University of Sindh Jamshoro Herbarium

The herbarium of the University of Sindh Jamshoro is one of two key components of the Institute of Plant Sciences, the other being establishment of a botanic garden. The herbarium was initiated in the 1950s, primarily as a teaching resource. In 2018, with support from the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, it is being transformed into a research herbarium. A key part of this transformation has been identifying its primary goals as 1) documentation of the flora of Sindh and adjacent regions of Balochistan; 2) providing instruction in the importance and preparation of voucher specimens in botanical research; and sharing of what is learned with diverse audiences through multiple outlets. In December 2018, the herbarium began sharing its data via OpenHerbarium, a Symbiota network, and, early in 2019, via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. In 2018, the collection included about 15,000 specimens, essentially all of which are of vascular plants.