Overall specimens: 8,201,943
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 115
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Contents: 115 specimens, including 20 gymnosperms and 195 angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 276,302
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The Webb Herbarium, created by English botanist Philip Barker Webb and donated to the Museum in 1856, represents one of the largest private botanical collections of the time. Specimens come from all over the world, including Australia, the Americas, Africa, and Asia, and include historical specimens of every plant and fungal group collected by such legendary figures as Charles Darwin, Joseph Dalton Hooker, and René Louiche Desfontaines. One of the most important sub-collections is that of Jacques-Julien Houtou de La Billardière from Australia and Tasmania (1791-1794). Thanks to the completion of FI-W digitization by Picturae in early November 2024, we know that it contains exactly 276,302 specimens (arranged in 1,584 cubbies, 7,111 folders and 232,527 sheets), including more than 6250 types surveyed today.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 50,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Contents: 50,000 angiosperms specimens.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 2,782
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Contents: 2,782 specimens, including 53 gymnosperms and 2,729 angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 25,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The legacy of Professor Rodolfo Emilio Giuseppe Pichi Sermolli (1912-2005), a worldwide known pteridologist, was acquired on September 22nd, 2009, and includes a rich herbarium of 25,000 specimens, with nearly 500 type specimens surveyed, and a specialized library of 450 books and 7,000 reprints; it was acquired on September 22nd, 2009.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Slide Mount, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 960
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Contents: 960 specimens, including 10 pteridophytes, 107 gymnosperms and 843 angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 97
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Contents: 99 specimens, including 42 lichens, 45 bryophytes, 10 pteridophytes and 2 angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 4,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: Italy
Taxonomic Coverage: Plantae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Orchidaceae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 212
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: 6,746
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Herbarium of Palms by Odoardo Beccari (1878 - 1920). The Herbarium Palmarum was Odoardo Beccari's research tool for the study of the Arecaceae family. In more than 20 years of intensive research dedicated to this family, Beccari produced more than 70 publications that established him as the world's leading palm expert. The collection does not only contain his own collections, but is above all the fruit of more than 30 years of research and exchanges with palmologists from all over the world and still retains its importance and scientific relevance today. The herbarium, the only historical (closed) herbarium to be preserved on the first floor of the building, is kept in room 5 cupboards, just before the Arecaceae specimens, of the general herbarium. The collection consists of approximately 11,000 sheets, comprising just under 7,000 specimens, with 1,205 drawings, approx. 500 type specimens and thousands of photos and prints in various formats; connected to some of the specimens are the more than 245 carpological preparations (interspersed in the general carpotheque).
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Arecaceae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 14,162
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Malesian herbarium by Odoardo Beccari (1865-1878). One of the best-known historical collections, the so-called Malesian herbarium was compiled by Odoardo Beccari in the second half of the 19th century, the result of his extensive explorations in the area of historical Malesia (Indo-Malay archipelago), as well as the more or less contiguous countries he visited on the same trips (from India to New Zealand). Beccari brought back plants, animals, ethnographic and anthropological findings from his three famous explorations. The herbarium contains more than 14,000 specimens, mostly prepared by Beccari himself (with a more modest contingent of specimens obtained by exchange from other collectors and colleagues), to which hundreds of specimens in alcohol are linked (interspersed in the carpological general collection) and 200 plates of wood from Borneo (xylological collection). The scientific importance of the collection stems from the large number of type specimens (those surveyed to date are more than 2,400), which are crucial for research on Malesian flora. Starting in 2018, in view of the centenary celebrations of Beccari's death, a systematic study has been launched that aims to digitise and publish its contents in full. Contents: 14,162, including 100 fungi (sensu lato), 195 lichens, 181 algae, 878 bryophytes, 658 pteridophytes, 57 gymnosperms, and 12,093 angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: 62
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Ferrarini spermological collection. Small collection of 62 seeds of angiosperms, mostly from the Apuan region, collected in paper envelopes and assembled in a cardboard box, fully catalogued.
