the Collection:

Telopea (plant systematics); Cunninghamia (vegetation survey and plant ecology)

Relating to the Herbarium:

-

Notes:

Exchange available: Australian plants, mainly from New South Wales.

Wanted: Worldwide, particularly southern hemisphere and families well represented in Australian flora.

Facilities include: DNA, plant pathology and horticultural research laboratories, SEM.