The Roma Herbarium (ROML)

The Roma Herbarium is the herbarium of the Biology Department, Faculty of Science, National University of Lesotho.

The earliest collections (in 1940s) of specimens available in ROML are of Dr Amy Jacot-Guillarmod. She had been actively collecting specimens in Lesotho and South Africa. In 1957, Father Laydevant showed keen interest in the flora of the Lesotho project and he encouraged her to write the Flora of Lesotho. Fr Laydevant was also collecting specimens from different parts of Lesotho and South Africa and he was sending the duplicates to the Vatican. On the basis of their own collections and those of Fr Laydevant, Dr Jacot-Guillarmod established the Roma Herbarium at the then University College of Pius XII in 1958. (In those days, the herbarium was also referred to as Pius XII herbarium). It culminated in the publication of her DSc thesis on the Flora of Lesotho (1971).

Mrs Marthe Odile Schmitz (nee Ruch) joined the staff of Pius XII College in 1958. By that time the Roma Herbarium had over 600 specimens. Mrs Schmitz added about 400 specimens to ROML which she had collected as a student from the Alps region in France. Inspired by Dr F. Zeilemaker, who was then Head of the Botany Department at Pius XII college and himself a keen collector, Mrs Schmitz continued collecting specimens from different parts of Lesotho. She, in turn, encouraged her students to go on collecting trips in the early 1960s. Meanwhile, Pius XII University College had become the University of Bechuanaland, Basutoland and Swaziland in 1964. This was changed to the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS) in 1966. When Botswana and Swaziland established their own universities, the UBLS in Lesotho was renamed as the National University of Lesotho in 1975. As this institution was undergoing nomenclatural changes, the herbarium name was part of the changes and it was growing gradually.

Mrs Schmitz is responsible for most of the collections in the herbarium. She sent most of the duplicates to the National Herbarium, Pretoria, and some selected specimens to Missouri, Kew, and the University of Natal Herbaria. Mrs Schmitz was in charge of the Herbarium for a number of years, but was killed in a tragic car accident on April 4, 1982.

Dr Bruce Hargreaves joined the staff of the Biology Department in 1983 and he also made plant collections in the country and outside. He left Lesotho in 1990.

The collections in the Roma Herbarium come from a fairly wide geographical area, although it has a definite bias in favour of the flora of Lesotho. Certain areas in particular, such as the Roma Valley, have been studied extensively.

Areas of collections in ROML herbarium:

The flora of Lesotho, especially the Roma Valley, the Mohokare River Valley, and the surroundings of the Mountain road (including an extensive survey of the Ha Khotso rock art site) in Maseru District; Berea, Leribe, and Butha-Buthe districts; the mountainous districts of Mokhotlong and Qacha’s Nek.

The flora of South Africa, especially in the Victoria East, Albany, and Bathurst Districts of the Cape; the Cathedral Peak in Natal and Zululand Coastal districts; the Eastern Free State and the Northern Province.

The flora of Swaziland, especially around Mbabane, Manzini, and Stegi Districts.

The flora of Botswana, mainly around Mahudutlake Pan and Gaborone.

The floras of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Namibia – limited collections.

The flora of Great Britain – limited collections of Chilterns and Weardale.

The flora of France – specimens from the Alps.

The Roma Herbarium is still incomplete and more work has to be done to cover the entire country. This will enable us to write up the much needed complete Flora of the country.