Universität Wien
Faculty of Life Sciences
Universität Wien
Rennweg 14
Wien A-1030
Austria
Heimo Rainer
Email: heimo.rainer@nhm-wien.ac.at
The foundation of this collection of dried plant specimens dates back to the year 1879 when the then Director of the Botanical Museum, Anton KERNER von MARILAUN (1831 - 1898), had begun to acquire herbarium material for the installation of an institute's new herbarium (WU). This had become necessary, as the entire collection had been transferred to the newly built Natural History Museum Vienna (W). The new herbarium grew rapidly and in 1889 it contained already 80.000 specimens. Due to gifts and bequests (e.g., herbaria of A. KERNER: integrated in the main herbarium, K. KECK: still kept as separate entity) as well as by the activities of collecting expeditions it soon approached considerable size and importance. KERNER was followed as the institute's director by Richard von WETTSTEIN who also has left his herbarium to the institute. Today the herbarium of the Institute of Botany is estimated to contain about 1,400.000 specimens covering all plant groups worldwide.