Geographic Coverage: Italy
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 1,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Fennic mycological herbarium (late 19th century). Contents: 1000 fungi specimens.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Chromista, Fungi
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Textiles Basketry, Plant Derived, Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 100
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Ethnobotanical collection on display (excluding those nested within the main "carpological" collection). The collection would include, properly speaking, all the collections of artefacts and derivatives of plant origin, such as pharmacological preparations, dyes, carpets, ropes, hats, fibres, fans, baskets, paper etc., whose origin dates back to Filippo Parlatore, who was concerned with complementing the actual herbaria with a collection of products that would be useful in illustrating the man-plant interaction in the daily life of human populations worldwide. Here, since most of the above-mentioned exhibits are regularly interspersed with the main ancillary collection of the so-called ‘carpoteca’, reference is instead made to the small number of objects (approx. 100) indefinitely extracted from that collection to be variously distributed among the museum's rooms, mostly as remnants in the showcases of the former ostensive room on the second floor. They include, among others, the wood mosaic of uncertain origin exhibited in that room and some artefacts from the Malay area recently recovered from former storage rooms. Most of these artefacts are in the process of being transferred - for a more proper valorisation and curation - to the Museum ethno-anthropology collections.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 9
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Contents: 9 angiosperms specimens.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 126
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Compiled by Siemoni, Carlo (1805-1878).
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Quercus
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 149
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: 133
Specimens in GBIF: 133
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Plantae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 41
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 100
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Poaceae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 158
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Inv. no. 88 of Micheli's collections.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Poaceae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 201
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Herbarium by an Tuscan anonymous (formerly ‘Merini’; 1543-1545). Already attributed by Chiovenda (1927, 1929) to Michele Merini, a priest from Lucca and pupil of Luca Ghini (in turn, founder in 1543 of the Botanical Garden of Pisa, then of that of Florence, universally recognised as the inventor of the method of preserving plants in the form of pressed and dried specimens); recent studies (Cristofolini & Nepi 2021) have confirmed its age but cast doubt on its authorship. It is a very small collection of just over 200 specimens ‘agglutinated’ on 48 sheets of rough paper, loose but packed in a red marzipan box; a jewel of the Botany collections, it is by far one of the oldest herbaria in the world, if not the oldest: a precious testimony to the birth of the herbarium as a scientific tool for the study of plants. Fully imaged, but not databased. Contents: 201 specimens, of which 192 angiosperms, 2 gymnosperm, 1 pteridophyte and 2 lichens. References Chiovenda 1927. Un antichissimo Erbario anonimo del Museo Botanico di Firenze. Annali di Botanica 17(4): 119-139. Chiovenda 1929. Un antichissimo Erbario anonimo del Museo Botanico di Firenze. Annali di Botanica 19(1): 122-144. Cristofolini & Nepi 2021. La paternità del cosiddetto “Erbario Merini” conservato presso il Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Firenze: una questione aperta. Notiziario della Società Botanica Italiana 5(1): 55-58.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 219
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Mary Kempster's herbarium (19th century). Bound. Plants collected during various trips to Italy and Europe, arranged for aesthetic purposes: several species on the same sheet and no systematic criteria. Contents: 219 specimens, of which 6 bryophytes, 27 pteridophytes, 3 gymnosperms and 183 angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: Europe
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 264
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: New Zealand bound pteridological herbaria. Two volumes of specimens arranged for aesthetic purposes. Contents: 264 (166 + 98) specimens of pteridophytes, plus a number of bryophytes only used for eastethic purposes.. Compiled by Armstrong, Mary Ann (1838-1910).
