Universität Göttingen
Albrecht von Haller Institute of Plant Sciences
Department of Systematic Botany
Untere Karspüle 2
37073 Göttingen
Germany
Fax: +49-(0)551 - 39-22329
Web: http://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/153591.html
Dr. M.E. Reiner-Drehwald, GPI project
Email: mreiner@uni-goettingen.de
Dr. M.S. Appelhans, Curator
Email: marc.appelhans@biologie.uni-goettingen.de
Prof. Dr. E. Hörandl, Director of the Herbarium
Email: elvira.hoerandl@biologie.uni-goettingen.de
The Göttingen University Herbarium (GOET), founded in 1832, houses almost 1 million plant specimens from all over the world including more than 12,000 types. The oldest collections date back to the 18th century and include material of A. von Haller and F. Ehrhart and a set of plants from the South Sea collected by G. Forster during Cook’s second voyage around the world from 1772-1775.
The most important herbarium incorporated in GOET is that of A. Grisebach (1814-1879). His herbarium is rich in collections from the Near East (with materials collected by Balansa, Boissier, Bourgeau, Heldreich, Kotschy, Pinard, and others) as well as from the West Indies and South America (with materials collected by Lorentz & Hieronymus, Wright, and others). Further important collections are those of F.G. Bartling, G.F.W. Meyer, H. & R. Solms-Laubach (mainly bryophytes), A. Peter, J.M. Hildebrandt, G.A. Zenker, and C.G. Pringle.
In recent years, numerous collections have been added to GOET, including those of G. Wagenitz and associates (60,000 vascular plants), H.-J. Beug (3,000 bryophytes and vascular plants from Europe), G. Dersch (2,000 specimens of vascular plants from Euorpe), H. Ellenberg (3,000 specimens of vascular plants from South America), S.R. Gradstein and associates (80,000 specimens of bryophytes, mainly from the Tropics), M. Kessler et al. (5,000 ferns and vascular plants from South America), and G. Miehe, B. Dickoré et al. (5,000 specimens from Asia).
Materials of Special Interest
- Herbarium GOET
Wagenitz, G. (2001) : Das Herbar des Albrecht-von-Haller-Instituts für Pflanzenwissenschaften. Pp. 235-242 in Hoffmann, D. & Maack-Rheinländer, K. (Eds.): “Ganz für das Studium angelegt”: Die Museen, Sammlungen und Gärten der Universität Göttingen. Wallstein, Göttingen.
- The Type Specimen Database at GOET
Schmull, M., Heinrichs, J. Baier, R., Ullrich, D., Wagenitz, G., Groth, H., Hourticolon, S. & Gradstein, S. R. (2005): The type database at Göttingen (GOET) - a virtual herbarium online. Taxon 54: 251-254.
- The Forster Herbarium at GOET: plant specimens collected during Cook´s Second Voyage
The naturalist Georg Forster (1754-1794) and his father Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-1798) accompanied James Cook during his second voyage to the South Seas (1772-1775). In addition to animals and ethnological objects they collected a large herbarium. Descriptions and drawings were already prepared during the voyage and the new taxa were published only a few months after their return in 'Characteres generum plantarum' (1775/76). One set of specimens from this journey was given to the University of Göttingen probably during a visit of Georg Forster in 1787. More details about this collection can be seen at:
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/186899.html
The Forster herbarium is kept separate from the main herbarium GOET and was digitized in the framework of the Global Plants project (355 barcode numbers, GOET012501 to GOET012855). Ray Fosberg studied this collection in 1986 and nearly all plants are cited in “The Forsters and the Botany of the Second Cook Expedition” by Nicolson & Fosberg (2004; Regnum Vegetabile 139). The actual name of the plants accepted in this publication was printed on a label, added to the herbarium sheet and is listed as the “stored under name” in the metadata.
- Albrecht von Haller’s herbarium in Göttingen
Albrecht von Haller (1708-1777), name giver of the Botanical Institute of the Göttingen University, was a Swiss anatomist, physiologist, botanist and poet. At the University of Göttingen he was professor for anatomy, surgery and botany and contributed to the early fame of the “Georgia Augusta” (University of Göttingen). He published a flora of Switzerland and of Göttingen and its surroundings. More information about Albrecht von Haller, well known scientist and poet of the 18th century, can be found in: Elsner, N. & Rupke, N. (Ed.) 2009. Albrecht von Haller im Göttingen der Aufklärung. 454 S. Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen
Haller’s Herbarium in GOET includes plants from Germany (Harz mountains, areas surrounding Göttingen and Celle in Lower Saxony) and Switzerland (see H. Zoller 1958: Albrecht von Hallers Pflanzensammlungen in Göttingen... Nachr. Akad. Wiss. Göttingen, Math. - Phys. Kl. 1958, Nr. 10).
Albrecht von Haller’s herbarium in Göttingen was digitized in the framework of the Global Plants project. It comprises in total 574 barcode numbers (GOET012856 to GOET013429), including 85 bryophytes.
- Index Collectorum (short biographies of about 700 plant collectors together with a brief description of their collections kept in GOET):