The herbarium of the University of Graz (GZU) houses a remarkable collection of lichens and associated microfungi. The outstanding lichenologist Josef Poelt was appointed full professor in Graz in the early 1970s and initiated a fast growth of the herbarium during the second half of the 20th century by both collecting and an exchange program. Finally, also his private “Vergleichsherbar” has been donated to GZU. Due to the efforts of Josef Hafellner, the herbarium also holds one of the largest collections of lichenicolous fungi. The collection currently comprises at least 220,000 specimens of lichenized and lichenicolous fungi from all over the world, including a considerable number of type specimens. One focus of the collection is on the lichens of Styria (Austria), which may be among the lichenologically best-known regions in the world, but it also includes many specimens from other parts of the European Alps, the Balkan Peninsula as well as a considerable number of specimens from non-European areas, e.g., from Macaronesia, Pakistan, Nepal, China (Tibet), Australia, New Zealand, Greenland, the Sonoran Desert, Costa Rica, and Venezuela. Despite the international importance of this large collection, it has only been databased to a small extent (< 10%), and only the types are fully digitized. Funds for a complete digitization are currently not in sight. As a first step, however, we decided to answer the frequently asked question “What do you have in your lichen collection?”. A list of all species represented in the collection will be prepared, and it will be indicated whether there are specimens from Styria, Austria (without Styria), Europe (without Austria) or the rest of the world, which corresponds to the filing system in GZU. This basic inventory is mainly designed to make our herbarium more visible, and to stimulate further research on the lichen material in GZU.
Complete tool for submission, evaluation and publication of proceedings for scientific events.
