University of Melbourne Herbarium in Parkville, Victoria, Australia | College & University

University of Melbourne Herbarium

Locality: Parkville, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 3 8344 5040

Address: Level 1, Natural Philosophy Building, School of BioSciences 3010 Parkville, VIC, Australia

Website: biosciences.unimelb.edu.au/engage/the-university-of-melbourne-herbarium

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23.01.2022 This week we wrapped our remote volunteer program for the semester. Huge thanks to our amazing group of volunteers who navigated the art of specimen curation via zoom, ably supervised by Harvey Orel, curation officer. The team collectively logged 321 curation hours and completed 3521 curation tasks. Luckily vicarious-travel-via-specimen-curation was a permitted activity during stage 4 lockdown in Melbourne!

23.01.2022 Today's rain didn't dampen the spirits of our "Flora of Victoria" class at Mt Macedon and the Long Forest. Between showers it was clear at times and beautifully atmospheric at others. There were plenty of plants to see (and a manageable number of leeches).

22.01.2022 Congrats to Grace Boxshall and Aiden Webb from the Plant Systematics Research Group who learned this week that they received ABRS National Taxonomy Research Grant Program funding for their graduate research. Grace will work on her PhD investigating the evolution of the fungus genus Agaricus and Aiden is studying the systematics of the monocotyledon genera Caesia and Corynotheca.

22.01.2022 The latest annual report from the University's Botany Foundation is now available. Check out the great support the foundation provides to our staff and students, and to our herbarium. https://science.unimelb.edu.au//UM-Botany-Foundation-Annua

21.01.2022 Dr Rachael Fowler has just published the first paper from her PhD: Plastid phylogenomic analysis of tribe Myoporeae (Scrophulariaceae) This paper highlights a need to revise the classification of Eremophila and related genera. Subsequent works (in the pipeline) will provide more detail on this. A view-only version of the paper is available at: https://rdcu.be/b3DHw

21.01.2022 We are gearing up for the Flora of Victoria intensive summer subject, which starts on Monday. For the last few days weve been collecting plant specimens to use in classes and surveying excursion sites well visit. Weve got plants from the high country, the coast and wet forests from Kangaroo Grass to Mountain Ash. Pictured are some of our enthusiastic teaching team. Here is a list (in non-systematic order) of some of the plants well use in classes. Were still not s...ure if we've got enough to keep the students busy ;) Acacia (about 10 species), Acaena, *Agapanthus, Allocasuarina, Angophora, Atherosperma, Austrodanthonia, Banksia, Bedfordia, Billardiera, Bossiaea, Brachyscome, Bursaria, Carpobrotus, Casytha, Celmisia, *Centaurium, Coprosma, Correa (four species), Corymbia, *Daucus, Dianella, *Echinochloa, Epacris, Eucalyptus (about 15 species), *Foeniculum, Goodenia, Grevillea, Hakea, Hedycarya, *Hypericum, *Hypochoeris, Indigofera, Ixodia, Leptecophylla, Leptorhynchos, Leptospermum, Leucopogon, Melaleuca, Melicytus, Nothofagus, Oreomyrrhis, Orites, Ozothamnus, *Paspalum, *Pennisetun, *Phalaris, Picris, Pultenaea, *Raphanus, Rhagodia, *Rubus, *Rumex, *Scabiosa, Scaevola, Spyridium, Tasmannia, Tetragonia, Themeda, *Trifolium, Tristaniopsis, Veronica, Xanthorrhoea, Xerochrysum, Zieria [plus heaps more that well see on field excursions - including ferns and bryophytes, which we dont have time to cover in the prac classes] Some info about the subject is here: https://plantsystematicsblog.wordpress.com/flora-of-victor/

20.01.2022 The important work of our colleagues at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria https://www.theage.com.au//seed-bank-throws-lifeline-to-fi

20.01.2022 For the last week our 3rd year "Field Botany" students have been studying alpine vegetation in the Victorian high country around Falls Creek. Those of us back in Melbourne have been jealous! Photos: Rose Barrett.

