6 
HERBARIUM 
The first storey was built by Ridley as a herbarium and museum 
in 1903, the second storey was added in 1930, when a gallery 
was constructed. A floor was added to the gallery in 195-4-^ and 
roof lights put in above the windows. 
Ridley—Collector and Phytographer 
Ridley collected many thousands of plants throughout Malaya 
and the East Indies, often in remote areas. Many of these were 
new to science and Ridley named and described a few thousand 
plants for the first time. The letters Ridl. after a scientific plant 
name indicates that Ridley first named the plant. A few of these 
plants are exhibited, including Durio singaporensis Ridl. 
Ridley sent plant specimens to specialists working on various 
groups and about 100 plants were named in his honour and bear 
specific epithet ridleyi or ridleyana. 
A surprising number of plants collected by Ridley in Malaya 
have never been found subsequently. Of these some occur in 
Singapore and it can only be presumed that they are now extinct. 
This shows the importance of preserving our Nature Reserves 
and our plants as a valuable heritage for future generations. One 
plant Ranalisma rostrata was collected by Ridley at Batu Caves in 
1897 and his specimen is the only one ever collected in the whole 
world. It can thus be realised that many of the specimens in our 
herbarium are of the greatest scientific value. 
Preparation and Naming of Botanical Specimens 
Botanical specimens are pressed between absorbent paper 
(newspaper will do), which is changed at least once daily and 
replaced with dry paper in order to hasten drying and prevent 
the growth of moulds. They are poisoned with a solution of 
corrosive sublimate and methylated spirits, which is also brushed 
on the dry specimens to prevent mould and insect attack. All 
specimens are given a collector’s number and field notes are 
made of the place of collection, habitat, altitude and information 
on habit, colour of flowers, etc., which cannot be ascertained 
from the actual specimens. The methods of collecting, drying, 
mounting and preserving of botanical specimens have changed 
little since Ridley’s day. 
Other departments, chiefly Forestry and Agricultural, the 
University, teachers, students, planters and others send in speci¬ 
mens to the Singapore Gardens to be named. Small plant frag¬ 
ments are sometimes sent for identification in connection with 
police investigations, medical enquiries, etc. Specimens are sent 
to us from Borneo and neighbouring territories for determina¬ 
tion, as well as from Malaya. In all this work it is essential to 
provide the correct scientific names of the plants submitted. 
This can often be done by comparison with existing herbarium 
sheets, but on occasions involves additional research. We also 
receive frequent requests for information on certain plants. Thus 
we provide an important service, which can only be done by 
this department. 
History of the Singapore Herbarium and Exchange of 
Specimens 
The herbarium was started in 1880 by Cantley and contains 
some of the earliest collections made in Singapore and Malaya, 
including Wallich’s plants collected in 1822. It is being contin¬ 
ually added to by new collections and by exchange with other 
herbaria throughout the world. 
Our herbarium now contains over 400,000 sheets of speci¬ 
mens, which are essential for our work and which will be in¬ 
valuable to future generations of botanists in Malaya and through¬ 
out the world. We have over 1,000 type specimens, which are 
the specimens on which the plants were first named and des¬ 
cribed. It was Ridley who placed this herbarium on a sound 
scientific footing. 
Several thousands of specimens are distributed by us annually 
to herbaria throughout the world. These are duplicates of speci¬ 
mens collected by the staff on expeditions, etc. This ensured 
that if collections in any herbaria are destroyed, there will be 
