The history of plant collection and documentation in Galapagos can be traced back over two centuries.
- During the 19th century ...
- Various botanists (eg. Douglas, Scouler, Darwin, Edmonston, Andersson, Baur) collected specimens on expeditions to the archipelago. Some of these still exist in universities and institutions throughout the world, including the California Academy of Sciences (US), Cambridge University (UK), and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK).
- In the 1960's ...
- To preserve and maintain specimens collected in the Galapagos and to provide resources for other research, CDRS created its own herbarium. The first collectors included David Snow, the second director of the CDRS, in 1963-1964 and Ira Wiggins in 1966.
- The oldest specimen in the herbarium is Tournefortia pubescens from Santa Cruz, collected by David Snow, in February 1963.
- In the 1970's ...
- Although the CDRS Herbarium was recognized internationally in 1975 in the Index Herbariorum, many collectors sent their specimens to other countries where herbaria had better storage facilities.
- In the 1990's ...
- In 1994, CDF scientists moved the few existing collections to a new, windowless and air conditioned building, protecting the specimens from sunlight and humidity. The herbarium room was extended in 1999.
- The Herbarium database was begun in 1994. Each year, CDF staff and volunteers add about 1,000 new specimens to it.
- In the 21st century ...
- The herbarium was extended again in 2001.
- In July 2006 CDF began construction of a new Botany building. This will provide a new and larger herbarium to house the growing collection, better facilities for sample preparation, and more space for researchers.
- In 2006, the CDRS Herbarium had 22,500 specimens, and is the most complete and largest collection of Galapagos vascular and non vascular plants (including fungi and lichens) in the world.
The CDRS Herbarium - Introduction
About the Herbarium collections
Access to the Herbarium
Herbarium procedures and Quarantine procedures
2006 Herbarium projects
The CDRS Herbarium is supported by Discovery Initiatives Ltd, UK.
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