Integrated Herbaria & Major Collections

Integrated Herbaria

The Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has a rich history. Originally founded from the Herbarium of the University of Edinburgh and the Botanical Society of Scotland, there then followed the incorporation of many large, historically…

Plants on Paper: curatorial practice and the decolonization of collections of scientific prints and drawings

Plants on Paper

ABOUT THE PROJECT:  The project is funded by Getty as part of the Paper Project initiative and has the following goals:  Raise awareness of RBGE’s extraordinary art collection - Identify and share relevant key works as case studies to…

Go ahead for plans to safeguard the priceless collections of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Go ahead for plans to safeguard the priceless collections of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Go ahead for plans to safeguard the priceless collections of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) has won the backing of city councillors to proceed with an ambitious £70m initiative to safeguard Scotland’s…

Spirit Preserved Collections

Spirit

The spirit collection comprises over 7,000 specimens preserved in fluid which are stored in glass jars in metal cabinets. This method of preservation is particularly important for fleshy flowers, fruits and fungi that are not suitable for drying,…

Angiosperms

Angiosperms

Angiosperms, or flowering plants, are a very diverse and conspicuous group of plants. There are 476 families, with over 13,000 genera. The angiosperm holdings at RBGE represent collections made throughout the world, and cover the diversity of…

Diatoms

Diatoms

Diatoms occur in almost all aquatic habitats, marine or freshwater, where they can be freely suspended in water (planktonic), moving through sediments, or attached to rock or other surfaces. A few grow on land, on soil or damp rock faces, and some…

Indian Botanical Illustrations

Indian Collections

Dr Olwen Grace

Dr Olwen Grace

These precious collections hold contemporary as well as historic records of biodiversity, memory and culture in the form of herbarium specimens, publications, objects and art. We are working to bring these multi-faceted collections to bear on the…

Helen Bennett

Helen Bennett

A curator and historian by profession, since 2011, I have been engaging as a volunteer with the rich historical collections in the RBGE Archive. My focus has been previously uncatalogued collections of photographic images, all pre-1950 and mainly…