Botany at the Royal BC Museum
Botanists have collected plants from British Columbia for more than two centuries. The Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM) has been active in botany for more than a century, and our institution holds collections going back to those early days. Over the past five decades the RBCM has been at the forefront in the botanical exploration of British Columbia: the province with the richest flora in Canada.
More than 200,000 specimens have been acquired, and formed the basis for the publication of our numerous handbooks. Over the past years botanical activities have included ethnobotanical studies of Dr Nancy Turner (Research Associate) joined recently by Richard Hebda.
The Botany Group at the RBCM consists of two curators: Ken Marr and Richard Hebda and two collection managers: Joan Kerik and John Pinder-Moss. Research focuses on grasses and grassland species (Hebda and Marr), alpine flora of northern BC (Hebda and Marr), use of DNA markers to trace the migration of alpine species into BC following the last glaciation and to evalaute the possibility of full-glacial refugia (Marr and Hebda) Quaternary fossil plants and the Rose Family (Hebda). The future of B.C.'s flora and ecosystems in the face of climate change is another topic of concern (Hebda), which has resulted in a permanent gallery exhibit.
The collection receives wide use through loans solicited from institutions around the world, and many visits to the herbarium. Our collections managers, co-op students and volunteers have been busy putting collections data on computer to make them even more widely available.
In addition to field collections by curators, the province-wide field work of the British Columbia Conservation Data Centre adds new material from listed species to the herbarium.
Botany personnel participate widely in public education through writing popular publications, giving public lectures, and speaking at special events.
Scholarly studies and public programs are complemented by the use of one of the oldest Native Plant Gardens in western Canada (begun in 1967) on the RBCM grounds. Approximately 400 native species grow in the heart of the city and provide a controlled wild environment for human visitors and wildlife alike.
Botany Collections
The Royal British Columbia Museum Herbarium (V) was established in 1886. It has approximately 210,000 specimens. The collections, including vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens are a comprehensive collection of British Columbia species.
Important Collections: J.R. Anderson, W.B. Anderson, J.A. Bailey, T.C. Brayshaw, J.A. Calder, W.R. Carter, A. Ceska, O. Ceska, R. Connell, G.V. Copley, G.W. Douglas, J.W. Eastham, F. Fodor, G.A. Hardy, R.J. Hebda, J. Macoun, K. L. Marr, M.C. Melburn, C.F. Newcombe, W.A. Newcombe, A.F. Szczawinski, T.M.C. Taylor, N.J. Turner.
Strengths in the collections include aquatic plants, rare species, Vancouver Island plants, sedges, rushes, grasses (for certain regions and genera) and a Russian Collection.
Incorporated Herbaria: Douglas Ecological Consultants (DECV 10,000 specimens); Terrestrial Studies Branch, Ministry of Environment (3800 specimens); Resource Quality Section, Water Management Branch, Ministry of Environment and Parks (WIB 9000 specimens).
As well as the two collection managers, the herbarium employs co-op students and utilizes part-time volunteers.
Click here for information on how to access the botany collections.
Staff
Dr. Richard Hebda, Curator of Botany and Earth History
Dr. Ken L. Marr, Curator of Botany
John Pinder-Moss, Botany Collections Manager
Joan Kerik, Collections Manager, Botany and Earth History
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