Purposes
Updated Nov 2011. FI includes the following herbaria: General Herbarium, which incorporates Herbarium Centrale Italicum (~ 3 800 000 specimens) and to which belong Herbarium Libycum (15 000 specimens) and Herbarium Cryptogamicum (780 000 specimens); separate historical herbaria: Herbarium Webbianum (FI-W; 300 000 specimens), Herbarium Beccarianum-Malesia (FI-B; 16 000 specimens), Herbarium Beccari Palmae (FI-BP; 6700 specimens), and Herbarium Michelianum (FI-M; 18 366 specimens). The Botanical Section also includes historical herbaria such as A. Cesalpino, 16th century, M. Merini, 16th century, A. Coltellini, 18th century, and wax and gypsum plant models of 18th and 19th century. On September 22nd, 2009 the Pteridological Herbarium of Professor R.E.G. Pichi Sermolli (1912-2005) was incorporated. Professor Pichi Sermolli, a worldwide known pteridologist, left a rich herbarium of 25,000 specimens including much type material and a specialized library of 450 books and 7,000 reprints. Professor Pichi Sermolli's herbarium is referred to by us as FI-PS, since it is a special collection of FI. Any request should be sent to the usual address of FI:
This precious collection is available to all interested researchers and specialists after prior arrangement; due to the historical significance and uniqueness of the a collections, loan is possible only through digital images. it is now possible to consult the data base archive of the Herbarium Centrale Italicum (FI) for the Italian specimens.
The data base gives the full scientific name, the occurrence of types, any reference to synonyms, floristic records, literature, etc. and the names of Italian regions the specimens come from.
Obviously the archive is "in progress", in the sense that it will be regularly updated.
It is also possible to request loans of the specimens directly, clicking on "Loan request".
The loan is made only to Institutions registered for the Index Herbariorum.
To consult this data base, go to the web address of the Natural History Museum of Florence www.msn.unifi.it, click on "Botanical Section Herbaria" http://parlatore.msn.unifi.it and then on HCI ITALY WEB.
