HERBARIUM COLLECTIONS
The herbarium of Aarhus University houses about 750,000 specimens of dried and pressed plants. In addition there is a large liquid collection of flowers and fruits preserved in alcohol and a collection of bulky plant parts not suitable for pressing – such as large palm fruits etc. There is also a growing collection of leaf material dried in silica gel for use in DNA analyses.
Watch the movie "750,000 dried plants in Aarhus" below:
The herbarium houses plant collections from all over the world, but is especially rich in collections from western South America, Southeast Asia, and the Sahel region in West Africa. There is also a rich collection of Danish flora. Palms, grasses, pteridophytes, gingers and legumes are particularly well represented in the collections.
Digitalization of the collections is a major priority. The herbarium database holds more than 130,000 records and is available for on-line search. The herbarium also provides a large dataset to the international network available through Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
The herbarium with the standard abbreviation AAU was established in 1963 and its present home was constructed in 1987. Since 2012 the herbarium has been part of the Science Museums, Aarhus University.
The database
Search in the herbarium database:
