Historical Collections

​Projects

Members of the Herbarium team are actively involved in many local, national and international projects in which the collections are a fundamental part. RBGE has also taken a leading role in developing curatorial systems and digitisation processes,…

Integrated Herbaria & Major Collections

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…

Algae

Algae is the term used for a large polyphyletic group of photosynthetic organisms. They are primarily aquatic (marine and freshwater), but can also be terrestrial. The algae collection has been built up over the last 200 years, with the earliest…

Fungi

Fungi are an essential part of many ecosystems. The diversity of fungi is only partly understood, and many new species are yet to be discovered. Most fungi are microscopic and hard to detect, but others intermittently produce fruiting bodies –…

Lichens

Lichens are very diverse; there are c. 20,000 to 30,000 species globally. They are ecologically important; they break down rocks forming stable soils, and they fix nitrogen from the atmosphere making it available for plant growth. Scotland is home…

Rob Cubey, Plant Records Officer

I am the Plant Records Officer of the RBGE, handling the data management for both the Living and Herbarium collections. This includes the provision of data to the RBGE online catalogues as well as providing data to numerous external data…

Dr Aline Finger

My research focus is conservation and ecological genetics of threatened and important plant species. I’m using a combination of genetic and ecological methods to help their protection and to inform conservation and management decisions. My aim is…

Martin Gardner

For over 25 years I have worked at RBG Edinburgh on many aspects of conifer conservation and currently I co-chair the IUCN Conifer Specialist Group. I co-ordinate  the International Conifer Conservation Programme which has played a major role in…

Artist Collaborations

The herbarium regularly welcomes artists in to work with the collections. A wide variety of work results from these collaborations, with pieces that are inspired by the natural forms found within our collections. Some recent collaborations have…