University of Rennes 1

The Herbarium of the University of Rennes 1 (REN), managed by the Scientific and Technical Culture Commission of the University of Rennes 1 (CST – UR1), includes more than 30 herbaria of historical, patrimonial, and scientific interest, tracing almost 2 centuries of botany. REN is split over 2 campuses. The main part, estimated at 100,000 sheets stored into 64 metal cabinets, can be found at the Beaulieu campus. The collections are of various sizes (sets ranges from 100 to over 25,000 sheets), and were composed at different periods (from the French Revolution to the end of the 20th century). Here are some examples of the herbaria that can be found:

• A historical herbarium, without any collector’s notes, marked down in the Natural History Museum of Rennes records as having belonged to Christophe-Paul de Robien (1698-1756) in his Cabinet of Curiosities. It is composed of 18 well preserved wooden boxes.
• The Herbarium of General Edouard Gabriel Paris (1827-1911), famous for the implementation of the bryologicus index, represents about 25,000 sheets. The University of Rennes 1 also preserves the author’s letters and library.
• The Herbarium of The Applied Botany and Armorican Geobotany laboratory of the Faculty of Sciences in Rennes is about 6,500 sheets, and was composed between 1950-1960 by the Pr. Henry des Abbayes (1898-1974), among other people. A large number of specimens are referenced in the Flore vasculaire du Massif Armoricain by the same author.

The second part of REN can be found at the Santé campus. This second part contains two lichen herbaria, housed by the research team “Natural products – Syntheses – Medicinal Chemistry” (UMR CNRS 6226 Institute of Chemical Sciences of Rennes UR1).

• The collection of the Pr. Henry des Abbayes (1898-1974) composed by an herbarium of about 13,000 specimens, as well as the author’s old library and correspondence.
• The Louis Jean-Claude Massé Herbarium (1937-2013), student of the Pr. des Abbayes. In addition to showcasing the Armorican Massif species, this herbarium is of high importance for its numerous collects from the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Terres Australes et Antartiques Françaises, TAAF). An inventory of this herbarium is still ongoing at this time.

Contact
Marion Lemaire : marion.lemaire@univ-rennes1.fr

Sophie Tomasi, Professor of Pharmacognosy (Team PNSCM, Univ. Rennes 1) who studies specimens of the lichen herbarium by Pr. Henry des Abbayes, for her research. © CNRS Photothèque/Kaksonen

Open folder of Roccella fuciformis (L.) DC of the lichen herbarium by Pr. Henry des Abbayes. © CNRS Photothèque/Kaksonen

Specimen of Cladonia rangiferina (L.) Nyl. subsp. abbayesii (Ahti) W.Culb. from the lichen herbarium by Pr. Henry des Abbayes. © UR1-CST/Chambet Audrey

Sheet of seeded cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum L.) collected in Ille-et-Vilaine by Henry des Abbayes with its armorican repartition map. © UR1-CST/Anselmo Morvânio