The colonial legacy of herbaria

Daniel S. Park (), Xiao Feng, Shinobu Akiyama, Marlina Ardiyani, Neida Avendaño, Zoltan Barina, Blandine Bärtschi, Manuel Belgrano, Julio Betancur, Roxali Bijmoer, Ann Bogaerts, Asunción Cano, Jiří Danihelka, Arti Garg, David E. Giblin, Rajib Gogoi, Alessia Guggisberg, Marko Hyvärinen, Shelley A. James, Ramagwai J. Sebola, Tomoyuki Katagiri, Jonathan A. Kennedy, Tojibaev Sh. Komil, Byoungyoon Lee, Serena M. L. Lee, Donatella Magri, Rossella Marcucci, Siro Masinde, Denis Melnikov, Patrik Mráz, Wieslaw Mulenko, Paul Musili, Geoffrey Mwachala, Burrell E. Nelson, Christine Niezgoda, Carla Novoa Sepúlveda, Sylvia Orli, Alan Paton, Serge Payette, Kent D. Perkins, Maria Jimena Ponce, Heimo Rainer, L. Rasingam, Himmah Rustiami, Natalia M. Shiyan, Charlotte Sletten Bjorå, James Solomon, Fred Stauffer, Alex Sumadijaya, Mélanie Thiébaut, Barbara M. Thiers, Hiromi Tsubota, Alison Vaughan, Risto Virtanen, Timothy J. S. Whitfeld, Dianxiang Zhang, Fernando O. Zuloaga and Charles C. Davis ()
Additional contact information
Daniel S. Park: Purdue University
Xiao Feng: Florida State University
Shinobu Akiyama: National Museum of Nature and Science
Marlina Ardiyani: National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)
Neida Avendaño: Ciudad Universitaria
Zoltan Barina: Hungarian Natural History Museum
Blandine Bärtschi: Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
Manuel Belgrano: Instituto de Botánica Darwinion
Julio Betancur: Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Roxali Bijmoer: Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Ann Bogaerts: Meise Botanic Garden
Asunción Cano: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
Jiří Danihelka: Masaryk University
Arti Garg: Botanical Survey of India
David E. Giblin: Burke Museum
Rajib Gogoi: Botanical Survey of India
Alessia Guggisberg: ETH Zurich
Marko Hyvärinen: University of Helsinki
Shelley A. James: Western Australian Herbarium
Ramagwai J. Sebola: South African National Biodiversity Institute
Tomoyuki Katagiri: Kochi University
Jonathan A. Kennedy: Harvard University Herbaria
Tojibaev Sh. Komil: Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences
Byoungyoon Lee: National Institute of Ecology
Serena M. L. Lee: National Parks Board, Singapore Botanic Gardens
Donatella Magri: Sapienza University of Rome
Rossella Marcucci: University of Padua
Siro Masinde: National Museums of Kenya
Denis Melnikov: Russian Academy of Sciences
Patrik Mráz: Charles University
Wieslaw Mulenko: Maria Curie-Skłodowska University
Paul Musili: National Museums of Kenya
Geoffrey Mwachala: National Museums of Kenya
Burrell E. Nelson: University of Wyoming
Christine Niezgoda: Field Museum
Carla Novoa Sepúlveda: Botanische Staatssammlung München
Sylvia Orli: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Alan Paton: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Serge Payette: Université Laval
Kent D. Perkins: Florida Museum
Maria Jimena Ponce: Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (UNC-CONICET)
Heimo Rainer: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
L. Rasingam: Botanical Survey of India
Himmah Rustiami: National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)
Natalia M. Shiyan: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Charlotte Sletten Bjorå: University of Oslo
James Solomon: Missouri Botanical Garden
Fred Stauffer: Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Geneva
Alex Sumadijaya: National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)
Mélanie Thiébaut: Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
Barbara M. Thiers: New York Botanical Garden
Hiromi Tsubota: Hiroshima University
Alison Vaughan: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria
Risto Virtanen: University of Oulu
Timothy J. S. Whitfeld: University of Minnesota
Dianxiang Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Fernando O. Zuloaga: Instituto de Botánica Darwinion
Charles C. Davis: Harvard University

Nature Human Behaviour, 2023, vol. 7, issue 7, 1059-1068

Abstract: Abstract Herbarium collections shape our understanding of Earth’s flora and are crucial for addressing global change issues. Their formation, however, is not free from sociopolitical issues of immediate relevance. Despite increasing efforts addressing issues of representation and colonialism in natural history collections, herbaria have received comparatively less attention. While it has been noted that the majority of plant specimens are housed in the Global North, the extent and magnitude of this disparity have not been quantified. Here we examine the colonial legacy of botanical collections, analysing 85,621,930 specimen records and assessing survey responses from 92 herbarium collections across 39 countries. We find an inverse relationship between where plant diversity exists in nature and where it is housed in herbaria. Such disparities persist across physical and digital realms despite overt colonialism ending over half a century ago. We emphasize the need for acknowledging the colonial history of herbarium collections and implementing a more equitable global paradigm for their collection, curation and use.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01616-7

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