Dame Ella Campbell Herbarium (MPN)
Massey University
-
What is an herbarium?
-
MPN collections
-
New Zealand National Herbarium Network and Virtual Herbarium
-
Information for visitors
-
Information for researchers
-
Operating hours
-
Location
-
Contact information
-
Staff
-
What's new?
What is an Herbarium?
An herbarium is a collection of dried, pressed plant specimens that are used for scientific research. Specimens are prepared with archival-quality materials and are intended to last for centuries. Herbaria are used for studies related to ecology, geography, systematics, and taxonomy. Specimens are often used as a reference to help with the identification of new collections and can be informative as to the morphological variation present within a species when specimens from across its geographical distribution are compared. Historical collections housed in herbaria can provide information about local flora that is no longer present or supply evidence as to when a non-native species first appeared in a region. Herbarium specimens have also become an important source of material for DNA analyses that aim to understand phylogenetic relationships between species or assess genetic variation within populations of a single species.
MPN Collections
The Dame Ella Campbell Herbarium at Massey University is named in honour of Dame Ella Campbell, who was a lecturer at Massey and a passionate botanist. You can read more about Dame Ella in her obituary, written by former curator Dr. Jill Rapson.
MPN currently houses approximately 40,000 specimens from around New Zealand but with a concentration of specimens collected from the Manawatu, Hawkes Bay, and lower North Island. Several important collections are housed at MPN separate from the main collections, including E. O. (Ella) Campbell’s bryophyte collections (~3,000 specimens), E. A. Hodgson’s collection of bryophytes (primarily liverworts, ~14,000 specimens), and J. M. McEwen’s collection of Coprosma (including hybrids that he made between species, ~1,000 specimens).
New Zealand National Herbarium Network and Virtual Herbarium
MPN is a member of the New Zealand National Herbarium Network and contributes to the New Zealand Virtual Herbarium project, which aims to make specimen information available online for plant and fungal collections housed in eleven different herbaria across New Zealand.
Information for Visitors
Visitors are welcome to visit the herbarium during operating hours (see below) or by contacting the curator.
Information for Researchers
We welcome the use of specimens housed at MPN for casual or longer-term scientific study. Please contact the curator, Dr. Jennifer Tate, to arrange a visit to the collections and/or to discuss your research needs.
Operating Hours
The herbarium is open Monday 3-4:30 pm, Tuesday 8 am-1 pm, and Wednesday 10 am–12:30 pm, 3-4:30 pm. For access outside these times, please contact the curator, Dr. Jennifer Tate.
Location
MPN is located in B22 in the Riddet Building (formerly the Ecology Building) at the Massey Turitea campus in Palmerston North. Click here for a map.
Contact Information
Dame Ella Campbell Herbarium
Institute of Molecular BioSciences
Private Bag 11222
Palmerston North 4442
New Zealand
Phone: +64-6-356-9099 ext. 81485
FAX: +64-6-350-5688
Email: J.Tate@massey.ac.nz
Staff
Curator
Dr. Jennifer Tate
Institute of Molecular BioSciences
Private Bag 11 222
Palmerston North 4442
New Zealand
Phone: +64-6-356-9099 ext. 7518 (office)
FAX: +64-6-350-5688
Email: J.Tate@massey.ac.nz
Keeper
Mrs. Lesley van Essen
Institute of Molecular BioSciences
Private Bag 11 222
Palmerston North 4442
New Zealand
Phone: +64-6-356-9099 ext. 81485
FAX: +64-6-350-5688
Email: l.p.vanessen@massey.ac.nz
What's New?
MPN was recently featured in an issue of DefiningNZ (see page 6).