Geographic Coverage: New Zealand
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: 350
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Two bound volumes of Veronese plants, the first with 200 specimens (185 angiosperms, 2 gymnosperms, 3 pteridophytes, 7 bryophytes, 3 lichens) from Monte Soave, the second with 150 specimens (142 angiosperms, 7 pteridophytes, 1 bryophyte) from Monte Baldo.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Plantae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: Darjeeling
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 71
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Framed herbarium specimens. Various specimens by Beccari, Malan, Padula, plus a decorative one in the former display case with a leaf painting of ‘Populus’ (most likely Ficus religiosa). The Michele Padula's paintings have been indexed at MIDS1 level. Contents: 71 specimens, of which 19 gymnosperms and 52 angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Plantae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 400
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: A large bundle of bound sheets, the compilation of which began in 1642. Gift of the Colli family (1965), it refers to the species and nomenclature of Mattirolo (Dioscorides) and concerns essays collected in various localities around Siena. Only angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: Siena and surroundings.
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 12
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 575
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Collection of Italian galls . Since the end of the 19th century, there have been collections of galls or cecidi, i.e. protuberances produced on plants by mite and insect bites or by the attack of fungi and bacteria. The FI gall collection is divided into two parts: a general one, open to the admission of new specimens, currently consisting of material mostly from Tuscany and to be referred to the general herbarium; the other (this) one is the Cecidiotheca Italica, which has 575 specimens preserved in stapled herbarium envelopes.
Geographic Coverage: Italy
Taxonomic Coverage: Insecta | Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 5,439
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: 5 pteridophytes, 544 gymnosperms and 4,890 angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Dried, Sample Pressed, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 80
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Plantae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: Sample Dried, Sample Fluid Preserved, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 16,972
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Main ancillary collection (‘Carpoteca’) The term ‘carpoteca’, which in the strict sense would only indicate a fruit collection, is generically used to indicate a collection of plant specimens of various kinds (fruit, seeds, inflorescences, stem portions and tissues, artefacts, extracts etc.) which, due to their size, shape, composition or structure are preserved in jars or boxes, either dry or ‘in the wet’ (typically alcoholic solution) rather than fixed on herbarium sheets. With its approximately 17,000 specimens, this Carpoteca is the largest in Italy and one of the most important in the world both scientifically and historically. Small in number ,but significant, are the specimens that are not strictly botanical (viruses, prokaryotes, nematodes, insects etc.). Their placement in the collection is however justified by the fact that, with very few exceptions, they are organisms that are either 1) historically linked to the study of Botany, or 2) linked to the plant world by symbiotic relationships (parasites, mutualistic symbionts etc.). Particularly valuable and worthy of special mention are, finally, the specimens belonging to the so-called ‘Old Museum Collection’, a miscellany of organs and plant products set up for educational and popular purposes even before the foundation of the Central Italian Herbarium and inherited as such, mostly still in their original containers, from the Medici and Lorraine collections. Thanks to a comprehensive paper catalogue commissioned in the 1990s and 2000s with the contribution of various students and trainees, it was possible to achieve an almost complete digital cataloguing of the ancillary collections, now (2024) nearing completion. The same tool made it possible to accurately quantify, at the date of the census for the museum dashboard (October 2021), the quantity and quality of the exhibits, as 12,857 dry specimens (4 prokaryotes, 76 insects/flora, 475 fungi, 120 lichens, 89 algae, 39 bryophytes, 62 pteridophytes, 1. 100 gymnosperms and 10,892 angiosperms) and 4,115 ‘wet’ specimens (1 virus, 16 prokaryotes, 2 poriferous, 2 nematodes, 76 insects/galls, 2 bird's nests, 946 fungi, 10 lichens, 43 algae, 10 bryophytes, 10 pteridophytes, 109 gymnosperms and 2,888 angiosperms).
