The vascular plants herbarium encompasses the Estonian plants herbarium, herbarium generale, Baer’s herbarium, a seed collection, and a small sized dendrological collection. Additionally, it houses a variety of materials including different paper-based catalogues, field diaries, photographs, photo negatives, and a systematically organized postcard collection with plant images.
The Estonian Herbarium consists of over 163,000 herbarium sheets. An essential part of this collection was collected in the latter half of the 20th century during extensive research into Estonia’s flora. The primary collectors were some of Estonia’s most esteemed botanists of the era, including Maret Kask, Linda Viljasoo, Vilma Kuusk, Heljo Krall, Livia-Maria Laasimer, Visolde Puusepp, Haide-Ene Rebassoo, Silvia Talts, Ella Tammemägi, among others. Their botanical research culminated in the creation of the 11-volume “Flora of the Estonian SSR”.
More recently, in 2020, the “Atlas of the Estonian Flora 2020” was published. During this work over 23,000 specimens were collected which are housed now in TAA herbarium.
95% of the herbarium of vascular plants collected from Estonia has been digitized, which means that the specimen records include both collection data and a photograph of the specimen. The more historical part of the collection dates from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. It contains specimens from many botanists of that time, such as Alexander Georg von Bunge, Paul Lackschewitz, Theodor Lackschewitz, Johannes Klinge, Carl Maximowitsch, Karl Reinhold Kupffer, Rudolf Lehbert, Alexander von Schrenk, Julius Killoman, Hugo Kapp, Gustav Vilbaste, and others.
The collection’s historical section includes the “Flora exsiccata Liv-. Esth- und Kurlands” by Alexander Georg von Bunge, with 1700 herbarium sheets from 1849-1853. This is the first major botanical documentation from this region and marks the start of scientific botanical research in Estonia.
The collection also has several smaller private collections:
- Jakob Esser’s collection (780 specimens)
- Priidu Kohava’s collection (600 specimens)
- August Muuga’s collection (300 specimens)
- Tiiu Trei’s aquatic collection (600 specimens)
- Taavi Tuulik’s Hiiumaa collection (1500 specimens)
- Gustav Vilbaste’s collection (9800 specimens)
- Ellen Vilbaste’s collection (800 specimens)
- Malle Leht’s legume collection (900 specimens), mainly non-native species to Estonia, including 106 species from Lathyrus and Vicia.
The Herbarium Generale, with approximately 21,000 specimens, predominately features material from the Russian Arctic, Siberia, European Russia, Central Asia, the Far East, the Caucasus, North America, Central and Southern Europe, the Nordic countries, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Karl Ernst von Baer’s Herbarium, dating back to the 19th century and comprising about 12,000 herbarium sheets, is preserved as an independent collection. Its materials originate from Western Europe, Siberia, the Caucasus, the Caspian region, and other areas of Asia and Africa, with a considerable portion sourced from Estonia. This herbarium is accessible to the public through the PlutoF database and the eBiodiversity portal at: https://elurikkus.ee/projects/karl-ernst-von-baer
The bryophyte collection consists of the Estonian Herbarium and the Herbarium Generale, containing approximately 37 000 moss specimens. The herbarium represents 1390 moss species including 30 varieties and subspecies. Material from Estonia contains 590 taxa.
THE ESTONIAN HERBARIUM forms the majority of the collection, mainly from the period 1945 to the present.
The historical part of the collection dates back to the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, totaling approximately 7700 specimens.
- Edmund Russow’s Sphagnum collection (4237 specimens)
- J. Micutowicz’s Sphagnum collection (226 specimens)
- Estonian Naturalists’ Society moss herbarium (244 species), collected by Andreas Bruttan.
- Eugen Niclasen’s herbarium (490 species)
- Karl Girgensohn’s herbarium (2506 specimens)
THE HERBARIUM GENERALE contains about 2300 moss specimens. The Baltic States, Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, Caucasia, Asia, Siberia, the Far-East, Africa, Australia, South America, North America and the Arctic are distinguished as separate regions.
The Australian collection is extensive and consists specimens collected by Heinar Streimann from various regions of Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Papua, and Norfolk. The South American collection mainly comprises bryophytes collected by Schäfer-Verwimp in Brazil. Additionally, there are specimens from Panama (Nele Ingerpuu) and Peru (Leiti Kannukene). A large proportion of the Arctic samples have been obtained from the Estonian Museum of Natural History as duplicates (from Taimõr) and another part from Russia, sent over from exchange herbariums specific to various Arctic regions.
EXSICCATES COLLECTIONS
Excsiccata contains 1325 samples of bryophytes.
1. Flora Exsiccata Liv-, Est- und Curlands. Herb. Hugo Kapp, 19. saj. (165 ex.)
2. Musci Frondosi Exsiccati (Europe) Karl Friedrich Bernhard Fiedler 1842–1848 (50 ex.)
3. Musci Frondosi Exsiccati (Europe) Karl Friedrich Bernhard Fiider 1847–1848 (385 ex.)
4. Bryotheca Polonica, Nr.201–250, Antoni Józef Żmuda Krakow, 1930 (50 ex.)
5. Hepaticae et Musci URSS Exiccati, Nr. 1–50, Leningrad,1957, Nr.51–190, Leningrad, 1961–1962 (254 ex.)
6. Bryophyta Murmanica Exsiccata Fasc I, Nr. 1–50, Fasc. III Nr. 101–150 Kirovsk, 1989; Fasc. III Nr. 101–150 Kirovsk 1998. (98 ex.)
7. Bryophyta Rossica et Civitatum Collimitanearum Exsiccata Fasc. I–IV, Nr. 1–100, St.-Petersburg, 1995 (100 ex.)
8. Bryophyta Karelica Exsiccata Nr. 1–50 (51 ex.)
9. Musci Ausralasiae Exsiccati, Canberra, 1992–1997 (105 ex.)
10. Bryotheca Europaea – Die Laubmoose Europa’s, L.Rabenhorst, 1861 Fasc. IX. Nr. 401-450 Dresden, Druck von G.(?) Heinrich (63 eks.)
THE SEED COLLECTION
The Vascular Plant Collection includes the Seed Collection, where over 700 taxa can be found. The seeds are preserved in glass containers or in plastic bags at room temperature.
Seeds of the Estonian wild orchid are kept separately in a freezer at minus 80 degrees.
