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The botanical collections housed at the Moretus Plantin University Library are a treasure trove of delicate petals, leaves and corollas. They bear witness to Namur's long tradition of teaching this science. Help us preserve, enrich and bring them to life for future generations!
The project
The botanical collections are made up of several complementary elements. First, the historical herbarium assembled by Jesuit Auguste Bellynck (1814-1877), the first holder of the botany chair at the college that became the Facultés de Namur. The herbarium contains over 75,000 plants from near and far, including some extremely rare specimens. They bear witness to flora on all five continents.
On the other hand, the collection of almost 180 Brendel (1866-1925) didactic models, created at the end of the 19th century to detail the structure of plants in three dimensions. Remarkably realistic, precise and beautiful, they are made of a variety of materials and can be disassembled and reassembled. No collection in the world is complete, but UNamur's is exceptional in terms of the number and quality of its models. A testament to a rich teaching past, it is growing still further with the occasional acquisition of rare pieces.
The team
The botanical collections benefit from the attentive care of botanist Philippe Martin at the University Library. He brings them to life by passing on his passion to students, listing the collections within a database soon to be accessible to the public, working on their digitization in collaboration with BUMP teams, or producing publications.
Your donations in action
Your donations make it possible to care for, enhance and conserve for future generations UNamur's botanical collections, which bear witness to the past and present flora of our planet, and to complement the Brendel model collection.