National Herbarium
National Herbarium
One would not believe that it is possible to stockpile
all the plants in Sri Lanka under one roof. National Herbarium at Royal Botanic
Gardens houses, in dried form, almost all the plants known from Sri Lanka.
The National Herbarium is a scientific institution of international repute,
which has been actively engaged in floristic studies of the island since the
inception of Royal Botanic Gardens, at Peradeniya in 1821
National Herbarium of Royal Botanic Gardens is the only institution directly
involved in the authentication of flora of Sri Lanka. At present, the Herbarium
houses over 130000 herbarium specimens. Earliest collections are more than 150
years old and are maintained according to international standards.
Plant identification and information services
| Collection |
No. of Species
|
| Classified herbarium (over 100 years old) |
22242
|
| Cultivated plants |
4144
|
| Exotic plants |
50709
|
| Smithsonian collection |
39000
|
| D.M.A. Jayaweera collection |
800
|
| K.L.D. Amaratunge collection |
6000
|
| T.B. Worthington collection |
3000
|
| Wall’s ferns collection (in book form) |
800
|
| IUCN collection |
3500
|
| Sinharaja collection |
1000
|
| Royal Botanic Gardens collection |
1800
|
| Total |
130395
|
Taxonomic categorization
of the collection
| Plant Group |
No. of families
|
No. of Genera
|
||
|
Local
|
Foreign
|
Local
|
Foreign
|
|
| Angiosperms |
192
|
79
|
1350
|
2644
|
| Pteridophytes |
28
|
02
|
118
|
19
|
| Bryophytes |
22
|
18
|
69
|
107
|
| Mosses |
48
|
52
|
174
|
426
|
| Lichens |
-
|
27
|
-
|
102
|
| Algae |
-
|
88
|
-
|
1012
|
| Conifers |
-
|
05
|
-
|
32
|