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Centennial celebration of the Bolus Herbarium and Bolus Library at UCT
In 2011, though already having been in existence for 146 years, one of the most recognised and celebrated natural history collections in the country celebrated its 100th year in the custodianship of the University of Cape Town. Upon his death in 1911 Harry Bolus bequeathed both his Herbarium and Botanical Library to the South African College, from which he had received an Honorary DSc in 1902 and where he had served on the Council of that body from 1908-1910. Funds donated to establish the first chair of Botany in 1903, together with his bequest in the form of the Herbarium and Library and a further large sum of money, enabled the establishment of what can today, arguably, be regarded as one of the best botanical teaching facilities in the country. Particularly, yet by no means exclusively, it is the disciplines of Systematics and Taxonomy that benefit from the Bolus legacy.
From
its humble beginnings in Graaff-Reinet where Harry Bolus’ interest in plant
collecting and recording first began in 1865, the Bolus Herbarium and its
associated Library are today recognised as an outstanding resource for botanical
research. Indeed, in a recent Report on the state of South Africa’s Natural
Science Collections commissioned by the NRF, the Bolus Herbarium, based on the
criteria of number of specimens housed, number of types housed and overall state
of physical and scientific curation of the collection, was classified as being
of critical national importance. It is stressed in the report that the Herbarium be accorded special status
with regard to its curation, maintenance and long term preservation.
Library Hours
Open Monday – Friday at 8.45 a.m. – 4 p.m. during term. 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. during long vac. Closed weekends and holidays.
Contact us:
For general information and reference questions (including book renewals), call (021) 650-3774. e-mail address: lib-bolus@uct.ac.za postal address: Bolus Herbarium Library, University of Cape Town, Botany Department, H.W. Pearson Building, University Avenue, Rondebosch. 7700
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Botanicus is a freely accessible portal to historic Botanical literature from the Missouri Botanical Garden Library
