Herbario del Colegio del Estado

Introduction

One of the most important characteristics of the Lafragua Library is that it houses a collection of approximately 97,000 literary and other works dedicated to research in many disciplines. This undoubtedly reveals the important role the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, has played since its foundation in 1825 as the Colegio del Estado (College of the State of Puebla), and the effect it has had on the development of science and art in the region and country.

An example of this is the study of wild and cultivated plants, which around 1825, began to gain importance among Puebla physicians and apothecaries of the time, considering that these were a source of drugs that could be employed in the Hospital of San Pedro (St. Peter’s Hospital) to counteract the serious health problems this city had.

Since the founding of the free and laic Colegio del Estado, secular and free school there was increasing interest in the science of botany. This is shown by the many printed documents such as the botanical charts of Julian Cervantes and herbarium specimens, grouped in different collections which currently constitute the Historical Lafragua Herbarium Library. The herbarium collections were catalogued in 1993 by Cristina Moreno Botello (1) , but little was told about their origin, and little work was done on the taxonomy of the collections. It was not until 2013 that a joint project of between José María Lafragua’s Library and the BUAP Herbarium (HUAP) at the request of Mtro. Manuel de Santiago and Maricela Rodriguez, PhD, respective directors of these facilities planned a cooperative project to stabilize the collections, digitize them and check the identity of the specimens. The aim is to accurately document these important historical collections which undoubtedly form the foundation of what is now the study and knowledge of botany, chemistry, pharmacy and medicine in Puebla. These collections are being included in the records of the Herbarium of the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (HUAP).

The Herbarium of the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (HUAP)

The Herbarium of the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (HUAP) is housed in the Botanical Garden of the University at the main campus in the city of Puebla. This modern collection was started in 1986 and currently houses 38,000 specimen, mostly collected in the State of Puebla, a number that is constantly increasing.

There is an older herbarium collection, considered to be the historical collection of BUAP, which is kept at the José María Lafragua Historical Library of the university, located in the ‘Carolino’ building in the heart of downtown, one block away from the main square of the city. It is considered that this collection was the first record of the botanical work in Puebla. It is referred to as Lafragua Library’s Historical Herbarium. Nowadays is digitally incorporated in the modern BUAP Herbarium, as it was mentioned above.

The Historical Herbarium is made up of six different collections that were documented in the thesis by Maria Cristina del Rosario Moreno Botello in 1993. Four of these collections are of European origin and two Mexican.

1. Flora des Environs de Spa. Alexandre Louis Simon Lejeune. 1812. A collection of 476 specimens of plants collected near Spa, Belgium, contained in 3 books.
2. Flora of France. 1839. This contains 428 specimens and 15 lithographs of educational use which was acquired in Paris for the Colegio del Estado (College of the State of Puebla) in 1828, it contains some material that is not European and probably was formed with cultivated species.
3. Herbario de la Escuela de Medicina. This is a collection of 145 specimens collected in the 19th Century, probably of French origin, and contained in a single book.
4. Herbario de Puebla. A collection of about 900 specimens, the majority dating from the early decades of the 19th Century and most likely collected in Puebla or in the nearby gardens.
5. Herbario Miniatura. This collection consists of 103 small specimens, some of them mounted individually on each sheet. It was included in the Herbarium of Puebla by Moreno Botello, but certainly should be kept separate as most of the specimens are of European species.
6. Herbario de los Alumnos del Colegio del Estado. This was developed by students of Botany and Medicine in the city of Puebla. It consists of 1156 specimens, mostly collected in 1891.

Starting in 2013, the Curator of Scientific Collections of the Herbarium and Botanical Garden of the University, Allen Coombes, has reviewed the taxonomic identity of each of the botanical specimens that have been digitized in the Lafragua Library. The work of these two university departments will raise awareness of this important historical collection for our state which will undoubtedly arouse the interest of specialists as well as the general public, to identify, analyze and study the scientific, ecological and educational context in which these collections emerged. Furthermore, they will be able to copy and download these images without restrictions.

In addition, the Lafragua Library has carried out conservation work and on all six herbaria and kept in conservation boxes to ensure their preservation. Some of the specimens are extremely fragile, and any fragments that have become detached are contained in envelopes on the same sheet to ensure they are available for further study.

Given the large investment of time this requires, the remaining collections will be accessible electronically in the near future once they are digitized and their taxonomic revision completed.

Herbarium of Puebla

These specimens are stored in 14 books in order of the scientific name under which they were originally recorded: A, BC, C, CHD, EF, GH, IL, M, NP, P, PS, S, TZ. There is very little information on each specimen but most of them have a name, list synonyms and a common name. Some also give information about the place they were collected and have observations on the area where the plant grows. Some plants are not from Puebla, thus, it is assumed they have been cultivated. Some specimens are old fashion appearing in the years 1827, 1832 and 1833; most of the specimens are assumed to have been collected about this time.

A note on one of the specimens in the Herbario de Puebla mentions an expedition to collect plants:" This Salvia the botanists of the expedition called it bicolor, but it is different from the one published in these days with this name, and it will be necessary to rename it in case it were a new species." On the one hand, this note undoubtedly reflects, initial interest in the flora of Puebla and its taxonomy, which is maintained with significant advances almost 200 years later. On the other, the consistent progress that our University has maintained throughout this time, which has allowed us to develop the current Herbarium and Botanical Garden as the best showcase of botany in the state.

(1) Catálogo del herbario histórico de la biblioteca "José María Lafragua" de la BUAP. Puebla, México, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 1993. Ref. 35073