Description

The Australian National Herbarium (CANB) provides a national focus for plant taxonomic and systematic endeavour and serves as the Commonwealth's prime resource for botanical information. Its collections support and authenticate the taxonomy of genetic and ecological work undertaken by the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research and botanical programs of the CSIRO as well as authenticating the living and image collections and the horticultural research programs of the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG).

CANB includes the collections of CSIRO Plant Industry and CBG (the former ANBG Herbarium). The amalgamation with the ANBG collection (CBG) took place in 1994 following an Agreement between CSIRO, Division of Plant Industry, and ANCA (now DSEWPaC), in November 1993 to form the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research (now Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research - CANBR).

CANB was adopted as the herbarium code for the combined collections. Specimens originally from CBG will continue to be cited as CBG. The approximately 250 000 CBG specimens are included in the total for CANB.

Part of The Australian National University's Gauba Herbarium collection (GAUBA), also sometimes known as (ANUC), is now in CANB.

The CSIRO Forestry Collection (FRI), which was mainly Eucalyptus was incorporated into CANB in 1987.

The Australian National Herbarium - Atherton, (QRS) is now part of the Australian Tropical Herbarium (CNS).

Data from the collections of the Australian National Herbarium are available through the ANH website http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/anhsir) and as part of the collective Australia's Virtual Herbarium http://www.chah.gov.au/avh/).

Statistics taken (June 2010) from:

http://www.chah.gov.au/chah/resources/herbaria/canb.html (CHAH Last updated: June 2010)

The collection was established in 1930 and continues to the present.

Taxonomic range

All plant and fungi groups; large cryptogam collection; voucher collections for Australian National Botanic Gardens.

Flowering plant collection in the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research in the CSIRO Plant Industry complex on Black Mountain, cnr Barry Drive and Clunies Ross Street with vehicle access off Clunies Ross Street

Cryptogam, fern and gymnosperm collection in the Botany Building at the Australian National Botanic Gardens on Black Mountain, cnr of Clunies Ross Street and Black Mountain Drive with access off Clunies Ross Street

Kingdoms covered include: Fungi and Plantae.

Geographic range

Worldwide, with a particular focus on Australia and its off-shore territories, New Guinea, and the southwestern Pacific.

Number of specimens and cultures in the collection

The estimated number of specimens and cultures in the Australian National Herbarium is 1,117,585.

Of these 850,000 are databased. This represents 76.1 % of the collection.

Click the Records & Statistics tab to access those database records that are available through the atlas.

Sub-collections

The Australian National Herbarium contains these significant collections:

• Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, Robert Brown - Historical Collection (c. 1200 specimens)
• Eucalyptus
• Orchidaceae
• Tropical rainforest taxa - Australia and Papua New Guinea
• Lichens
• Mosses

last updated: 2011-05-27 08:21:59.0