The Atherton Herbarium which previously operated as a full herbarium and formed part of the Australian National Herbarium is transferring its main collection of around 135,000 specimens to the new Australian Tropical Herbarium (ATH) at the Australian Tropical Forest Institute in Cairns. The ATH now serves as both the north Queensland node of the
Queensland Herbarium and the north Australian node of the Australian National Herbarium.
The ATH collection represents the world's most comprehensive collection of Australia's tropical flora, and as of May 2003 included:
- 106000 Dicotyledons - flowering plants with two cotyledons
(embryonic seed leaves)
- 9400 Monocotyledons - plants like grasses, orchids
and lilies with only one cotyledon
- 1000 Gymnosperms - plants like cycads or conifers
- 3990 Pteridophytes - plants like ferns with spores
not seeds
>> More details on the Australian Tropical Herbarium
Atherton Public Reference Herbarium
The Herbarium facility in Atherton will continue operating as the Atherton Public Reference Herbarium, keeping its resources open to the
public and special interest groups for reference, identification and research purposes.
The reference herbarium collection contains samples of specimens that represent species preserved in the main collection in Cairns and the has specimens that represent most rainforest species of north Queensland.
A CSIRO technical assistant will be available in Atherton to assist with the management and
public access.
Located in Atherton, only a hour and a half from Cairns,
the Tropical Forest Research Centre has easy access to Cairns'
facilities (such as the Domestic and International Airports)
while still being close to important scientific sites in
the local area. Atherton provides many services including
a local hospital, accomodation, schools and recreational
facilities.
