Welcome to the Rhodes University Botanical Collections
The Rhodes University Botanical Collections bring together historically significant and contemporary plant research materials that support teaching, research and conservation at Rhodes University. At the centre of these collections is the Selmar Schonland Herbarium (GRA), one of South Africa’s oldest and most important herbaria, incorporating both the historic Albany Museum Herbarium and the Rhodes University Herbarium.
The collections are especially strong in material from the Eastern Cape and southern Africa, including scientifically important type specimens. Alongside the herbarium holdings, related botany teaching and research collections document plant diversity, taxonomy and ecological studies, providing an invaluable resource for students, researchers and the wider public interested in plant biodiversity and environmental history.