The Bolus Herbarium was established in 1865 from a donation by

Harry Bolus Harry Bolus (28 April 1834 – 25 May 1911) was a South African botanist, botanical artist, businessman and philanthropist. He advanced botany in South Africa by establishing bursaries, founding the Bolus Herbarium and bequeathing his library and ...

of his extensive herbarium and library to the

South African College The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the South African College Schools (SACS). History The process that would lead to the formation of t ...

, which later became the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. Its collection of specimens numbers over 320 000, making it the third largest university herbarium in the Southern Hemisphere. The collection is highly representative of the Cape Flora and also houses many type specimens. The international herbarium abbreviation BOL is used when referring to the Bolus Herbarium. Although the building caught on fire during the

2021 Table Mountain fire The 2021 Table Mountain fire (also known as the Rhodes Memorial fire or Cape Town fire) is a major fire that started on 18 April 2021 in and around Table Mountain National Park and the neighbourhoods of Newlands, Rosebank, Mowbray and Rondeb ...

, which gutted several other collections in the university including the Plant Conservation Unit, the Bolus Herbarium managed to narrowly escape being destroyed in the blaze.

History

Dr. Harry Bolus (1834-1911), a rich

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

businessman, began his collection in 1865 in

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the ...

, and it is now the oldest functioning herbarium in the country. In 1903

Louisa Bolus Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus ''Married and maiden names, née'' Kensit (31 July 1877, Burgersdorp – 5 April 1970, Cape Town) was a South African Botany, botanist and taxonomist, and the longtime curator of the Bolus Herbarium, from 1903. Bol ...

who was a grand-niece of Harry Bolus was appointed a Curator of the herbarium. After his death, the South African College (which changed its name to the University of Cape Town on April 2, 1918) inherited his herbarium; a library featuring many expensive, unique, and rare books on

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

; and a substantial amount of money for the maintenance and expansion of the collection. In 1924, a dedicated building was erected for the herbarium in Kirstenbosch, but it proved unsuitable later. Therefore, the herbarium was moved onto the campus in 1938. Dr. Louisa Bolus was also involved with the herbarium until her death in 1970.

Goal

Botanical and ecological research at the herbarium runs the gamut. The focus is primarily on

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

flora, including their

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

invasive plants An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

, biogeography, systematics, and

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. Scientists from around the world conduct research here.

Special collections

The best-known of the several collections of plants in the herbarium are Harry Bolus's set of

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

and

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

s, Dr. H.M.L. (Lulu) Bolus's ''

Mesembryanthemum ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-time dews or frosts ...

'', Dr. Augusta Vera Duthie's fungi, and

Henry Georges Fourcade Henry Georges Fourcade, also known as Henri Georges Fourcade and sometimes Georges Henri Fourcade, was a surveyor, forester, pioneer of photogrammetry and as botanist, a major early collector of the Southern Cape flora. Early life Henry ...

's trees from the area between

Humansdorp Humansdorp is a small town and surrounding district in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, with a population of around 29,000 during the census of 2011. It is part of the Kouga Local Municipality of the Sarah Baartman District. The town is th ...

and

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Bequests

Several botanists bequeathed their collections of flora and books to the Bolus Herbarium. Among them were Dr.

C. Louis Leipoldt Christian Frederik Louis Leipoldt ( ; 28 December 1880 – 12 April 1947), usually referred to as C. Louis Leipoldt, was a South African poet, dramatist, medical doctor, reporter and food expert. Together with Jan F. E. Celliers and Totius (poe ...

in 1946, Fourcade in 1948, and Gen.

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

in 1950.

Publications

Between 1915 and 1928, 4 editions were published of the ''Annals of the Bolus Herbarium''. Later, ''Contributions from the Bolus Herbarium'' appeared.

Bibliography

* Floyd, K.B. "The Bolus Herbarium. University of Cape Town." ''Lantern, tydskrif vir kennis en kultuur''. Yearbook 23, no, 1, September 1973. * ''

Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa The ''Standard Encyclopædia of Southern Africa'' (''SESA'') is a 12-volume encyclopaedia that is principally about the Republic of South Africa and nearby countries. About 1400 people contributed to the encyclopaedia. The first two volumes wer ...

'', several vol. Cape Town: Nasou. 1970–1976.

References

External links

Official Bolus Herbarium website
{{Biodiversity of South Africa, natres Herbaria in Africa 1865 establishments in the Cape Colony