Department of Botany

The museum has one of the largest scientific collections in the world, comprising about 4.5 million specimens of flowering plants, ferns, algae, mosses, fungi, slime molds, lichens and bacteria. At the department, we conduct organism-centred research in botany and mycology.

Research at the Department of Botany

Research at the department of Botany focuses on phylogenetic systematics, biodiversity patterns in space and time, life history traits and taxonomy. We address evolutionary questions from the infraspecific to the highest taxonomic levels. We also conduct revisionary studies and flora work in botany and mycology, and many of us are actively involved in work aiming to safeguard biodiversity and red-listing of species.

Collections

The herbaria of vascular plants at the department is one of the largest in the world, with approximately three million specimens.

The department also houses collections of fungi, myxomycetes, lichens, algae, bryophytes and pteridophytes. The bryophyte herbarium is on ofthe five largest globally.

Collections consist of specimens from all over the world collected from the 1800th century until now.

The collections have high historical and scientific value, and are used as a base for the research at the department, but also by scientists all over the world.

Considerable parts of the collections are available via Internet as search databases.