Southern Cross University Medicinal Plant Herbarium

The SCU Medicinal Plant Herbarium (PHARM) comprises a unique ethnobotanical collection focusing on medicinal plants with a use in traditional or contemporary medicine. Medicinal plants from many parts of the world are represented in the collection. Most have been collected in Australia, many from cultivation, but collections from Europe, Asia and the Americas are also included. The Medicinal Plant Herbarium is used in both teaching and research. An important function of the herbarium is to house voucher specimens of authentic medicinal plant material. Herbal authentication refers to the proper identification of herbal raw materials (usually dried plant material or extracts) and is a central aspect of quality assurance in the manufacture of herbal medicines. The Medicinal Plant Herbarium holds more than 400 authentic herbal reference materials.