18.01.2022 We had an excellent session earlier today with the Herbarium volunteers talking about Plant Science, herbarium associated research and graduate study. Thanks Patrick Fahey for the glimpse into your research and grad student journey! Especially loved the field and conference travel pics ...

18.01.2022 It's amazing what you can discover in herbaria. This researcher visiting a JCU lab and herbarium had a "snake in the specimen" encounter! Just thankful that's not one we have to worry too much about in Melbourne!

18.01.2022 Dr Edita Ritmejeryt has just published another paper from her PhD showing that pollen in the genus Lomatia (Proteaceae) is loaded with toxic cyanide-producing compounds. In these plants, like many Proteaceae, the anthers open early in flower development and shed pollen onto the stigma - a form of "secondary pollen presentation". In Lomatia, a layer of transient, specialized cells with spiral wall thickenings forms a barrier between the pollen and the stigmatic surface, r...educing the chances of self-pollination. Edita has shown that pollen and the specialized cells have extremely high concentrations of cyanogenic compounds. She showed the extreme localisation of those compounds using very cool matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry imaging. At this stage we can only speculate about the biological function of the cyanogenic compounds in these cells. A blog post about the paper is available here: https://www.botany.one//in-lomatia-the-pollen-is-naturall/ An advance access copy of the paper is available here: https://academic.oup.com///doi/10.1093/aob/mcaa038/5802779

17.01.2022 As the university semester starts this week, it is fantastic to welcome the new team of MELU student volunteers who started today. Many thanks to our first cohort of online volunteers for taking up this opportunity to continue herbarium focused curation work while in lockdown! A huge shout out to UoM Science IT for organising the computing logistics that make our remote access possible. Here we are in our first zoom meeting of the semester ..

17.01.2022 The on-line Flora of Victoria now includes high resolution images of exemplar specimens for all Victorian Eucalyptus species as well as images of diagnostic vegetative and reproductive features of each species. This is amazing collaborative work by research and collection staff working on the online Flora of Victoria at RBGV. Vic Flora Eucalyptus pages at: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au//22ad8546-8f00-4999-9b20-e

16.01.2022 Did you know that there are more than 10 million specimens accessioned in Australasian Herbaria? Check out these Herbaria and links to resources like the Australian National Species list on the new Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (CHAH) website - available at: https://chah.gov.au

15.01.2022 Darren Crayn from the Australian Tropical Herbarium talking about the big science of taxonomy. How important is it that we know whom we share our planet and even our bodies with? What is the catalogue of life and why is it important? Prof. Crayn explains why taxonomy is big science without the Hadron collider and why it is vital that we explore the dark matter of biodiversity. https://www.ted.com//darren_crayn_the_dark_matter_of_biodi

14.01.2022 Yesterday we welcomed another cohort of Victorian College of The Arts "Art and Botanical" students into the herbarium. The students are gearing up for an intense summer course focusing on botanical drawing ably instructed by artists Ebony Truscott and Andrew Seward. They'll work with MELU herbarium specimens, botanical models, and live plants in the beautiful University System Garden.

14.01.2022 As a bumper mushroom field season continues, here's a timely reminder from the FungiSight team about how to recognise the poisonous death cap mushroom in case you come across it while out in your neighbourhood or local park.

13.01.2022 These positions at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria might be of interest to our recent graduates or volunteers. https://www.seek.com.au/job/50019599

12.01.2022 The genus Eidothea in the banksia family (Proteaceae) includes two species of rainforest trees: one, named in 1995, from Mt Bartle Frere in the Qld Wet Tropics; the other, named in 2002, from the Nightcap Range in northern NSW. This lineage was known from fossils long before the living plants were discovered - 15-20 million year old fossils from Bacchus Marsh, first illustrated in 1860, but mistakenly identified as part of the olive family. The living species are are relict...s of a once more extensive distribution, when rainforest in Australia was more widespread. Eidothea hardeniana, known as the Nightcap Oak, is only known from about 120 mature trees and some saplings. Here is article about the impact of recent fires on that species: https://mobile.abc.net.au//gondwana-era-nightcap/11877770 Other background info on these plants is available here: http://talkingplants.blogspot.com//forgetful-rats-and-anci And here: https://www.researchgate.net//237623503_Systematics_of_Eid

10.01.2022 As part of NAIDOC 2020, on Wednesday 11th at 12.30-1.30 pm Science Faculty and the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences (FVAS) will host a conversation among faculty members Bruce Pascoe (Yuin, Bunurong, Tasmanian), Michael-Shawn Fletcher (Wiradjuri) and Zena Cumpston (Barkandji) about Australia’s First Peoples’ interactions with and active management of Country over time. More info is available at: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/zena-cumpston-in-conversati.

