The Makerere University Herbarium is one of the oldest and most important academic plant collections in East Africa. Housed within Makerere University’s College of Natural Sciences in Kampala, the herbarium serves as a central resource for botanical research, teaching, and biodiversity documentation in Uganda and the wider region.
The herbarium holds extensive collections of preserved plant specimens representing Uganda’s diverse ecosystems, including tropical lowland forests, montane forests, savannas, wetlands, and agricultural landscapes. These specimens provide permanent scientific vouchers that support plant taxonomy, floristic surveys, ecological research, environmental impact assessments, and conservation planning. The collection is heavily used for undergraduate and postgraduate training in botany, ecology, conservation biology, and environmental science.
Makerere University Herbarium has played a significant role in the development of botanical science in East Africa, contributing to national floras, regional checklists, and taxonomic revisions. Through collaboration with national and international herbaria and research institutions, the herbarium supports data sharing, capacity building, and long-term biodiversity research. As digitization efforts expand, the Makerere University Herbarium continues to strengthen its contribution to regional and global biodiversity initiatives while training future generations of East African botanists.
Makerere University Herbarium. Occurrence dataset (ID: recordID) accessed via the East Africa Herbaria Portal Portal, eastafricaherbaria.net, 2026-03-25).
