The Herbarium of Antoine Bras (1803-1883)

Bras, distinguished French amateur botanist and author of a catalogue of the flora of his home province (département de l’Aveyron), built a considerable personal herbarium through 50 years of active collecting (1833-1882). That herbarium, long believed lost, was auctioned in 2008 and acquired by the first author for the Palermo Herbarium (PAL-Gr). Its c. 25,000 specimens are being mounted and databased, with a view of making the digital images and label data available for online consultation. An analysis based on a first sample of 1550 specimens is presented, with explanations of Bras’ labelling and numbering systems and a list of other collectors and correspondents (81 to date) who contributed to the herbarium.