The study of plants is called Botany.
Te Papa's botanical collections and research encompass marine algae (seaweeds), lichens, mosses, liverworts, lycophytes, ferns, and seed plants.
Browse the Botany collections.
Te Papa’s herbarium contains some 260 000 dried plant specimens. It was founded in 1865 and has the most New Zealand type specimens in the country. It has especially rich collections of bryophytes, ferns, lichens, and marine algae. All plant groups are covered (fungi are not), with a focus on those native or introduced to New Zealand. more>
Te Papa holds the principal collections of several important botanical collectors, including W. Colenso, T. Kirk, C. Knight, W.R.B. Oliver, D. Petrie, and G.O.K. Sainsbury, and significant collections of other notable botanists including J. Banks, D. Solander, A. Cunningham, and J.D. Hooker. more>
Te Papa's botanical research includes naming new species, updating previous taxonomic treatments, and studying the evolution of New Zealand's plants. Our foci are marine algae (seaweeds), flowering plants, and ferns. more>
Plants come in many different forms, from tiny to gigantic, easily-overlooked to spectacular. Different groups of plants are separated primarily by their reproductive features. more>