Department of Botany

This department is internationally known as the Herbarium of the University of Tokyo (TI). Since its establishment in the Faculty of Science in 1877, the number of specimens has grown continuously—because of this, some of the specimens were moved to UMUT in 1965. At present, the monocotyledons and most of the dicotyledons are housed in UMUT, while the remaining dicotyledons, gymnosperms, and pteridophytes are housed in the Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science. The number of specimens is about 1,700,000 sheets, including some 16,000 types.

TI houses many scientifically and historically important collections: from Japan by Ryokichi Yatabe (1851–1899), Jinzo Matsumura (1856–1928), Bunzo Hayata (1874–1934), Takenoshin Nakai (1882–1952), Tomitaro Makino (1862–1957), and Hiroshi Hara (1911–1986); from Korea by Nakai; from the Himalayas by H. Hara; and from Fonnosa, Thailand, and Indo-China by Hayata. A number of collections have been added from the Ryukyus, the Bonin Islands, Micronesia, Manchuria, etc. A recent important acquisition of TI is a collection from the Himalayas, Kunlun Mountains, and Henduang Mountains, China, comprising about 300,000 specimens. These were collected mainly during the botanical expeditions to the Himalayas organized by the university since 1960, partly through the exchange program involving herbarium specimens with the British Museum (BM), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (E), Department of Medicinal Plants, Nepal (KATH), and Botanical Survey of India (CUL).

TI is one of the major research centers for plant biodiversity in Asia. Taxonomic studies on various vascular plants of Japan and its surrounding area, including the Pacific, are undertaken. Recent contributions focus on the Araceae (Arisaema), Gramineae, Juncaceae (Juncus), Eriocaulaceae, Crassulaceae, Saxifragaceae (Chrysosplenium, Saxifraga), Rosaceae (Potentilla), Euphorbiaceae, Balsaminaceae (Impatiens), and others.

Book cover of the exhibition catalogue titled "History of Japanese Botany" (1996)	Honzo-zufu (Illustrations of Japanese Herbal Plants) by Kan'en Iwasaki (1828)

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