Botany collections
Seaweed Scinaia forcellata, cut out of specimen collected by Holmes in Enoura, Japan. Specimen is held in the Crypt. Herbarium at the Museum.
The Natural History Museum’s botanical collections comprise an estimated 6 million specimens of:
- algae
- bryophytes
- diatoms
- ferns
- lichens
- seed plants
- slime moulds
Collections overview
The collections are worldwide in origin with around 10% from the British Isles.
They span a period from the 17th century to the present and include a number of historically important collections such as those of:
- Sir Hans Sloane
- Sir Joseph Banks
- Charles Darwin
The collections continue to grow and develop, with recent collecting efforts focused on supporting current research projects.
Type specimen of Rhododendron tsareinse Cowan from Tibet
Type specimens
A comparatively high percentage of the Botany Department's specimens are type material - some 2.6%.
The department is part of a major international project to database and image type specimens. These data and images are being made available via online collections.
Are fungi and fossil material included?
With the exception of lichenised taxa and a small reference collection of lichenicolous species – fungi that grow on lichens - there are no fungi held in the Botany Department.
Apart from fossil diatom collections, fossil botanical material is held by the Palaeontology Department.
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Collections management
Learn more about collections management within the Botany Department, where a dedicated team not only maintain the collections but develop and improve access to them.
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Botany collections statistics
Find out the number of specimens and type specimens held in the different Botany Department collections.
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Historical collections
Explore the history of our unique botany collections. They cover a period of unprecedented exploration and include the significant historical collections of Sir Hans Sloane from the 17th century as well as the first botanical collections from Australia and New Zealand, obtained by Joseph Banks on his HMS Endeavour voyage.
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Algal collections
Find out about the Botany Department's collections of algae, which are among the largest in the world and a rich source of important historical material.
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Bryophyte collections
Learn more about the collections housed in one of the world’s largest bryophyte herbaria. They incorporate over 900,000 specimens from around the globe, including more than 32,000 type specimens.
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Diatom collections
The Botany Department’s diatom collection is geographically and taxonomically diverse, with all major groups represented and a comprehensive assemblage of fossil specimens.
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Fern collections
Our fern collections include major historical and modern collections, as well as the herbarium of the founder of modern fern taxonomy. Find out about the collections, their curation and how to access them.
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Lichen collections
Delve into the Museum’s lichen collection, one of the world's largest. It contains at least 10,000 type specimens and important historic collections such as that of Erik Acharius, the father of lichenology. Slime moulds are also curated in this section.
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Seed plant collections
Find out about our seed plant collections, an important resource for the scientific community. The earliest specimens originate from the 17th century and some collections provide time series that make it possible to study climate and vegetation changes.
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Pollen and spore collections
The Botany Department has an outstanding palynological slide collection. All major vascular plant groups are represented, with a particular focus on angiosperms and pteridophytes of Quaternary importance.
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Molecular collections
The molecular collections contain silica gel-preserved material and DNA that enable investigation of plants at the molecular level.
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Botany specimen database
Search the Botany specimen database. Approximately 8% of the Department's specimens have been databased so far.