National Herbarium of Victoria
The National Herbarium of Victoria is one of Australia's earliest herbaria, and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. It was established in 1853 by Ferdinand von Mueller, the Government Botanist for Victoria, and is situated within the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. The present building was constructed in 1934 through a donation from philanthropist Sir Macpherson Robertson. It, along with a 1989 extension, houses the entire collection of 1.5 million plant and fungal specimens. The Herbarium's botanic library is an important source for the history of Australian botany, and has contributed some 124 volumes to the online digital .
The herbarium is also a partner in the Australasian Virtual Herbarium project, thereby making all of its collection data available to anyone to use. The herbarium also publishes an online key together with descriptions of plants found in Victoria via VicFlora.Collections
Over half of the existing collection was acquired by Mueller. The herbarium includes the following collections:
