The British and Irish herbarium

The British and Irish Herbarium is one of the most comprehensive collections of plants from a particular area anywhere in the world.

Strengths

Nearly every known British and Irish native or established non-native taxon is represented.

Every native genus and almost all native species (over 99%) are represented. Most taxa are represented by a wide range of material collected across their British Isles range.

Non-native species are more unevenly collected, although archaeophytes approach native species in their degree of representation. Neophytes are generally poorly represented, particularly those of casual origin.

The herbarium is particularly rich in the apomictic genera Hieracium, Taraxacum, Rubus and Sorbus.

Major collections

The collection principally comprises material collected from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1940s. Collecting post-1970 has been ad hoc and limited, although recently more targeted specimen collection has taken place in the London area, Lincolnshire and the Isles of Scilly.

Important historical collections

The collection contains specimens from the late seventeenth century to the present day, with several historically significant collections including those of Samuel Dale, Sir Joseph Banks, Robert Brown, James Sowerby and John Blackstone.

Country of origin

The collection comprises specimens from the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The collection is well represented by material from southern England, particularly Surrey, and parts of western Scotland, such as the Isle of Mull and the Outer Hebrides. Ireland is rather poorly represented with most material coming from western Galway or close to Dublin.