Botanical exploration – Tasmania

Introduction – Botanical Exploration Tasmania

Foundation

Though one of the first and most popular landfalls for European vessels, it was some time before Van Diemen’s Land was to be settled. British settlement was established at Risdon in 1803 when Lieutenant John Bowen landed with about 50 settlers, crew, soldiers and convicts but the site was soon abandoned and permanent settlement established by Lieutenant David Collins in Hobart in Feb 1804, then Launceston in 1806. The colony of Van Diemen’s Land was established in its own right in 1825 with the name Tasmania officially sanctioned in 1856.

Brief history – botanical exploration Tasmania

Botanical collecting in Tasmania has a rich and extensive history, dating back to the early 19th century when European explorers first set foot on the island. From the collection of specimens by early settlers and scientists to the establishment of botanical gardens and research institutions, Tasmania has played a pivotal role in the study of plant species and conservation efforts.

The first recorded botanical collection in Tasmania dates back to 1803, when French explorer Nicolas Baudin collected specimens along the coast of the island. Following Baudin’s expedition, British naturalist Robert Brown arrived in Tasmania in 1804 and began collecting and documenting the flora of the island. Brown’s work laid the foundation for botanical exploration in Tasmania and his collections formed the basis for the development of plant taxonomy in the region.

Throughout the 19th century, botanists and collectors from around the world travelled to Tasmania to study its unique plant species. Notable figures such as Ferdinand von Mueller and Joseph Hooker made significant contributions to the field of botany through their work in Tasmania. Their collections and research expanded our knowledge of the island’s flora and helped to establish Tasmania as a key botanical hotspot.

The establishment of the Tasmanian Herbarium in 1887 further facilitated botanical research and conservation efforts in the region. The Herbarium collected, preserved, and studied plant specimens from Tasmania and the surrounding regions, forming an invaluable resource for researchers and conservationists. Over the years, the Herbarium has continued to expand its collection and collaborate with institutions around the world to further our understanding of Tasmania’s flora.

In addition to the Herbarium, botanical gardens have played a crucial role in the preservation and study of Tasmania’s plant species. The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, established in 1818, have served as a hub for plant collection, research, and educational outreach. The Gardens house a diverse range of native and exotic plant species, providing a living museum of Tasmania’s botanical heritage.

Tasmania’s unique ecosystems, including its ancient rainforests and alpine areas, have attracted botanists and collectors from around the world. The island’s isolation and diverse habitats have led to the evolution of many endemic plant species, making Tasmania a hotspot for biodiversity and conservation. Efforts to protect Tasmania’s flora have been ongoing, with the establishment of national parks and reserves to safeguard threatened species and habitats.

In recent years, advancements in technology and collaboration have furthered our understanding of Tasmania’s flora. DNA sequencing and molecular research have provided new insights into the relationships between plant species and their evolutionary history. Conservation efforts have also been bolstered through partnerships with indigenous communities and land managers to protect and restore ecosystems.

Botanical collecting in Tasmania continues to be a vibrant and dynamic field, with ongoing research projects and conservation initiatives. The legacy of early collectors and botanists lives on through the work of modern scientists and institutions, ensuring the preservation of Tasmania’s botanical heritage for future generations to appreciate and study (AI – GPT-4o June 2024).

First collections by maritime explorers

On Cook’s third voyage in 1777 the HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery put in to Adventure Bay, Bruny Island for four days when collections by botanist William Anderson and gardener-botanist David Nelson were returned to England. Subsequent collections were made on the d’Entrecasteaux expedition in 1792 &? 1793 here and at Recherche Bay by botanist Labillardiere, naturalist Riche and gardener Delahaye () and on Blighs expedition by David Nelson (), and later by Brown (), Caley(), Cunningham () and Lawrence(). In 1792 naturalists Labillardiere and Riche with Admiral d’Entrecasteaux put in to southern Tasmania.

