Hebrew University Herbarium

Hebrew University Herbarium
Name	Hebrew University Herbarium
Established	1920s
Location	Mount Scopus, Jerusalem
Type	Herbarium
Collections	Vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, fungi
Curator	(varies)
Website	(institutional)

Hebrew University Herbarium

The Hebrew University Herbarium is a major botanical collection based at Mount Scopus in Jerusalem affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It serves as a reference center for floristics, systematics, and biodiversity studies across the Levant, Middle East, and wider Mediterranean and Afro-tropical regions, supporting work by field botanists, taxonomists, and conservationists from institutions such as the Israel Museum and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

History

The herbarium traces roots to early 20th-century collecting expeditions linked to figures like Aaron Aaronsohn, Eliyahu Meridor and scholarly networks involving George Edward Post, Joseph Dalton Hooker, and botanists associated with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, and Natural History Museum, London. During the British Mandate for Palestine era and the interwar period, collections were augmented by exchanges with the Botanical Survey of India, Kew correspondents, and explorers who worked alongside institutions such as the British Museum and the Royal Geographical Society. Post-1948, the herbarium expanded through integration with specimens from projects funded by agencies like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and collaborating with regional herbaria including the National Herbarium of New South Wales, Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum, and the Herbarium of the University of Oxford.

Collections and holdings

The holdings encompass mounted vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, fungi, and seed collections with type specimens and historical material collected by botanists such as E. G. Post, Michael Zohary, Alexander Eig, Yehuda Leib Klein, and later researchers affiliated with Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University, and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Major taxonomic groups represented include families studied by researchers from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Smithsonian Institution, and the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Geographic coverage includes the Sinai Peninsula, Negev Desert, Golan Heights, West Bank, Galilee, Carmel Mountains, and international exchanges with collections from Sahara, Horn of Africa, Caucasus, and Cyprus. The archive contains field notebooks by collectors who worked with organizations like the Palestine Exploration Fund, specimen annotations by taxonomists connected to the International Plant Names Index, and type deposits cited in monographs published via presses such as Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press.

Research and taxonomy

Research at the herbarium has supported floristic syntheses, monographs, and revisions referenced by specialists from the International Association for Plant Taxonomy, contributors to the Flora Palaestina project, and collaborators at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Studies have involved systematists working on genera treated in journals associated with the Linnean Society of London, the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, and the Botanical Society of America, producing taxonomic treatments incorporated into databases curated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the World Flora Online. Taxonomic work engages molecular systematists with links to research groups at Weizmann Institute of Science, Hebrew University Faculty of Science, and international laboratories at University of Oxford, Harvard University Herbaria, and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology.

Facilities and digitization

Physical facilities are located on the Mount Scopus campus with storage, mounting, and conservation suites built to standards advocated by the International Organization for Standardization, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew digitization programs, and protocols used by the New York Botanical Garden and Missouri Botanical Garden. Digitization initiatives have partnered with platforms such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities, and national infrastructures like the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities to image specimens, georeference localities, and publish datasets for researchers at institutions including the Weizmann Institute, Technion, and Tel Aviv University. Imaging workflows mirror projects run by the Smithsonian Institution and the Natural History Museum, London, while databasing follows standards used by Integrated Digitized Biocollections and the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Education and outreach

The herbarium supports teaching and outreach for students of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Science, participants in programs run by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and trainees from international exchanges with institutions like Kew and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Public engagement includes collaborative exhibitions with the Israel Museum, workshops for citizen scientists coordinated with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, and contributions to regional biodiversity curricula developed with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and NGOs such as Friends of the Earth Middle East.

Collaborations and partnerships

Longstanding partnerships link the herbarium to universities and collections including Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Natural History Museum, London, Smithsonian Institution, Missouri Botanical Garden, New York Botanical Garden, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Berlin Botanical Museum, University of Oxford, Harvard University Herbaria, and regional bodies such as the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Israel Plant Sciences Association, and the Palestinian Museum of Natural History. Collaborative grants and projects have been supported by funders like the European Union, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and international scientific networks including the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the International Plant Names Index.

Access and services

Researchers, students, and conservation practitioners from organizations like Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University, Weizmann Institute of Science, and international herbaria can access specimens by appointment; services include loans, high-resolution imaging, identifications, and taxonomic consultation following protocols used by Kew, the Smithsonian Institution, and the New York Botanical Garden. Data sharing adheres to policies promoted by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and institutional agreements with repositories such as the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Category:Herbaria Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem Category:Botanical research in Israel