Following in the footsteps of Giuseppe Raddi

ABSTRACT

Giuseppe Raddi was a real pioneer of exploration in Brazil (1817) at the same time as Johann Emanuel Pohl (1817–1821) and was preceded by a few others such as Friedrich Wilhelm Sieber (1801–1807). Raddi was in Brazil before many of the great naturalists such as von Martius (1818–1820), Eduard Poeppig (1831–1832) and Richard Spruce (1849–1855). These and many other collectors built up a large collection of herbarium material, and the work continues today. Some details of historic collectors and of my own exploration of the Amazon region are presented. The value of historic herbarium collections is stressed, as they contain so much information about plant distribution and habitats and past climate that is fast being lost today as natural vegetation is being rapidly destroyed. In many ways, these old specimens are more valuable than contemporary collections and so it is good to celebrate the work of a pioneer such as Raddi and of the Herbarium Horti Pisani, University of Pisa, and of the Herbarium Universitatis Florentinae, University of Florence, that have preserved his collections.

Keywords:

• Biodiversity
• Brazil
• flora
• Giuseppe Raddi
• historical plant collections