Fabre's Harmas. Serignan of the Comtat
The Herbarium, collected by Jean-Henri Fabre between 1809 and 1895, belongs to the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle since 1922, date of purchase of the domain by the institution. With little to no consultation since its acquisition, the herbarium’s 20 bunles were displayed above the window of the study.
Included in the safeguard and restoration program of the domain of Sérignan in 2000, the herbarium was reviewed in its entirety, by all concerned department. It was disinfected, inventoried sheets by sheets, restored, and digitized.
It was estimated at 20,000 samples in 1997 by an expert appraisal. Phanerogams account for 10,100 pieces, mostly collected during 1870/1880, their restoration, taxonomic review, and computerization are complete.
A lot of samples were collected in the Vaucluse, as well as in Corsica where Fabre stayed for four years, and in the Hautes-Alpes. Bryophytes account for 850 specimens, that were all computerized.
Work continues with the treatment of the lichens and fungi collections, into which 96 types were found, thus enhancing the scientific interest of this set.
All information featured on the restored material (dates, locations, collectors, taxa etc.) are registered in the SONNERAT database, that regroups several French herbaria. This database is used :
- to form a specimen catalogue available and searchable online ;
- to improve the management of the material (organization, labels edition, and loan tracking) ;
- to extract data depending on researchers’ needs.
Parallel to this work, the taxonomic nomenclature is updated as pieces are being registered in the database. Forward, the most interesting pieces will be digitized to complete the available data.
Access to the specific data of the Herbarium
