The Index Herbariorum provides a global directory of
herbaria and their associated staff. This searchable online index allows scientists rapid access to data related to 3,400 locations where a total of 350 million botanical
specimens are permanently housed (singular,
herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (calle ...
; plural, herbaria). The Index Herbariorum has its own staff and website. Over time, six editions of the Index were published from 1952 to 1974. The Index became available on-line in 1997.
The index was originally published by the
International Association for Plant Taxonomy, which sponsored the first six editions (1952–1974); subsequently the
New York Botanical Garden took over the responsibility for the index. The Index provides the supporting institution's name (often a university, botanical garden, or not-for-profit organization), its city and state, and each herbarium's acronym, along with contact information for staff members and their research specialties, and the important holdings of each herbarium's collection.
Editors
*6th edition (1974) was co-edited by
Patricia Kern Holmgren, Director of the
New York Botanical Garden
*7th printed edition, ed. by
Patricia Kern Holmgren.
*8th printed edition, ed. by
Patricia Kern Holmgren.
*Online edition, prepared by
Noel Holmgren of the
New York Botanical Garden
*2008+, ed. by
Barbara M. Thiers, Director of the
New York Botanical Garden Herbarium
References
Directories
Herbaria
{{botany-stub