Botanical explorations

Botanical heritage of Nepal, due to tremendous altitudinal range and unique geographical position, stood at a high level when collections of herbarium specimens were made during the beginning of the nineteenth century. Buchanan-Hamilton explored the country (the vicinities of Kathmandu Valley) for the first time in 1802-1803, followed by Wallich (1820-1821) and Hooker (1848). Botanical explorations were more extensive and intensive after Nepal opened its frontiers for foreign explorers and mountaineers during the early 1950s. As a result of hundreds of botanical expeditions throughout the country, plant specimens are housed in a number of international herbaria in the UK, Japan, the USA, France, Switzerland, India and so on. The Herbarium of the Natural History Museum (BM) consists of about 50,000 specimens and in Nepal itself the National Herbarium in Kathmandu houses over 150,000 specimens.

Glance of Nepal