The UB’s herbarium, which is known worldwide by the acronym BCN, houses more than 400,000 specimens, with a broad representation of all the major plant groups: algae, bryophytes, cormophytes, fungi and lichens. It also houses important historical collections from the nineteenth century and specialized collections, such as a collection of fruits and seeds, an ethnobotany collection and a teaching herbarium. It is one of the oldest and most diverse herbariums on the Iberian Peninsula, and it ranks third in terms of number of specimens. The herbarium is constantly growing, thanks to the research activity of UB researchers in the area of plant biodiversity and to donations and exchanges with other herbaria worldwide.
The current herbarium BCN was created through a merger of the former herbarium of the Faculty of Sciences, founded around the year 1920 and later made part of the Faculty of Biology (the herbarium BCC), and the herbarium of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Science (the herbarium BCF), founded in 1943.
A large part of the herbarium is now computerized and available online and diverse relevant herbarium specimens have been digitized and its images are consultable in the virtual herbarium.
Visits
Anyone interested in coming to the CeDocBiV should make an appointment in advance and check the pertinent regulations [in Catalan] in order to get the most out of their visit.
Loans
Loans Researchers can borrow herbarium specimens for a maximum period of 6 months. Requests must always be made between herbariums to ensure the correct conservation of the specimens. You can send your requests by email using this form [in Catalan].
The CeDocBiV members that need on loan specimens from another herbarium can send us their requests by email using this application form duly filled out, and we will make the necessary arrangements.