State Herbarium of South Australia
P. O. Box 2732
Kent Town, South Australia 5071
Australia
Helen Vonow
Email: helen.vonow@sa.gov.au
Michelle Waycott
Email: michelle.waycott@sa.gov.au
The State Herbarium of South Australia is the key centre for knowledge and information on South Australia's native and naturalised plants, algae, fungi and lichens. We are internationally recognised for our research and advisory role in plant systematics. At the core of the State Herbarium's operations is our collection of dried herbarium specimens, currently numbering over one million and growing.
Our research staff and associates bring scientific methods, including cutting-edge technologies in molecular biology and microscopy to help research a wide range of botanical areas (eg genes, populations, species, higher taxa, communities and ecosystems). The information that we gather is not just stored. Research results and statewide knowledge are shared in publications such as the Flora of South Australia, Census of South Australian Vascular Plants and the Marine Benthic Flora of Southern Australia. We participate in major national projects such as the iconic Flora of Australia and world-leading Australia's Virtual Herbarium. We are also an essential resource for carrying out flora surveys, vegetation mapping programs, native vegetation conservation, weed identification, and community management and rehabilitation programs.
The State Herbarium's knowledge and information also contributes to the conservation of rare plants. We believe that action to save rare plant species faced with extinction needs to be based on good scientific knowledge. Our improved communication of distributional and taxonomic data is enhancing recovery plans and on-ground actions in the effort of conservation of these rare plants. Our knowledge of the species of plants, algae and fungi - which is crucial in today's conservation biology, environmental management, the design of natural reserves and informed decision making for South Australia and any governmental agency - continues to increase, and research shows that new species continue to be discovered.
In 1954 the State Herbarium of South Australia was founded as part of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. The collections reflect the history of activity by the state's resident botanists since the first flora of the state was produced by Richard Schomburgk (1811-1891) in 1875. The State Herbarium's foundation collections include the personal collections of R Tate (1840-1901), JM Black (1855-1951) assembled in the University of Adelaide Herbarium (ADU), Sir JB Cleland (1878-1971) via the South Australian Museum, the moss herbarium of Professor David Catcheside (1907-1994), the collections of the Field Naturalists' Society of South Australia and many others. An early focus by staff and members of the public was on botanical surveys of South Australia. Collections were gifted from the Waite Agricultural Research Institute (ADW), the algal herbarium of the University of Adelaide (now the AD-A series), the Department of Agriculture (ADA) and the SA Pastoral Board. Today the term herbarium has been extended to encompass an institution that not only holds botanical collections but also employs taxonomic botanists who use these collections to study and document the regional, national and global floras.
The State Herbarium was first established within the old administration building of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide. In 1966, a new custom-built building opened beside its original home. Later expansion of collections and staff were accommodated with two building extensions. This old site then made way for the National Wine Centre in 2000. The State Herbarium and the library of the Botanic Gardens are now housed in the old Tram Barn A, which was renamed the Plant Biodiversity Centre in 2000. The State Herbarium shares this accommodation with the Biological Survey of South Australia and other scientific groups. They were amalgamated into DEWNR's Science Resource Centre in 2009.
The traditional link of the State Herbarium with the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, embodied in the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium Act 1978, has been maintained over the years but the shift of location has coincided with the cementing of closer ties with wider scientific and conservation programs in South Australia and nation-wide.