Finnish Museum of Natural History - Botany and Mycology Unit

The Botany and Mycology Unit is responsible for maintaining the collections of vascular plants, algae, moss, lichen and fungi as well as research and education relating to these collections. The unit also produces distribution surveys and nomenclature of Finnish vascular plants. Additionally, the unit maintains the botanic gardens in Kaisaniemi and Kumpula and manages the seed bank operations of endangered wild plants. The internationally significant collections include 3.5 million specimens from around the globe, particularly from the Nordic countries, North America and the cool and temperate zones of Asia. Prominent regional collections are from China, Papua New Guinea and Patagonia, among others. The collections contain tens of thousands of globally valuable type specimens. The collections are organised into five groups of organisms: vascular plants, bryophytes, fungi, lichens and algae. Most of these have been further divided into two sections, of which East Fennoscandia (Herbarium Fennoscandiae orientalis) encompasses Finland and its neighbouring areas (Russian Karelia, the Kola Peninsula and the western parts of the Leningrad Oblast), and the general collection (Herbarium Generale) covers the rest of the globe. The international herbarium code of the Finnish Museum of Natural History is H.