Herbarium
Description of thr Group
The first area of interest of the team are the historical collections of plants, fungi and algae located in the herbarium of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Warsaw. The past of these collections and the biog-raphies of their authors are studied.
Herbarium specimens are identified and historical plant names are analyzed. The studies reveal also how these plants were used both in medicine and in folk cuisine. Folk beliefs and customs related to plants are also being studied in the herbarium. The team takes an interdisciplinary approach to the subject of herbarium studies and cooperates with the conservators-restorers.
The second area of interest is botanical education. The team has tested new ways of sharing the botanical knowledge, mainly through the educational portal www.zycieaklimat.edu.pl which in an optimal way pres-ents digitized plant specimens online.
Research Activities
The team takes part in the creation of the electronic key for plant identification. It also promotes participa-tion in field research (available to the general public) proposing different botanical projects.The third area of interest to the team is evolution of plants. The research is carried out on the example of the genus Euphorbia (spurge). In cooperation with various institutions, genetic tests (ITS, AFLP) of Car-pathian spurges group were carried out. A new method of germination and cultivation of selected species is being developed in order to obtain comparable material for subsequent analyses, which will be carried out with the use of other methods.
Offer
- Digitisation of objects up to size A3
Team Leader
Maja Graniszewska is the Head of the Herbarium at the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw. She developed her research technique at the University of Warsaw in the Białowieża Forest while studying the dynamic processes of vegetation. In her doctoral thesis at the Jagiellonian University she focused on plant taxonomy, discovering at the same time the beauty and value of herbariums. She is eager to share her passion for herbaria. She cooperates with museums, non-governmental organizations and universities at organization of classes or exhibitions, as well as with commercial companies on projects related to botany