Ulm receives valuable treasure: 7,500 plants in the Nature Museum!

Ulm receives valuable treasure: 7,500 plants in the Nature Museum!

A big congratulations goes to the Ulm Nature Museum! It has been gifted an impressive private herbarium with 7,500 carefully pressed plants. This collection, which includes plants from Germany and the picturesque Mediterranean region, was put together over 45 years by the former Ulm pharmacist Maria Zimmermann. She discovered her passion for botany during an internship, and after her children moved out, she returned to her hobby by collecting plants from the Allgäu, Greece and other vacation spots. The herbarium is the result of years of dedication and love for nature, and SWR reports that... it represents a valuable treasure for research.

The plants are meticulously recorded on sheets of white paper, each accompanied by handwritten notes about their characteristics and locations. Museum director Cora Carmesin highlights the comprehensive documentation of the collection, which includes the location data and peculiarities of each plant. The herbarium is housed in 15 boxes, each with around ten folders that record the diversity of this botanical treasure.

Care and presentation of the herbarium

Before the plants are integrated into the museum's existing collection, extensive inspections and treatments take place to combat any pests. Although a full exhibition of the herbarium is not planned, selected specimens will be presented to the public to illustrate both the scientific and cultural significance of this collection.

It's fascinating to see how a hobby can grow into such an extensive collection over many years. Maria Zimmermann's commitment to botany shows that each of us can contribute to preserving our natural treasures. This is a fine example of combining personal interest and public scholarship.

By the way, while we are talking about treasured collections, one could also touch on the importance of herbaria in culture. In the USA, for example, there is the “Herbarium”, a community and cannabis dispensary with the aim of reducing the stigma surrounding cannabis while celebrating the culture. Herbarium.la states that... they focus on education and a welcoming atmosphere for all consumers. Their locations in Los Angeles and New York offer a wide range of products and services, again demonstrating the importance of access to quality goods and information.

In a completely different context, the topic “G” is also interesting. It is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet, which historically comes from the Greek letter “gamma”. “G” doesn’t just stand for a letter; it is also an example of how language and writing have developed over the centuries. Wikipedia clarifies that... "G" was originally introduced to mark the difference between the voiced /g/ and the voiceless /k/ and how it was eventually introduced into the Roman script.

Thus, Ulm not only combines the world of plants and botany, but also the history of language and culture, all of which paint a colorful picture of human creativity and curiosity.