PEL HERBARY, RIO GRANDE DO SUL (UFPEL) Caroline Scherer

Abstract

 The Herbarium PEL is part of the Department of Botany at Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPEL), Pelotas, Brazil. It was created from the needed to support and sustain the local research since the time of creation of the Eliseu Maciel Agronomic School, the oldest course of Agronomy in the country. It constitutes an irreplaceable historical record of regional flora. The Herbarium PEL was created in 1946 by the botanist Irmão Teodoro Luis (Seção de Botânica do Instituto Agronômico do Sul). In 1975, it passed from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) to the Universidade Federal de Pelotas. The Herbarium has in its collection a variety of specimens collected mainly in southern Rio Grande do Sul in the Pampa biome, coming especially from the Serra do Sudeste, Litoral, Campanha, Encosta do Sudeste, as well as collections from other states through gifts and exchanges. Currently, the collection includes about 26,500 herbarium sheets, with 79 type specimens and it is registered in the Index Herbarium. The main priority of the Herbarium staff is the digital cataloging of the data collection.