Environment and Resource Management

Specimen collections

The Queensland Herbarium collections


Specimen collected by Banks and
Solander from the Endeavour River,
Cook's voyage 1770

The Queensland Herbarium is home to more than 765,000 specimens of plants, algae, lichens and fungi, forming the fundamental record of the Queensland flora. The specimen collections date back to Cook's Voyage, representing more than 230 years of history. Each year approximately 10,000 specimens are added to the collection. Each new specimen represents either a new native species, a newly naturalised species, or a new distributional record for a known species. Most plant specimens are pressed, dried and mounted on archival cardboard with archival tape. These specimens are stored in plastic boxes secured from sunlight and insect damage. Specimens that are very delicate or soft are stored in jars of spirit, and large specimens are stored separately in bags or boxes. Mosses, liverworts, lichens and fungi are stored in small custom made boxes to protect them from fragmentation.

Specimens destined for incorporation into the collections should have flowers or fruit for identification and research purposes, good label information for analysis, and an accurate location for mapping. The label information associated with each specimen is recorded in the database HERBRECS, for ready access and analysis. Herbarium specimens are collected by staff, research associates, volunteers, botanists from other institutions, and members of the public. Further information on how to collect plant specimens is available.

Significance of the collections

The Queensland Herbarium collection is a unique and continuously verified record of the flora of Queensland. Ideally, the specimen label information data contains an accurate location (preferably by GPS), and information on situation, habitat, surrounding vegetation, soils and landscape along with field characters relating to the specimen, such as size, bark type, flower colour and abundance. This information forms a basic dataset of attributes that is a first step to our understanding of a species and how to manage it.

Specimens are the reference point for the application of scientific names, and provide the basic biological material and information for taxonomists and other researchers. The herbarium specimen is a verified record for a species occurring at a particular time and place, and is used to accurately document the extent of threatened species and the spread of invasive weeds. Their specimen label locality information may be used to track the changing distribution of species through time, and the habitat information is crucial for determining where further populations might be found, and predicting the effects of habitat fragmentation and climate change on a species.

What are voucher specimens?

Voucher specimens, including those representing new weed incursions, poisonings, seed collections, ecological research and biochemical analysis are retained as a permanent record and can be verified from the voucher reference in the publication at any time. Only specimens of high quality that meet the Queensland Herbarium specimen incorporation criteria are included as vouchers. Further information on how to collect plant specimens is available.

Type specimens

A nomenclatural type specimen is allocated when a new species is described and scientifically named. The type specimen is then permanently attached to that name. Every scientific plant name that is validly published under the rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature must have a type specimen associated with it. A holotype is the single original specimen selected by the author of a new name as representative of the taxon they have described. The original description of the taxon (protologue) must include details of this specimen (type citation). Duplicates of the holotype are called isotypes and are often lodged with other herbaria. Where a previous author has cited a number of specimens in the protologue, these are called syntypes and a later researcher may choose one of these as the most representative - this is called a lectotype. When all of the original cited material is destroyed or lost, a neotype may be selected. Currently, the Queensland Herbarium houses 9,215 type specimens in its collection.

Historical specimens

The Queensland Herbarium collections contain many historically important specimens, including some 200 collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, the botanists who accompanied Captain James Cook on his voyage along eastern Australia in 1770. The collection also contains specimens collected by famous 19 th century explorers such as Robert Brown, Ludwig Leichhardt and Amalie Dietrich. Important collections of the early 20 th century were made by Frederick Manson Bailey, Cyril Tenison White and Leonard Brass. Many botanists, researchers, enthusiasts, volunteers and members of the public have contributed to the specimen collections. When properly conserved and maintained these historical collections represent an invaluable record of the state's past flora, and an essential resource for future study.

Reference collections

The Herbarium has two reference collections each of which consists of one to several verified specimens of Queensland native, naturalised and cultivated species. The identification of an unknown plant is normally confirmed by direct comparison with these verified specimens, an important part of the identification process. One reference collection is housed in the public reference centre and is available for use by the public.


Last updated: 31 March 2009

Queensland Herbarium

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