Date: 17 Apr - 17 Jul 2025
Time: 5am - 12mn
Venue: People’s Gallery exhibition spaces at located near the Visitor Services Counters at Botany Centre, Nassim Gate, Tyersall Gate, and Gallop Gate and Bukit Timah Gate (MRT Station Exit A)

About the exhibition

Ever wondered who names plants and acts as the guardian of these names? Who decides that one plant is a potato (Solanum tuberosum) while another is a tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)? 

The answer is: botanists and herbaria! 

Botanists are scientists who study and name plants, while herbaria are specialised research facilities that store preserved plant specimens which have been identified and named by botanists. These collections play a crucial role in documenting world’s plant diversity, enabling new, unnamed samples to be matched with known species. Globally, there are nearly 4,000 herbaria, housing over 400 million plant specimens. Together, they safeguard all existing botanical knowledge as well as knowledge yet to be unlocked through constantly evolving research methods. 

Plants are the foundation of human life—providing food, medicines, textiles, construction materials, and even the air that we breathe. We cannot survive without them. However, to truly benefit from and protect plants, we need to know what they are and where they grow. 

That’s why botanists and herbaria are essential to our survival. 

Take a moment to explore our remarkable collection and discover the exceptional work being done to preserve plant knowledge!

About the Singapore Herbarium 
The Singapore Herbarium (SING) was established in 1875 by James Henry Murton, marking the beginning of scientific research at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. What began as a limited collection of specimens in Murton’s office has grown into collection of approximately 800,000 specimens. Today, the Singapore Herbarium is recognised as the one of the largest and most important herbaria in our biodiverse Southeast Asian region.  

Our collection played an important role in securing the UNESCO World Heritage status for the Singapore Botanic Gardens in 2015. To ensure the Herbarium is preserved for future generations, we are continuously enhancing and expanding our facilities. 

In celebration of the Herbarium’s 150th anniversary, we are embarking on an ambitious digitisation project to make our specimens freely accessible online.

This initiative will accelerate plant research and conservation efforts, contributing to a healthier planet.