10.01.2022 Todd McLay, with coauthor Steve Dillon, has just named a new species of native Hibiscus from the Carnarvon Range in Western Australia. Todd currently holds postdoc position between our university and the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, where he is continuing work on Hibiscus and a bunch of other plant groups. The paper describing the new species is available here: https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/943.pdf

09.01.2022 Using their keen eyes, and DNA evidence, Daniel Ohlsen and colleagues have added another species of filmy fern to the Victorian flora. The species, Hymenophyllum marginatum, was previously known from Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania, but had never been recorded in Victoria. The population spotted by Daniel and Leon Perrie (a New Zealand fern taxonomist on holiday) occupies an area of about 5030 cm on a single rock beside the Sealers Cove track on Wilsons Promontory. Where else it could be lurking? An article reporting the observation is available at: https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au//Muelleria-vol-39-Ohlsen-Hymeno

09.01.2022 The "Art in Science" visual art competition is open for submissions from all the aspiring School of BioSciences artists out there! Any artwork (image, video, or audio etc.) inspired by your studies can be submitted. Check out the artworks of our very own, multi-talented, Rose Barrett and Kathy Vohs! Details of the competition are at: biosciences.unimelb.edu.au/engage/art-in-science-competition. view and vote on submissions at: https://padlet.com/biosciencesart/submissions

09.01.2022 One of these things is not like the others! A new study has revised classification of the genus Boronia, transferring 23 species to a separate genus called Cyanothamnus. DNA evidence shows that Cyanothamnus is a distinct evolutionary lineage, more closely related to other genera of the family Rutaceae than it is to Boronia (see image). It was only by assessing relationships among a large sample of Australian Rutaceae that these relationships became apparent. This work ...was led by Marco Duretto (National Herbarium of New South Wales), collaborating with with Margaret Heslewood (NH NSW) and Mike Bayly (University of Melbourne). Marco has been working on the taxonomy of Boronia for over 30 years, since doing his PhD at the University of Melbourne, and is the leading expert on the genus. The full article is published in the journal Taxon: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tax.12242

09.01.2022 Applications for the ASBS Hansjorg Eichler Scientific Research Fund are now open with submissions due by 14 March 2020. The scheme provides up to $5000 for research projects with preference given to students, recent graduates, and newly established or non-salaried botanists. More info at: http://www.asbs.org.au/asbs/hesrfund/index.html

09.01.2022 Do you have a passion for teaching Biology? The School of BioSciences has six ongoing positions available for teaching specialists. Five of the positions are at academic level A (Associate Lecturer) and one is at level B (Lecturer). They all require a PhD in biological sciences, and sound knowledge of a field of biology that aligns with at least one of the School's two domains: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology. Level A jobs: http:...//jobs.unimelb.edu.au//associate-lecturer-in-bioscien Level B job: http://jobs.unimelb.edu.au//job/90/lecturer-in-biosciences

08.01.2022 This is a great opportunity, coordinating production of Flora of Australia and other ABRS products. Applications are due this Sunday July 5th! https://www.apsjobs.gov.au/s/job-details

08.01.2022 Great 6-month positions (x 2) that might suit some of our recent graduates. Includes great opportunities for fieldwork and the warm inner glow of doing some practical conservation. https://jobs.careers.vic.gov.au/jobs/VG-422005

08.01.2022 Congratulations to Dr Bee Gunn on the publication of her recent paper entitled "Evolution of Lomandroideae: Multiple origins of polyploidy and biome occupancy in Australia". This study estimated the relationships of Australian taxa in this species-rich lineage and identified polyploidy and storage roots as key factors associated with biome occupancy transitions within the subfamily in Australia. The article is available (open access for 50 days) at: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1b7YD3m3nM-xGP

