Herbarium (SEL)

Type Specimens    

Spirit Collection    

Herbaria and Conservation    

Digital Herbaria 

Founded in 1973, the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ herbarium consists of over 90,000 specimens largely collected in South and Central America, with lesser numbers from central Florida and the Old World Tropics. Andean South America is particularly well represented as are epiphytic taxa. The type collection numbers approximately 1,750 specimens (holotypes & isotypes).

The herbarium also serves as a repository for vouchers from the Gardens’ extensive, well-documented collection of living plants. Important collections from the following individuals are held: Calaway Dodson, Carlyle Luer, John T. Atwood, Harry E. Luther, Libby Besse, G.C.K. Dunsterville, Bruce Holst, Michael Madison, Hans Wiehler, W. John Kress. Taxonomic groups well represented in the herbarium:

Family Number of Specimens
Orchidaceae 29,000
Bromeliaceae 8,000
Gesneriaceae 3,300
Araceae 3,000
Pteridophyta 2,000
Heliconiaceae 1,480

Staff Plant Taxonomists

Holst, Bruce K. Interim Director, Center for Tropical Plant Science & Conservation; Herbarium Curator; Library Director. Research interests: floristics of Venezuela and Belize, Venezuelan Bromeliaceae, Neotropical Myrtaceae.

Luther, Harry E. Director – Bromeliad Identification Center, Curator of Living Collections. Research interests: Bromeliaceae.

Associated Collections at Selby Gardens: The Spirit Collection (approximately 27,000 vials, mostly Orchidaceae); Greenhouse Research and Display Collection (over 12,000 documented living plants). Desiderata: We are interested in obtaining the following plants on exchange: Any members of the Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae, Araceae, Gesneriaceae, Pteridophyta, Heliconiaceae, and Marantaceae, as well as any vascular epiphyte from any family.

In exchange for specimens, we can provide general collections from the Neotropics and central Florida (USA), as well as back and current issues of the journal Selbyana [except Volumes 3(1,2), 4(1), 6, 8, 15(1), 16(2), and 17].

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the National Science Foundation through grants DBI-0138615 and DBI-0447401 which have provided significant improvements to the quality, curation, and access of our collections.

All requests for loans and other information regarding the herbarium should be directed to:

Bruce K. Holst
Herbarium Curator
811 South Palm Ave.
Sarasota, FL 34236-7124, U.S.A.
Phone: 941-366-5731 ext. 312
Fax: 941-951-1474.
E-mail:
bholst@selby.org
 

Selby Gardens is open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Christmas.

Adults $17, Children 6-11 $6, Members Free.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

811 South Palm Avenue
Sarasota, FL 34236
941-366-5731
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