Loan Regulations

Regulations concerning the loan of herbarium specimens

• Loans are made to recognized scientific institutions involved in botanical or mycological research. Loans ordinarily are not made to individuals.
• The loan request should be made by a formal letter to the Botanische Staatssammlung München, Menzinger Str. 67, D-80638 München, Germany. It should be assigned to the curator responsible for the plant or fungus group in question.
• The loan request should contain the name of the researcher and the thematic scope of the research project. It should be signed by the head of the requesting institution or department. Detailed information on the taxonomy and geography of the material requested, including synonyms or alternative names under which the material may be filed should be provided. Use of specimens in projects of a commercial nature requires separate and specific permission. For type material requested, data on collector, collecting date, number, and locality should be provided.
• Should your research include destructive methods, special permission by our curatorial staff is necessary. Requests should be made directly with the loan request, and decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.
• Please note that from 12th October 2014 plant and fungus material requested from M may be subject to Prior Informed Consent from the country of origin. Any permissions and conditions of use will be advised before release. In certain cases the material will not be made available.
• The Brazilian collections of C. F. P. von Martius are not available for loan.
• The receiving institution is expected to accept responsibility for the safe custody and return of the specimens. Loan material must not be removed from the institution to which they are on loan.
• Loans are normally granted for 3 months up to 1 year. Extension may be granted.
• Because of increasing postal costs, restrictions may apply on the amount of material sent out at any one time.
• Annotation labels, written in pencil, permanent ink, or typed and preferably of small size, should be attached to each returned collection. Labels should give the name of the researcher, the date/ period of the investigation, the institution where the research was conducted, a short title of the research project and the determination status (det., rev., conf., vid.) if applicable. Information about the removal of fragments from specimens is obligatory (e.g., pollen/ seed/ spores removed for SEM; material removed for DNA extraction; apothecium removed for anatomical study) and could well be given on a separate label.
• The lending institution, Botanische Staatssammlung München, must be acknowledged appropriately in any publications or other materials that present results derived from use of the loaned specimens. A copy of any publications resulting from study of loan material would be appreciated.