William Hooker & Robert Lawrence Brown

After leaving Port Phillip stayed in Hobart for 9 months waiting for a vessel home, meanwhile collecting about 700 specimens. Brown’s work attracted the attention of William Hooker, then Professor of Botany at Glasgow University (later Director of Kew) who was keen for more specimens from Van Dieman’s Land. Through Glasgow connections he found a keen correspondent in Launcestrian Robert Lawrence who, fortunately, quickly passed on his enthusiasm for plants to a friend Robert Gunn who assumed the botanical mantle when Lawrence died unexpectedly in 1833. Gunn was to spend several months with William Hooker’s son Joseph in 1840 when Hooker as botanist and surgeon on the Ross Antarctic expedition of 1839-1843. In his introduction to Flora Tasmaniae Hooker wrote:

‘I can recall no happier weeks of my various wanderings over the globe than those spent with Mr Gunn, collecting in the Tasmanian mountains and forests, or studying plants in his library, with the works of our predecessors Labillardière and Brown’.

Ronald Gunn

Ronald Gunn in his early collecting years worked with his botanical mentor Lawrence, but when the latter died Gunn concentrated his efforts in Tasmania from 1832-1850. Their efforts formed the basis of the Flora Tasmaniae (the first substantial book on Australian flora to be published) by J Hooker in 1860 as part of the record of his expedition to the Antarctic, New Zealand and Australia with Captain Ross.

Leonard Rodway

The monumental works of Hooker and Bentham were followed in 1903 by The Tasmanian Flora written by dentist Leonard Rodway who was Honorary Government Botanist to the Tasmanian Government from 1896 to 1932, establishing a herbarium of early collections at the Tasmanian Museum in 1928 (which was part of the Botanic Gardens) and here it remained until 1932, moving several times between Botanic Gardens and Museum buildings. Rodway described 1200 flowering plants, 150 of which were naturalised. Rodway’s wife Olive was Keeper from 1932 to 1941 after which Winifred Curtis, who was lecturer in botany at the University of Tasmania, became part-time Curator until 1946 when she and other workers developed a separate teaching herbarium at the university, the Museum herbarium being delivered here on long-term loan. In 1950 the Museum and Botanic Gardens were placed under separate administration, responsibility for the herbarium now passing to the Botanic Gardens with Janet Somerville the Honorary Curator from 1957 to 1963. In 1976 the Tasmanian Herbarium was formally established amalgamating collections from the Botanic Gardens, Museum and University and in 1978 Tony Orchard was appointed its first salaried Curator during which time a purpose-built herbarium was constructed at the university and occupied in 1987. Orchard retained the position until 1992 and was followed by lichenologist Gintaras Kantvilas.

Floras, checklists, journals

Work on the flora of Tasmania has been largely completed outside the state. The classic works of Robert Brown, Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae van Diemen (1802-1805), and Labillardiere’s Novae hollandiae Plantarum Specimen, were grounded in Tasmanian specimens and these were followed by J. D. Hooker’s Florae Tasmaniae (1855-1860), the most comprehensive account of Australian plants written to that time. Rodway was the first resident publisher of note although his The Tasmanian Flora of 1903 was preceded by Spicer’s Handbook of the Plants of Tasmania in 1878. This was followed in 1956 by the Student’s Flora of Tasmania in 4 volumes (5 parts) begun by Winifred Curtis who was a lecturer at the University of Tasmania and assisted from 1970 by Dennis Morris, the final volume published in 1994. This project has added over 250 more introduced plants and over a 100 newly discovered flowering plants. Winifred Curtis subsequently published the six-volume The Endemic Flora of Tasmania (1967-1978) illustrated by Margaret Stones. A list of Tasmanian plants was published in 1995 by Alex Buchanan as A Census of the Vascular Plants of Tasmania. Since 1988 the Tasmanian Herbarium has published monographs in the periodical Occasional Publications of the Tasmanian Herbarium.

Tasmanian herbaria

A small herbarium is maintained in Launceston at the Queen Victoria Museum.

Recent and contemporary botanists

Alex Buchanan (Asteraceae, Census), Gintaras Kantvils (lichens), Tony Orchard (Micranthemum, Persoonia, Asteraceae, Haloragaceae).