Herbarium of the University of Botswana
The Rev. Dr P.J. Mott established the University Botswana Herbarium in 1973 as part of the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS). In 1980 the herbarium was registered and listed in the Index Herbariorum. Two years later it became the Herbarium of the University of Botswana (UCBG). UCBG is a teaching and research facility administered by the Department of Biological Sciences. It serves both students and staff members who require assistance, mostly in plant taxonomy. In addition, the herbarium offers assistance to government institutions, non-governmental organisations, other researchers, and members of the public. The herbarium charges a fee for commercial or private consultancy.
The Herbarium Plant Collection
The herbarium contains about 10,000 specimens collected from different
parts of Botswana, and a few from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho,
Zimbabwe, and South Africa. The collection is made up of carefully collected,
preserved, dried, mounted, and labelled plant specimens. The collection is
arranged by family according to the Cronquist Classification System. Most
of the collections in the herbarium are by J.M. Woollard and P.J. Mott.
Activities and Services
Some of the main activities and services provided by UCBG:
Collecting
and preserving plant specimens from different regions of Botswana.
Encoding
herbarium specimens using the PRECIS database.
Serving
as a standard reference for identifying newly collected plant specimens, hence
offering assistance in accurate identification of plants for individuals dealing
with plants under different fields of research and study.
Serving
as a reference collection for plant taxonomy and other botanical courses offered
by the University, and also trains students in herbarium practices.
Providing
information on plant diversity, distribution, and also promotes awareness
in plant conservation and utilisation.
Providing
information on plant vernacular names (where available).
Funding
UCBG functions, activities, and equipment are budgeted for under the Department
of Biological Sciences. SABONET has not only provided financial assistance,
but also employment opportunities and training in database management. SABONET
funding has made it possible to acquire a considerable amount of equipment
for the herbarium; a computer and the provision of PRECIS Database software,
which is being used to encode and keep records of the specimens in the herbarium,
is only one example. The Project has employed staff members who have been
trained in database use. Further training has been provided to teach the staff
members on how to design queries and compile meaningful reports from the database.
The training was done through the provision of short periodic courses attended
by the SABONET staff members from different parts of southern Africa, held
at the National Herbarium of Pretoria (South Africa). SABONET has also assisted
UCBG and GAB in the compilation of
A checklist of Botswana Grasses, Trees
of Botswana, and A preliminary
checklist of the plants of Botswana.
Other Projects
UCBG has been involved in other projects:
A
compilation of vernacular plant names (in collaboration with the National
Herbarium (GAB), Sebele, and Peter Smith). This project has been completed
and a book has been published.
The
Flora of Botswana project.
Inventory
of useful indigenous plants of Botswana.
Association with Other Herbaria
In addition to working with local herbaria, UCBG works hand in hand with
other herbaria in the world, such as the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (UK) and
New York Botanical Gardens (USA), through its specimen exchange/loan programme.
These herbaria have helped in augmenting the collection at UCBG and have offered
assistance in identifying some plant specimens.
Literature
UCBG is well equipped with a small literature collection of about 1,000
books. The library collection has been built up using donations by SABONET,
the exchange programme with other herbaria, research reports, and so on. Some
of the literature is used as reference material by students doing plant taxonomy
courses and other botanical courses. These are taken out of the herbarium
by the lecturer in charge, or used within the herbarium under supervision
of the curator.
Staff
Herbarium Curator:
Mr M. Muzila (on SABONET-funded study leave)
SABONET
Staff
Temporary Herbarium Research Officer: Ms L.G. Matenge
Temporary Data Capturer: Ms N. Lekomola
Associated
Staff
Plant taxonomist/diversity specialist: Dr M.P. Setshogo. (Acting Herbarium
Caretaker during Mr Muzila’s absence)
Botany Technician: Mr J. Madome
Botany Technician: Mr J. Phiri. Currently
on study leave.
—Ms Ludo Matenge
SABONET News 7.3: 231
