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:

MELU

CITES number:

AU043

HERBARIUM NAME:

The University of Melbourne Herbarium

DEPARTMENT / ORGANISATION:

School of Botany, The University of Melbourne

CONTACT DETAILS
Street Address:

The University of Melbourne Herbarium,
School of Botany,
The University of Melbourne

Postal Address:

The University of Melbourne Herbarium

City:

Melbourne

State:

Victoria

Postcode:

3010

Telephone:

(03) 8344 5040

Facsimile:

(03) 9347 5460

Email:

botany-herbarium@unimelb.edu.au

Location:

room 19, 1st floor,
Natural Philosophy Building,
School of Botany,
The University of Melbourne

AUTHORITY/STATUS:

University

ACCESS:

By appointment

ASSOCIATED LIVING COLLECTION:

-

FOUNDATION:

1925

FUNCTIONS:

To serve as a teaching and research collection.

GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE:

Vascular collection mainly Victorian, other collections mainly Australasian

TAXONOMIC SCOPE:

fossils, algae, fungi, lichens, bryophytes, vascular plants

NUMBER OF SPECIMENS:

Total

Types

Angiosperms

27,850

39

Dicots

21,500

39

Monocots

?

Gymnosperms

170

?

Pteridophytes

450

?

Mosses

10,000

10

Liverworts

10,000

11

Lichens

3,720

?

Fungi

6,000

127

Algae

35,100

?

Fossils

-

-

Wood Samples

-

-

Accessioned

approx. 73,630

187

Unaccessioned

approx. 8,180

-

NUMBER OF TYPES

approx. 187

Status:

Databased to date:
- all Acacia specimens (except backlog)
- all type specimens
- various other specimens
- all Eucalyptus specimens (except backlog)
- older specimens.

Database Name:

MELU Database

Database Description:

Filemaker Pro database

Number of Specimen Records:

9,000

Access:

-

Email and Internet:

www.botany.unimelb.edu.au/herbarium

Significant Historical Collections:

H.M.R. Rupp non-orchid collection, I.G. Stone (mosses), G.A.M. Scott (bryophytes), G. Beaton (fungi), H.G. Breidahl (bryophytes), W.H. Zimmer (vascular flora of N.W. Victoria), H.J. Swart (fungi),

Significant Special Collections:

G. Kraft (algae), P.Y. Ladiges (eucalypts), Bogong High Plains Collection, Mt Buffalo Collection, Macquarie Island Collection, Flinders Island Collection, Monash University (MUCV) bryophyte Collection, Burnley Horticultural College Collection

Ancillary Collections:

Cookson (microscope slide collection of spores and pollen)
MUCV (bryophyte microscope slide collection)
Botanical Models (c. 1900-1930)

Photographic Collections:

-

Botanical Library:

MELU has a small collection of botanical books. The Brownless Biomedical Library, The University of Melbourne, has a large collection of botanical books.

Director:

Dr. Andrew N. Drinnan

Curator:

-

Collections Manager:

Nicole D. Middleton

Chief Botanist:

-

Taxonomists:

-

Ecologists/Evolutionary Biologists:

-

Technical Officers:

Kathy Vohs

Volunteers:

University of Melbourne students

Associates:

Dr Gerry Kraft (algae), David Meagher (bryophytes)

Taxonomic:

Prof. Pauline Y. Ladiges, Dr Gerry Kraft, David Meagher

Non-Taxonomic:

Dr. Andrew N. Drinnan

Relating to the Collection:

Relating to the Herbarium:

C. Clarke (1988). The history of the herbarium, School of Botany, University of Melbourne. In ‘Botanical History Symposium: development of systematic botany in Australia’. Aust. Syst. Bot. Soc. Inc., Canberra.

Notes:

Monash University (MUCV) bryophyte collection is now housed at MELU.