For my first stop in Mexico, I visited the herbarium at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, or UNAM, in Mexico City. It is the largest in Latin America with 1.4 million specimens! As a comparison the herbarium at the RBG Sydney has 1.2 million specimens.
It's housed in the biology institute - a couple of pictures of the interconnected buildings are below. Note the succulent garden in the first picture, and the large cycads in the second picture.
It's housed in the biology institute - a couple of pictures of the interconnected buildings are below. Note the succulent garden in the first picture, and the large cycads in the second picture.
I was there to look at the ferns and the cycads. The herbarium preserves plants on sheets of paper. Here's a cycad herbarium specimen from Mexico.
The label tells us a lot of information: it was collected in the Hildalgo region in 1970 by Francisco Gonzalez-Medrano and it was the 2969th collection he made. The name has been in flux as you can see by the addition of the labels.
The label tells us a lot of information: it was collected in the Hildalgo region in 1970 by Francisco Gonzalez-Medrano and it was the 2969th collection he made. The name has been in flux as you can see by the addition of the labels.
I was hosted by the director of the herbarium Dr David Gernandt. Here he is looking at a Mexican pine species - pines are his area of expertise.
David tells me that there are 49 pine species in Mexico. It's a biodiversity hotspot for these and many other groups of plants.
David tells me that there are 49 pine species in Mexico. It's a biodiversity hotspot for these and many other groups of plants.
The UNAM herbarium is currently photographing and databasing all of its specimens. First they take the photo and then a room full of speedy typers type out the label information. So far they have captured one-quarter of the specimens! It's a monumental effort but well-worth it.
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