Museo Botánico, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
5000 Córdoba
Argentina
Dr. Jorge Chiapella
Email: ['jchiapella@imbiv.unc.edu.ar', 'jorge.chiapella@gmail.com']
Dr. Ana Anton
Tel: 54 0351 433 1056 / 2104
Email: anton@imbiv.unc.edu.ar
Facultad de Ciencias Químicas
The origin of the Museo Botánico Córdoba is associated with the foundation, in 1870, of the National Academy of Sciences, the leading institution for the development of science in Argentina. Botanical studies in particular, formally began with the incorporation of the first Academicians. They were relevant German scientists who, shortly after their arrival, became the Directors of the Science Museums of the Academy. One of their goals was the exploration of the national territory and the result was -in the case of Botany- the foundation of the Herbarium at the Museo Botánico.
CORD has played a key role to strengthen scientific activities in the region, and many relevant scientists from Argentina and neighbouring countries have been trained in the institution. CORD is not only significant for the scientific community, but also its role as consultant for governmental, and no governmental organizations.
The Museo Botánico is a unit of the Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), under the patronage of the Argentinean Research Council (CONICET) and the National University of Córdoba. At present, a total of 62 researchers, 70 Ph.D. students, and 20 technicians work full-time at the Institute.
At the beginning, the botanical activities at the Museo were mainly focussed on taxonomy and floristic. However, nowadays, its collections provide broad support to the research of many disciplines (phytochemistry, cytology, embryology, molecular biology, medicinal plants, ethnobotany, ecology, reproductive biology), including information to those working to preserve biodiversity and monitor global change. Through exhibits, collections serve to support education programs, and to promote public awareness of nature and biodiversity.
The Museo Botánico served as the organizational centre for the collaborative Flora of Argentina Project (PROFLORA) until 2008, publishing 106 fascicles which covers nearly 30 % of the whole estimated flora. Recently, PROFLORA has been superseded by the “Flora Argentina: plantas vasculares” project, under the patronage of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Argentinean Research Council (CONICET), and other institutions.
Publications from the Museo are Kurtziana (periodical since 1960), the “Pródromo de la Flora de Argentina Central” (a forerunner of such Flora, dealing mostly with Asteraceae), and recent books on medicinal plants: Atlas histomorfológico de plantas de interés medicinal de uso corriente de la República Argentina and Flora Medicinal de la Provincia de Córdoba, Argentina, both by G. Barboza and collaborators.
Materials of Special Interest:
Nowadays, the Herbarium is one of the three most important in Argentina, considering the number and qualities of the collections. It houses approximately 500.000 specimens from Argentina, other South American countries, and Europe.
Among the most relevant collections extant the material collected by Lorentz and by Lorentz and Hieronymus, which was sent to Gottingen University (GOET), in Germany. Adolph Grisebach was the botanist responsible of their study and the result were two major floristic book: Plant Lorentzianae (1874), and Symbolae ad Floram Argentinam (1879). The duplicates of these collections remain at CORD. A third collection was sent to Berlin-Dahlem, and was destroyed during the World War II, a fact that enhances the historic and scientific value of the CORD collection.
Two prolific collectors -Fritz Kurtz and Armando T. Hunziker- highly contributed to increase the number of specimens of the Herbarium, during the 19th and 20th centuries respectively, incorporating more than 25.000 samples each. In parallel, T. Stuckert added about 24.200 samples mainly from Córdoba province.
The Herbarium holds too the Cryptogamae collected by C. C. Hosseus (about 37.000 specimens) during the last century, and the more recent collection of Fungi with ca. 2000 samples. The Herbarium continuously incorporates new accessions, both by exchange with others institutions and, mostly, by recent collections of their researchers, whose field trips are carried out mainly in Argentina, but also in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, are funded by different agencies.
The type collection at CORD consists of ca. 4400 samples from many different sources. Among them, it is worth to mention 961 types of the entities described by Grisebach, based on the materials collected by Lorentz and Hieronymus in Argentina and Bolivia.
In addition, stand original materials of plants described by H. H. Rusby, O. Kuntze, S. F. Blake, H. O. Sleumer, E. Hassler, V. Harms, R. Pilger, R. Philippi, S. W. Greene, T. Stuckert, G. O. A. Malme, E. J. Rémy, F. A. Barkley, C. V. Morton, G. Bitter, A. T. Hunziker, L. Ariza Espinar, and R. Subils.
Solanaceae, Poaceae and Asteraceae are some of the most important families represented in the collection.
Finally, The Museo Botánico holds a Library with more than 8000 book titles -the oldest from the XVI century-, a microfiche collection of 2500 titles and 1387 periodicals most of them obtained through exchange with institutional publications.