Unearthing a Forgotten Legacy of 20th Century Floristics: the Collection of Taiwanese Plant Specimens in the Herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sciences (PH)

The flora of Taiwan, comprising more than 4,400 vascular plant species, is one of the best studied of Asian floras. Herbarium collections of Taiwanese plants document the island's plant diversity and serve as important reference material for botanists and conservationists. Collections made during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan (1895–1945) are of special interest in that they mark the first attempt at a truly comprehensive botanical inventory of the island. Unfortunately, these early collections are not widely distributed and are often in poor condition in Taiwanese herbaria. As such, the existence of a large, under-documented collection of Taiwanese plants in the Herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sciences-Philadelphia (PH), with many specimens collected during the Japanese colonial period, is likely to be of interest to the botanical and conservation communities in Taiwan and elsewhere. To determine the size and taxonomic scope of the collection, its historical and taxonomic importance, and the historical details of its assembly, a systematic survey was conducted in which all of the Taiwanese material was separated from the general collection at PH. Specimen label data were recorded from a phylogenetically diverse selection of plant families. The Academy’s collection was found to contain about 6,260 Taiwanese plant specimens, including representatives of 150 of the 198 seed plant families that occur in Taiwan. Within selected families, broad taxonomic representation of Taiwanese genera (33%–100%) and species (15%–100%) was encountered. Specimens in the collection were gathered between 1861 and 1977, with 90% the specimens dating to the periods 1905 (9%), 1929–1935 (28%), and 1955–1973 (53%). Over 60 collectors are represented. A preliminary search of the taxonomic literature indicates that significant type material is contained within the collection. Historical research revealed that most of the collection was assembled in Philadelphia by Hui-Lin Li (1911–2002), former professor of botany at the University of Pennsylvania and important figure in the history of floristic research in Taiwan.