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 87
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: France
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 189
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Bryological Herbarium of Samuel Elisée von Bridel-Brideri. Very fragile support sheets, urgent digitisation and restoration.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Plantae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: 291
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Herbarium of Prince Bonanno di Cattolica (early 18th century). Gift in 1733 to Pier Antonio Micheli from Prince Giuseppe Bonanno di Cattolica, Duke of Misilmeri; Sicilian plants. Some of the specimens are lost but traces remain in the bands and/or labels. 317 angiosperms, 1 gymnosperm and 2 pteridophytes.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: 400
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Algological herbarium of Marquise Vittoria Altoviti Avila Toscanelli. Approx. 400 algae specimens.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: 6
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Anonymous algological herbarium in medium format (“Indeterminate algae”). 6 samples in blue folder.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 143
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Anonymous travel herbarium (2nd). Bound with simple cloth tape: perforated sheets, not glued to each other and easily detachable. specimens from various countries in Europe, Africa, North America etc. 12 pteridophytes, 4 gymnosperms and 127 angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 1
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Anonymous algological herbarium in large format (“extra format”: 19th century?). A single specimen in red folder, possibly related to FI-A05.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Codium
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 500
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: German cryptogamic herbarium. Approx. 500 specimens, of which 50 algae and 100 bryophytes.
Geographic Coverage: Germany
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 1,669
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Anonymous herbarium. Organised in two large folders of unbound sheets between hardpapers, according to the Tournefort system. The first contains 843 numbered specimens of angiosperms only. In the second there are the others 826, also including 31 lichens, 1 alga, 52 bryophytes, 24 pteridophytes and 11 gymnosperms. Here, the numbering continues up to 1510, again beginning with angiosperms and then moving on to the other groups; this numbered series is then followed by a second series of ‘addenda’ given in the opening manuscript and referring mostly to angiosperms. The wording ‘herbarium vivum’ is given in the heading.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 184
Specimens in GBIF: 182
Description: Anonymous cryptogamic herbarium, likely dating back to early 19th century. Specimens on detached sheets but interspersed with the pages of a bound album; approximate number and date. The inscription ‘C. G.’ is on the main wrapper and may refer to the initials of the author of the collection. Contents: 120 specimens of cryptogams, of which 70 fungi, 20 lichens and 30 algae.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 40
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Anonymous herbarium in medium format. Plants arranged for aesthetic purposes: several species on the same sheet and no systematic criteria. Similar and probably related to the other coeval one in large format. On the cover the inscription ‘with Prof. Papasogli's system’ suggests that it may also have been made by a student following the example of the other. Only angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 12
Specimens in GBIF: 102
Description: Anonymous herbarium in large format. Plants arranged for aesthetic purposes: several species on the same sheet and no systematic criteria. Similar and probably related to another coeval one in medium format. Only angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 2,810
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: 2810
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Echinodermata
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 264
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Herbarium of Count Luigi Guglielmo de Cambray-Digny. Bound. Organised according to the Linnean system, possibly to be linked to the herbarium "FI-A06" in terms of age and layout.
Geographic Coverage: Europe
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 200
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Anonymous travel herbarium. Bound with red velvet cover. Plants of Italy and Europe. Contents: ca 200 specimens, including 15 pteridophytes, 5 gymnosperms and 180 angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: Europe
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 139
Specimens in GBIF: 143
Description: Anonymous herbarium dating from the 1880s. The recent annotation “S. C.” was, indeed, an indication for “sine collectore,” but calligraphy, age and arrangement suggest that it was compiled, like another, autographed, by Louis William de Cambray-Digny. Angiosperm specimens only.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 767
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: Sample Fluid Preserved, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 50,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Arthropoda
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: Sample Pinned
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Abbazzi, Piero (1928 - 2020).