06.01.2022 Thanks to the combined efforts of Science IT at Uni Melb and Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) staff, approximately 13K images of herbarium specimens at MELU and collection data from our specimens are now available to search or download on AVH and ALA. Check them out at: https://collections.ala.org.au/public/show/co64

05.01.2022 A day in the bush with Leon Costermans - You will need to get in quick for this one!

04.01.2022 This week we're stoked to welcome 22 new and returning volunteers to the Herbarium working on a range of curation tasks. This semester Margaret Brookes and Harvey Orel, our curation officers, will be training the volunteers in curation and bioinformatic protocols in biological research collections. Thanks to all these able and hardworking folk we're looking forward to a fun and productive semester!

04.01.2022 Curation Officer, Will Neal, finishes work this week after three years spent expertly curating the MELU collection. He's recently been curating Rutaceae specimens, including Zieria, the genus that he worked on in his Honour's research with Mike Bayly, which launched his connection with the Plant Systematics Group. Many thanks and best of luck Will, you'll be missed!

04.01.2022 This is an exciting opportunity!

03.01.2022 Today is the first practical on flowering plants for our "Plant Biodiversity" class. Usually we have a bustling lab full of students, staff and flowers (see pics from last year). Today things are a little different ....

03.01.2022 Last month, postdoctoral researcher Rachael Fowler returned from a three week field trip collecting species of Eucalyptus and Corymbia from far north Queensland. Rach was lucky to make it out of Victoria before lockdown and with assistance from the Australian Tropical Herbarium staff was able to access a vehicle and equipment for a 3500km round trip. With invaluable field assistance from ecologist Don Franklin, Rach travelled west from Cairns to Normanton, then up Cape York. Collections from this trip will be contributing to a large collaborative project studying the biogeography and taxonomy of northern Australian eucalypts in the monsoon tropics and arid zone, funded by Eucalypt Australia, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and The University of Melbourne Botany Foundation.

02.01.2022 Plant systematics lab folk and teaching staff celebrated the upcoming Easter long weekend with a get together while social distancing! We're making working from home work for us!

02.01.2022 Daniel Ohlsen and colleagues have just published a study of genetic variation in the Necklace Fern (Asplenium flabellifolium). The species is widespread in both Australia and New Zealand, and genetic evidence suggests that it has crossed the Tasman Sea at least five times in its history! That is based on limited sampling in NZ, and it seems likely that the number of inferred trans-Tasman dispersals would go up if we had more data. It goes to show just how good fern spores a...re at getting around! Some populations in the species reproduce sexually, others rely on apomictic (asexual) reproduction. Sexually reproducing plants with lower chromosome numbers, which are inferred to be ancestral in the species, occur only in southeast Australia. This suggests that A. flabellifolium was originally a sexually reproducing species in south-eastern Australia and spread to the rest of its distribution where apomictic plants dominate. The abstract of the paper is available at: https://www.publish.csiro.au/SB/SB20001

02.01.2022 Here is a botanical job opportunity in Darwin https://awejobs.nga.net.au/cp/index.cfm

02.01.2022 Two Senior Curation Assistant positions are currently available at the National Herbarium of Victoria (MEL). Great opportunities to work as part of a fantastic team in Victoria's State Botanical Collection. More info at: https://jobs.careers.vic.gov.au/jobs/VG-421986987

01.01.2022 Applications for the second round of the Hansjörg Eichler Scientific Research Fund are due on 14th September. The funding supports projects that advance understanding of Australasian systematic botany and preference is given to students, recent graduates, newly-established botanists and non-salaried researchers. http://www.asbs.org.au/asbs/hesrfund/index.html

01.01.2022 Any budding terrarium creators out there? Tyler Meredith is curating the "Compendium" exhibition that seeks to create tangible links among living plants and botanical artwork. The exhibition will open in The George Paton Gallery in semester one. Student volunteers are wanted to help create a terrarium for the exhibiton. Any help would be greatly appreciated - please contact Tyler Meredith directly at [email protected].