Botany collections

Management and curation

Chrysanthemum segetum, Corn Marigold

The botanical collections comprise an estimated 5.2 million specimens of seed plants, pteridophytes, bryophytes, lichens, myxomycetes and algae (including substantial diatom collections).

Collections are worldwide in origin with around 10 per cent from the British Isles. They span a period from the 16th century to the present and include a number of historically important collections such as those of Sir Hans Sloane, Sir Joseph Banks and Charles Darwin. Most collections are arranged systematically, some alphabetically and important historical collections such as the Sloane Herbarium are kept as separate entities.

Collections management in Botany

Collection	Specimens	Types
Seed plants	2,976,000	63,000
Pollen slides	11,000	-
Pteridophytes	291,000	7,000
Bryophytes	862,000	20,000
Algae: diatoms	249,000	12,000
Algae: other groups	370,000	5,000
Lichens	395,000	10,000
Myxomycetes	51,000	250
Botany totals	5,205,000	117,250

The collections are managed by a team of 16 curators and support staff whose responsibilities include making specimens available for research and consultation, ensuring the efficient preparation and distribution of specimens for exchange and loan, the long term enhancement and development of the collections, preparation and conservation of specimens and assisting visitors and dealing with their enquiries.

The primary objectives of the curation team are to:

enhance collections for future use
increase the accessibility of the collections
improve the state of conservation and preservation of the collections
further the Museum's IT policy and determine priorities for the computerisation of specimen data
investigate and develop new methods of collections management
maintain an efficient identification and enquiry service
provide consultancy and training in botanical collections management

Current activities in collections management

Digitizing and databasing

The department is making information on collections available as data bases on the internet. Many of these include digital images. Priority areas for data capture include type specimens, rare and endangered UK plants and historical collections.

Preservation

The collections are either mounted on herbarium sheets, contained in boxes and packets (fruits, seeds, bulky specimens, specimens attached to rocks etc), preserved in formalin and/or alcohol, or mounted on glass slides. Some collections, particularly those from the 17th and early 18th centuries are mounted in bound volumes.

Conservation

The collections management division is working to improve the housing of collections in order to minimise risks such as fire, flood and insect pests, and to monitor environmental conditions and pests activity. Remedial conservation work is under way on the extensive and fragile collections from 17th and 18th centuries.

The Natural History Museum holds many important historical botanical collections from the 17th and 18th centuries notably those of the physician and collector Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753). These collections; rich in specimens from early botanical exploration and containing many important type specimens, are regularly consulted by taxonomists, historians and others, which presents a conflict between the use and conservation of these often delicate old collections. They are not available for loan and can only be viewed in the Natural History Museum.

In 1997 a project was set up, and funding sought, to carry out a number of tasks to make these collections more accessible, while reducing risks to their prolonged life such as handling and unsuitable environmental conditions.

In 1999 the collections moved into a new environmentally-controlled and secure room, and the crumbling bindings of several volumes in the worst condition have been repaired or replaced in a rolling programme. A digital camera has been used to scan images of these delicate collections to increase access to them and reduce handling. Some 5,000 specimens have now been scanned and made available online.