Universität Heidelberg
D-69120 Heidelberg
Germany
Prof. Dr. Marcus Koch (Director)
Email: mkoch@hip.uni-hd.de
Dr. Andreas Franzke (Curator - Living Collections)
Email: afranzke@hip.uni-hd.de
Dr. Peter Sack
Email: psack@hip.uni-hd.de
The 'seed' that grew into the Heidelberg Institute of Plant Science (HEID) was a set of private collections from the early 19th century, in particular Prof. Bischoff's collection of about 7000 specimens from all over the world. Prof. Bischoff, who was appointed in 1839 as the first Ordinarius of Botany in Heidelberg, was succeeded in both office and activities by the famous Wilhelm Hofmeister. In addition to the Bischoff and Hoffmeister collections, HEID today includes an especially valuable assortment of collections, such as those of H. L. G. Reichenbach, Bockholtz, Jamin, Schlieben, Schimper, Zeyher, Ecklon, Dierbach, Bronn, Gmelin, and the large and important herbarium Bauschianum. This last comprises several thousand vouchers of flowering plants collected by some of the best-known botanists of all time, as well as a collection of very important cryptogams.
At present, HEID holds approximately 300 000 vouchers, many of which date back to the 19th century. The period 1950 to 2000 was an especially fruitful one for HEID due to the extensive collecting carried out by Prof. Werner Rauh, former director of the Heidelberg Herbarium, and his scholars. During this period, approximately 50 000 vouchers, mainly from South America (especially from the Andes) and Africa (chiefly Madagascar and Kenya), were acquired. An exchange of vouchers with institutions in the United States and South Africa further enlarged the collection.
The 2003 appointment of Prof. Marcus Koch as director of the botanical garden saw an intensified effort to expand a Brassicaceae germplasm collection, which now already has 8000 samples. This special herbarium serves as a source for various research activities related to the Brassicaceae family that are being carried out at HEID and affiliated institutions. The herbarium is also willing and able to provide plant material needed for modern biological molecular research. Molecular research on herbarium specimens has led to herbaria being viewed as important and valuable sources of diverse research material.
The HEID database is available at http://gartenbank.bot.uni-heidelberg.de/?gastlogin.