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Insecta
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: 11
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: Bretagne
Taxonomic Coverage: Phaeophyceae
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Fluid Preserved, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 2,800,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: A number of several historical sub-collections has been embedded here, together with the most recent gatherings, by mainly keeping an organizational distinction among marine and continental mollusks. The most important collectors are Vittorio Pecchioli, Adolfo Targioni Tozzetti, Anselmo Tommasi, Vittorio Uzielli, Marianna Panciatichi Ximenes d’Aragona Paulucci, Giovanni Caramagna and Simone Cianfanelli; other important contribution are those from Soderi Annovazzi collection and those got thanks to research initiatives such as Miss. Biol., GRSTS, ISTIP and others.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Mollusca
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Fluid Preserved
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Annelida
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Slide Mount
Specimen count: 383
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Mostly Antonio Ercolini's specimens.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Fluid Preserved, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 11,906
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The collection includes different phyla, from the primitive Platyhelminthes to the Anellida and Tunicata. Important helminthologists, such as Iginio Sciacchitano, Pietro Marchi, Giuseppe Colosi and Antonio Ercolini, contributed to the creation of these collections. The Anellida collection includes a good representation of marine polychaetes, leeches and worms, above all Italian and East African. Unfortunately, part of the historical material has deteriorated or was destroyed in the first half of the twentieth century; however, there is still material from the Andreini, Sciacchitano and Scortecci collections. Other specimens have come from recent research missions conducted by the museum and the CSFET in Somalia. Specimens of the Sipuncula and Echiura deriving in small part from the old collections curated by Targioni Tozzetti in the second half of the nineteenth century and in large part from recent collecting in Somalia during research campaigns conducted by the museum and the CSFET. Numerous specimens of parasitic worms have come from livestock slaughtered in the abattoirs around the end of the nineteenth century, while many other specimens are of human origin. For example, there is a small collection of pork tapeworms (Taenia solium).
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Fluid Preserved, Sample Embedded, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 50,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The collection includes specimens from the orders Acarina, Amblypygi, Araneae, Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones, Scorpiones and Solifugae. Most of the specimens belong to the order Araneae. The cataloging of specimens is partial. Published catalogs: Vanni & al. 1988 (in Atti della Società Toscana di Scienze Naturali, Memorie, Serie B 94: 373-377) and Berdondini & Whitman 2002 (in Atti della Società Toscana di Scienze Naturali, Memorie, Serie B 109: 119-156).
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Arachnida
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: 22,436
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The oldest specimens in the collection were inherited from the Medici and Habsburg-Lorraine families. One example is the large Indian elephant (Elephas maximus) which, according to Targioni Tozzetti, was displayed alive in the Loggia dei Lanzi in the mid-seventeenth century. The skeleton has survived and is now displayed at the centre of the large "Hall of Skeletons". Another curious presence in the museum is that of the naturalized specimen of a hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius): according to some researchers, it lived in the Boboli Gardens at the time of Grand Duke Peter Leopold around the second half of the 1700s. Among the many specimens whose importance is not only scientific but also historical, we can mention some New World monkeys donated by the Grand Duchess of Tuscany Maria Antonia of Bourbon in 1845. After the opening of the museum to the public in 1775, new specimens continued to be added to the Lorraine collection and the greatest increases occurred in the second half of the nineteenth century and around the middle of the twentieth century. They were the years of the great exploratory expeditions in Africa, but also in South America and Asia. The most famous people associated with these enterprises, and those involved in the collection and conservation of the specimens, were: King Victor Emmanuel II, who donated some individuals that had died in Florence's Royal Zoological Garden in the period 1863-71; Marquis Orazio Antinori, who collected in Ethiopia for the Italian Geographical Society in 1880; Count Giacomo Savorgnan di Brazzà, who collected in French Congo and Belgian Congo (presently the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1884; Dr. Leopoldo Traversi, who donated specimens captured in Ethiopia in 1887; Cavalier Leonardo Fea, who collected specimens in Burma in 1887-88; Prof. Nello Beccari, who