Botanical teaching collection

Having existed for around 175 years, the collection on systematic botany (i.e. the science of the diversity, anatomy, systematics, evolution, and use of plants) is used extensively for training future biologists, biology teachers, and nutritional scientists. It includes numerous plant objects and products as well as microscopic specimens, educational wall charts and models built from wood, cardboard, or wax. Many of these objects were collected a long time ago in other countries and parts of the world. And quite a few of the collection’s charts are originals that were specifically designed for teaching at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. The collection also includes a vast number of slides with images of plants and vegetation. Ever since the teaching collection was established, changing research topics and methods in botany have had an impact on the specimens included. With its many magnified models featuring details that are invisible to the naked eye or cannot be observed all year round, the collection offers a great source of inspiration for new research on the history and education of botany.