Taxa

Angiosperms (flowering plants) make up the majority of collections in the University Herbarium. In adddtion, we maintain collections of other plant groups - gymnosperms, pteridophytes, bryophytes - as well as some non-plant groups - fungi and algae.

Algae

If you’ve ever been to a beach, chances are you’ve seen macroalgae. Their leaf-like fronds are a familiar sight, strewn along the seashore or wafting in the water. These marine species are commonly known as seaweeds, although macroalgae are a large, diverse group of organisms that are also found in freshwater.

A large portion of our material came from the married couple John Edward Gray (1800-1875) and Maria Emma Gray (1787-1876), who bequeathed their 3,000 specimen collection to the University of Cambridge.

Another female algologist represented in our collections is Mary Philadelphia Merrifield (1804-1889). Having initially made a name for herself as an art historian, Merrifield turned her attention to algae while preparing her book A Sketch of the Natural History of Brighton (1864). The herbarium holds some of Merrifield’s algal research notes, correspondence, specimens as well as hundreds of exquisite watercolour illustrations of algae.

Bryophytes

Lacking a sophisticated vascular system or showy flowers, bryophytes are typically small and unassuming. Yet this group of plants – comprising mosses, liverworts and hornworts - can be found almost anywhere you look: on an urban wall, a high tree trunk, or recently disturbed land. Often it is only with a microscope or hand lens that the beauty and diversity of these plants can be fully appreciated. Our herbarium holds over 80,000 bryophyte specimens and includes the major collections of William Edward Nicholson (30,000 packets), Tom Laflin (20,000 packets) and Harold Leslie Keer Whitehouse.

Ferns

Like flowering plants, ferns have leaves, roots and sophisticated transport systems for nutrients and water. They produce no seeds or flowers, instead dispersing tiny spores that germinate to start the next generation. In our collection, ferns are grouped with related plant taxa that share these features - horsetails, clubmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. Together they comprise the pteridophytes.

The Herbarium’s pteridophytes come from all over the world and many were collected by natural historians in the 19th century. One of our most important fern collections is a set of 41 specimens collected by Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) in Borneo. 33 different species, 22 genera and 17 fern families are represented in this small set and three of the specimens are types. Many were found within the collection of John Lindley (1799-1865) and had not been studied since the collection was purchased by the University of Cambridge in 1866. There are likely many other important specimens in our pteridophyte collections that are waiting to be rediscovered.

Fungi

For much of history, fungi were categorised as plants. Hence many herbaria around the world - including ours - house preserved fungus specimens. We now know that a fungus is more closely related to you or I than to a moss or a pine tree. They are a diverse, species-rich clade and only a small fraction of the estimated number of species have been named and described. Fungi are critical for plant nutrition and ecosystem functioning. Some fungus species cause disease, but others hold the key to new cures. Fungal collections like ours are crucial to understanding this important and enigmatic group of organisms. The University Herbarium’s fungal specimens hold great potential for research. The collection includes some known type specimens, including those cited by the mycologist E.J.H. Corner (1906-1996) in his book Boletus in Malaysia (1972).

Gymnosperms

Including the tallest trees, the oldest trees, and some of the most unique and unusual-looking trees, the gymnosperms are a charismatic group despite numbering fewer than 1000 species. This group comprises conifers, cycads, ginkgo, and gnetophytes and all are non-flowering, seed-producing plants.

Our gymnosperm collection contains material from all over the world and consists of dried cones and herbarium sheets. We have specimens from two collectors who were instrumental in bringing now familiar North American gymnosperms to the UK - David Douglas (1799-1834) and William Lobb (1809-1864). In the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, the two giant sequoias planted either side of the Main Walk are believed to originate from Lobb’s collection.

In addition to Lobb and Douglas, we have gymnosperm material collected by many of the same figures who contributed to our (much larger) flowering plant collections (see Collectors). We also hold a working set of specimens used by Augustine Henry (1857-1930) in the preparation of The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland (1906-1913), the seven-volume work he co-authored with Henry John Elwes.