led an expedition in British Guiana in 1931-32; Victor Emmanuel Duke of Savoy and Aosta, Count of Turin, who willed to the museum a rich collection of specimens of diverse provenience; Dr. Ugo Funaioli, who collected numerous specimens in Tanzania around 1950. Also important were the expeditions of the University of Florence and the CSFET in East Africa, which began in 1959 and ended abruptly in 1987 on account of the war and civil disorder that still torment Somalia. Today the collection is particularly rich in Italian specimens, especially small mammals from all Italian regions. They belonging to order Soricomorpha, Chiroptera and Rodentia, and are preserved in alcohol and dry, which are studied by numerous Italian and foreign specialists. Another important contribution to the growth of the mammal collection was the establishment of the Cetacean Research Centre, starting in 1986: it has operated a network for the reporting and recovery of cetaceans stranded on the Italian coast. The collection includes 46 types. Mammals that were part of the Central Collection of Italian Vertebrates (Giglioli Collection) are incorporated in the mammal collection.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Mammalia
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Skeletonized, Sample Fluid Preserved, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 40,400
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The herpetological collection includes species from all over the world. Early specimens, mainly turtles' shells, date from the eighteenth century and are no longer found in the museum. In 2014 the collection included about 40400 reptiles; it mostly increased at the end of 1800, due to Enrico Hillyer Giglioli's work, and in the second part of the twentieth century, as a result of the studies of Bendetto Lanza and his colleagues. The Italian component represents the most significant portion in the collection of reptiles. In particular, the Florentine museum has the largest collection of specimens deriving from virtually all the Italian and Corsican islands and islets. The collection is also very valuable on account of the huge number of specimens from missions in Somalia throughout the twentieth century.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Crocodylia, Sphenodontia, Squamata, Testudines
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Storage Indoors, Sample Fluid Preserved, Sample Skeletonized
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The collection includes species from all over the world. In 2014 the collection included about 26500 amphibians; it mostly increased at the end of 1800, due to Enrico Hillyer Giglioli's work, and in the second part of the twentieth century, as a result of the studies of Bendetto Lanza and his colleagues. The largest part of the amphibian collection consists of Italian specimens, with rich series of individuals of the same species, but deriving from different localities, important for the study of the species distribution and variability. However, frogs and toads from other regions of the world are also well represented, with taxa belonging to almost all the existing families.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Amphibia
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Tanned, Sample Skeletonized, Sample Fluid Preserved, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 20,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The museum's ornithological collection is one of the most important in Italy and in Europe, with representatives of all the orders and almost all the families. Many specimens are mounted on pedestals, but most consist of "study skins". Until a few decades ago, the number of naturalized birds was much higher but the space necessary to house them without damage to the plumage was not sufficient; hence, museum staff began the work of dismounting them from the pedestals and trasforming them into study skins. Some of the birds in the collection date to the end of the eighteenth century. In addition to being an interesting historical datum, this information is very important as documentation of the species known at that time and as indication of the ancient preservation techniques.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Aves
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pinned
Specimen count: 15,213
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: One of the most important historical collections of the museum is undoubtedly the Camillo Rondani's (1808-1879) collection of dipterans and hymenopterans. His collection has enormous scientific importance, since it includes the "type specimens" from which he named new species. The collection was purchased by the Museum in 1880 for 4,000 lire. It is stored in the original wooden boxes and is kept separate from the general collection. It includes mainly dipterans.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Diptera, Hymenoptera
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pinned
Specimen count: 99,948
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The butterfly collection of Roger Verity (1883-1959) is of particular historical and scientific importance. His collection was obtained by personal collecting, exchanges with other collectors and the purchase of specimens or whole collections, for istance the Ubaldo Rocci's (1885-1943) collection. The Verity collection is undoubtedly one of the most important butterfly collections in Italy.
