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| CSIRO Australian National Herbarium | |
|---|---|
| Name | Australian National Herbarium |
| Institution | CSIRO |
| Code | CANB |
| Location | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory |
| Established | 1930s |
| Collections | Vascular plants, bryophytes, fungi, algae |
| Specimens | >1.2 million |
CSIRO Australian National Herbarium
The Australian National Herbarium is a major botanical research collection located in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, operated by CSIRO. The herbarium supports taxonomic research, conservation policy, ecological assessment and biosecurity through specimen-based studies linked to national initiatives. It serves as a national reference alongside institutions such as the National Herbarium of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Queensland Herbarium and international partners like the Smithsonian Institution, Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh and Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle.
The herbarium traces origins to botanical collecting associated with the Australian National University establishment and early Commonwealth scientific activity in the 20th century, with antecedents involving collectors linked to the Botanical Museum, Cambridge, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew expeditions and explorers such as Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander by way of specimen exchange. During the interwar period, collaborations with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation predecessor agencies and work by figures connected to the Australian Museum and National Herbarium of New South Wales shaped its growth. Post-World War II botanical surveys tied to projects like the Australian Biological Resources Study and initiatives from the International Union for Conservation of Nature era expanded holdings and roles in floristic synthesis, aligning with global efforts represented at the International Botanical Congress.
The herbarium holds over one million vascular plant specimens, supplemented by bryophyte, lichen, fungal and algal collections, with type specimens for taxa described by staff and collaborators from institutions including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, National Herbarium of Victoria, University of Melbourne and University of Sydney. Significant collections derive from collectors associated with the Flora Australiensis era, expeditions such as those of Ludwig Leichhardt, John McDouall Stuart and later surveyors sponsored by the Australian Antarctic Division and regional projects in Torres Strait and Cape York Peninsula. Holdings include herbarium sheets, spirit collections, field notebooks from collectors tied to the Australian Museum, and historical correspondence with curators at the British Museum (Natural History).
Research output spans taxonomy, systematics, phylogenetics, biogeography and conservation science, with contributions to nomenclatural acts accepted by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants and datasets integrated into platforms such as the Atlas of Living Australia, Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Staff have described new genera and species in journals connected to the Australian Systematic Botany Society, collaborated on molecular phylogenies with teams from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Natural History Museum, London and Smithsonian Institution, and provided evidence for listings under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 via assessments used by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The herbarium has supported ecological studies related to the Great Barrier Reef catchments, Gondwana biogeographic patterns and conservation of taxa on lists maintained by the IUCN Red List.
Facilities include climate-controlled mounting rooms, scanning stations used in partnerships with the Atlas of Living Australia and imaging collaborations with the Global Plants Initiative. Digitisation programs have prioritised type specimens and historically important collections from contributors linked to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, National Herbarium of New South Wales and international herbaria, making images and metadata accessible through aggregators like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and institutional portals patterned after digitisation efforts at the Natural History Museum, London and Smithsonian Institution. Molecular labs support DNA barcoding projects coordinated with the Consortium for the Barcode of Life and university partners including the Australian National University and University of Queensland.
Outreach includes public exhibitions in partnership with the Australian National Botanic Gardens, citizen science programs aligned with the Atlas of Living Australia and educational initiatives involving universities such as the University of Canberra and schools across the Australian Capital Territory. The herbarium contributes to field training workshops with organisations like the Australian Network for Plant Conservation, participates in conferences of the Australian Systematic Botany Society and provides resources for practitioners at agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and conservation NGOs including WWF-Australia.
Governance is administered within CSIRO structures and coordinated with federal portfolios including the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, while scientific collaborations extend to the Australian Biological Resources Study, international herbaria such as Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and research universities including the Australian National University, University of Melbourne and University of Sydney. The herbarium engages in bilateral projects with institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and regional networks spanning the Asia-Pacific Plant Protection Commission and herbaria in Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Caledonia.
Notable taxonomists and curators associated with the herbarium include botanists who have published prolifically in venues connected to the Australian Systematic Botany Society and collaborated with international researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Smithsonian Institution and Natural History Museum, London. Historical collectors whose specimens are held include individuals tied to expeditions of Ludwig Leichhardt, Joseph Banks and surveys coordinated with the Australian Museum and National Herbarium of Victoria. Contemporary contributors feature researchers affiliated with the Australian National University, University of Queensland and the Australian National Botanic Gardens who advance taxonomy, phylogenetics and conservation policy.
Category:Herbaria in Australia Category:CSIRO