It is not only Carl von Ossietzky University that is celebrating its birthday in 2024, but also the university's herbarium, which will be 40 years old this year. This means that it was established just 10 years after the university was founded in 1984. The official abbreviation of the Oldenburg Herbarium - a name derived from the Latin word herba for herb - is OLD. The exhibition provides insights into central practices in the context of herbaria and thematises different functions in research and teaching.

Herbaria consist of individual herbarium specimens for which plants are collected, dried, pressed and then glued onto sheets of paper. It is important that only acid-free paper is used. To avoid damaging the plants, special rubberised adhesive strips are used, which are cut to size and moistened before being attached. Incidentally, they can be easily removed again. The documents are then placed in protective envelopes made of acid-free paper.

The OLD collection focuses on the flora of north-west Germany. The herbarium specimens are used in a variety of ways in research and teaching. For example, they are part of identification exercises in which students learn to precisely identify and categorise plants with the help of specialist literature. The scientific species names and associated plant families must be recorded on the label of a herbarium specimen, as well as information on the place of discovery (with GPS), details of the collector and date. Characteristics that are no longer recognisable due to drying must also be noted - for example the flower colour or habitat.

Herbaria provide information about the first naming of plant species - such herbarium specimens are known as isotypes. However, they can also contain specimens of long-extinct plants and are therefore important sources of information about when and where these species once occurred. Today, researchers and collections are exchanging such information worldwide. At the same time, in the context of critical and post-colonial collection research, the focus is also on questions about the circumstances under which herbarium specimens were created - as well as possible restitutions. International networking and cooperation is also important for this. These facets show how important university collections are as dense hubs for very different teaching and research projects!

As with the 'Blüten(t)raum' exhibition, there were various accompanying media to take away in the flower box: For example, collection postcards, term search 'Herbarium A-Z' or a paper model of a buttercup flower to make yourself!

Curator: Maria Will

Duration: 01.07.2024 - 25.09.2024

Collection in focus: Herbarium of the University of Oldenburg OLD