Geographic Coverage: World, Mainly The Palearctic (Italy, France, Spain, England, Asia Minor, North and East Africa, Central Asia, North America)
Taxonomic Coverage: Lepidoptera
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: 900,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The general entomological collection consists of all specimens not included in the entomological collections that have been separately cataloged for historical or scientific distinctiveness.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Insecta
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Fluid Preserved, Sample Skeletonized, Storage Indoors, Sample Dried
Specimen count: 38,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: The museum's ichthyological collection includes nea 40,000 specimens, mostly preserved in ethanol; only a few specimens are dry preparations, while others are only represented by some skeletal structures (e.g. the jaws of some shark species). The most important nucleus of the collection consists of specimens already forming part of the "Central collection of Italian Vertebrates" established by Enrico Hillyer Giglioli (1845-1909). The italian material dating to the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century is scientifically very important, since it provides a detailed view of the Tuscan and Italian fish fauna before the massive introduction of alien species starting in the first decades of the 1900s. Other important parts of the ichthyological collection are the material collected by Captain Gaetano Chierchia (1850-1922), purchased in 1910 and mainly including marine species from tropical and subtropical Asia and South America, and the material resulting from the numerous scientific missions in Somalia carried out until relatively recent times by museum personnel together with researchers from the Institute of Zoology of the University and the Centre for the Study of tropical Faunas and Ecology of the Italian national Research Council (CNR). Also important are the many type specimens: they represent 42 taxa (41 actinopterygians and 1 elasmobranch), more than half of which are still considered valid. Many specimens are noteworthy on account of their rarity and their morphological, biological or historical peculiarity. The collection contains numerous interesting specimens of Italian abyssal fishes, many of them collected by Enrico Hillyer Giglioli.
Geographic Coverage: World
Taxonomic Coverage: Chondrichthyes, Myxini, Osteichthyes, Petromyzonti
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: Sample Dried, Sample Pressed, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 9,400
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Included here is everything that was not part of the arrangement work carried out by the Targioni-Tozzetti family, nor however arranged to represent something distinct from Micheli's collection in the strict sense (thus excluding material that belonged to Micheli but was presumably already treated as separate collections at the time, either by the same author or by others). Contents: approx. 9,400 specimens. These include 1,219 lichens in 7 volumes, 1,062 algae in 3 volumes, 978 bryophytes in two volumes, and 213 additional mixed specimens of fungi, lichens and algae in 2 volumes. In addition, there are approx. 300 pteridophytes, 2,300 gymnosperms and 4,700 angiosperms still just leaning on unbleached paper sheets, distributed among a number of boxes.
Geographic Coverage: Europe
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Dried, Sample Pressed, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 21,676
Specimens in GBIF: 21,676
Description: Micheli-Targioni Tozzetti herbarium (17th-18th century). The herbarium of Pier Antonio Micheli is of particular scientific importance as it is of pre-Linnaean origin and contains numerous original materials cited by Linnaeus himself. Only after the Targioni-Tozzetti's (Giovanni's and Ottaviano's) specimens were added, the herbarium was reorganised according to Linnaeus' classification and arranged in the 260 elegant cardboard containers that still exist today. Contents: 18366 vascular plant specimens, of which 17848 angiosperms, 88 gymnosperms and 430 pteridophytes. A complete census and complete transcription of the labels of the specimens in the Micheli-Targioni herbarium was carried out in the early 2000s and the data collected was put together in a word file, with a series of complex notations that made it difficult, even at the date of the first drafting of the SMA dashboard (2021), to transfer it to DB format, but which nevertheless allowed a rapid computer search of the specimens. In 2022, the data were transferred in indexed form to excel for migration to a new CMS.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 42
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: Anonymous herbarium (18th century?). Contents: 39 specimens of angiosperms.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Tracheophyta
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Images, Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Pressed, Sample Dried, Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 1,700,000
Specimens in GBIF: 101
