Huntia. 2002;11(2):129-91.
Abstract
The
Herbarium of Moscow State University, Russia, possesses a relatively
small (63 specimens), but historically interesting, collection of
herbarium specimens linked with Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778). Some of these
originally formed part of Linnaeus' own herbarium while others,
although never his property, were nevertheless studied by him and may be
original material for the typification of his plant names. This paper
discusses the broad historical background to the gathering of these
specimens, their study by Linnaeus and their subsequent fate. Specimens
linked with Linnaeus have been encountered in each of the four largest
historical collections of the Herbarium of Moscow State University, i.
e., in the herbaria of J. F. Ehrhart, G. F. Hoffmann, C. B. von Trinius
and C. L. Goldbach. Ehrhart's General Herbarium contains 31 sheets,
which were more or less certainly collected or studied by Linnaeus.
Ehrhart, a pupil of Linnaeus, received some specimens directly from the
latter, while others came to him from Linnaeus filius, A. Dahl, and P.
J. Bergius. Ehrhart's collections were purchased by G. F. Hoffmann,
later, the first head of the Department of Botany at Moscow University,
who took them to Russia. Hoffmann's General Herbarium contains three
specimens that may be connected with Linnaeus. They were received from
C. P. Thunberg, J. A. Murray, and an unknown person, respectively. At
least five specimens from Trinius' collection, although certainly never
seen by Linnaeus, are probable duplicates of material that was studied
by him. Some of them are almost certainly iso-lectotypes of Linnaean
names. Finally, 24 specimens linked with Linnaeus were found in
Goldbach's herbarium. The majority of them were collected in the Lower Volga Region by J. Lerche and during the Second Kamchatka Expedition (Great Northern Expedition) by J. G. Gmelin and G. W. Steller.
- PMID:
- 12382654
- [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