Description: The General Herbarium, until 2024 indicated as synonymous with the Italian Central Herbarium (Herbarium Centrale Italicum, HCI) is the largest Italian herbarium, among the most important in Europe and in the world in terms of size and historical value. Typical specimens (holo-, lecto-, neo-types and other original material) surveyed to date number about 20,000. It was founded by the Sicilian naturalist and botanist Filippo Parlatore, who was called to its direction in 1842 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II of Lorraine. Since then, the Herbarium has grown steadily: it is a so-called ‘open’ herbarium, with continuous acquisitions of plant specimens. The collection has been traditionally divided between seeded plants (‘phanerogams’: angiosperms and gymnosperms) and other organisms without flowers and seeds (‘cryptogams’: pteridophytes, bryophytes, algae, fungi, lichens etc.), with an additional open collection devoted to galls. At the time of the last census (Athenaeum Museum System dashboard compiled as part of the DiSSCo Prepare project in October 2021), in line with previously published assessments, cryptogamic collections were still estimated at approx. 800,000 specimens (sorted according to different classification criteria between the different taxonomic groups): 24,500 fungi (sensu lato), 32,000 lichens, 21,600 algae, 680,000 bryophytes an 65,000 pteridophytes. The phanerogamic collections were still estimated at approx. 3,800,000 specimens (sorted according to three successive classification levels: genera in systematic order according to Thophile Durand' "Index Kewensis Plantarum Phanerogamarum" - 1888 -, species and other infraspecific taxa in alphabetical order, specimens referring to the same taxon in geographical order): 25,000 gymnosperms and ca. 3,800,000 angiosperms, as well as 1,500 samples of galls. However, following the launch of a large, massive digitisation project in February 2024, financed by the National Biodiversity Future Centre (NBFC) and promoted by the University of Padua, counts calibrated to the actual progression of the work soon revealed that previous estimates were excessive and the actual number of Florentine collections (pending final verification) may not exceed 2,000,000 in total. There are thousands of different sources and collectors represented in the herbarium; the main collections can be referred to the authors indicated in the dedocated field. In addition to the ordered collections, there is a large storage room, named after Alfred Chabert, which houses both duplicate materials that are being released and materials (thousands of specimens) awaiting musealisation and integration. There is also a small so-called ‘didactic’ herbarium, created towards the end of the 1980s at the suggestion of Prof. Guido Moggi, never conceived as a stable collection really distinct from the central Herbarium but only as a practical tool for comparison: a sub-collection consisting of a few specimens, extracted from the main series and replaceable at any time, placed in a separate space in order to be more easily manageable and updatable according to nomenclature updates. This selection remained incomplete for a long time after the selection of the first 700 specimens (approx.), corresponding to no more than 10% of our flora, which was in fact never used for the purpose for which it had been set up. The possibility of recovering and completing it has been under consideration again since March 2023, with the start of the research projects for the NBFC, which include the massive genotyping of the Italian flora (DNA barcoding) performed by Milano Bicocca University. Within this framework, this selection of revised specimens of average recent origin can take on a role as a collection of molecular vouchers, as well as a reference for morphological investigation.
Geographic Coverage: Worldwide
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Plant Fossils
Preservation Type: Storage Indoors
Specimen count: 8,000
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: Sample Dried
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: 6
Description: About 1.5 million specimens of Insects
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: Animals
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede della Specola del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | La Specola headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-SPE)
Collection Type: Preserved Organisms
Preservation Type: n/a
Specimen count: 2,000,000
Specimens in GBIF: 2
Description: n/a
Geographic Coverage: Worldwide, Especially Italy and Mediterranean area
Taxonomic Coverage: All groups
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)
Collection Type: n/a
Preservation Type: Sample Dried
Specimen count: n/a
Specimens in GBIF: n/a
Description: At present [2015] the collection includes c. 3500 herbarium specimens from the region of Tuscany (Italy), especially the southern parts (Maremma), representing over 1500 species. The specimens were collected mostly by the owner (Federico Selvi, professor of Botany at the University of Firenze) between 1994 and 2015. Every year new specimens are added to the collection. A complete list of specimens is available, as well as the scanned images of the sheets in .jpg format. These are still not available on line, but hopefully will be soon.
Geographic Coverage: n/a
Taxonomic Coverage: n/a
Institution: Sede di Via Giorgio La Pira del Museo di Storia naturale di Firenze | Via Giorgio La Pira headquarter of the Natural History Museum in Florence (MSNF-GLP)