About the Janet Cosh Herbarium

The Janet Cosh Herbarium is a repository for dried plant specimens collected from the Sydney, Illawarra, South Coast and Southern Tableland regions of New South Wales. The Herbarium provides information on the taxonomy, history, distribution and conservation of plant species within these regions. The specimens are stored in a controlled environment and their details are recorded in a database.  Voucher specimens used in research are also stored in the Herbarium. The staff are skilled in plant identification, taxonomy and ecology. These skills are used to teach, facilitate research and undertake consultancies.

Teaching

The herbarium supports a number of subjects within the Faculty of Science, at the University of Wollongong. Instruction in plant identification is also provided to staff and postgraduate students as required.

Research

The herbarium supports and provides resources for research projects which are undertaken by students and staff.

Previous studies include:

• Vegetation Dynamics of the Cumberland Plain, Western Sydney
• Investigations into the weed Chrysanthemoides monilifera (Bitou Bush)  
• Systematics and ecology of modern Australian Charophytes
• Microsatellite analysis of genetic variation in the moss Ceratodon    purpureus
• Translocation of the Eastern Bristlebird
• Factors affecting the insectivorous bird communities in suburban habitats
• Description of new Taxa. (Pellow, B.& Porter, J.L (2005). A new species of Goodenia (Goodeniaceae) from Nocoleche Nature Reserve, Far Western Plains, New South Wales, Telopea 11 (1))
• Revision of the Flora of the Sydney Region (Pellow, Henwood & Carolin 2009)

 Partnerships

The Herbarium has been engaged in a number of partnerships;

• with the John Ray Herbarium and Fisher Library at the University of Sydney to revise and publish the text 'Flora of the Sydney Region" (by Carolin & Tindale) Funds provided by NSW Environment Trust, University of Sydney and University of Wollongong.
• with the  University Campus Environment Management Committee, Buildings & Grounds and the Office for Community and Partnership the herbarium staff have developed a Campus Tree Walk. The walk provides staff, students and the wider community with an opportunity to become familiar with a selection of tree species planted on the University campus.
• with the Faculty of Creative Arts supporting  a number of exhibitions.
• with the Fitzroy Falls National Park visitors centre, by contributed to the development of the Janet Cosh Room and cataloguing their specimens.
• with the NSW National Parks Foundation supporting the  curation of the Janet Cosh art collection.
• with the Wollongong Botanic Gardens providing technical support to their staff.

Community

The Herbarium provides a regional resource for the community. Staff liaise with community groups, providing information, expert advice and giving talks to interest groups.
Members of the Southern Highlands Australian Plant Society work as volunteers assisting with the curation of the collection.

Other community members are adding to our collection.  We already hold many specimens collected by Kevin Mills a well known Consultant from the Illawarra.

Jenny Simons

  Jenny Simons (r)

Jenny completed a Bush Regeneration course in the 1970s with the National Trust in Sydney. After she moved to the Southern Highlands in the early 1990s, she became deeply committed to working with a group to regenerate the old Ironmines site in Mt Alexandra Reserve near Mittagong. Jenny collected and preserved numerous specimens from the site and in 2005 donated over 200 specimens to the Janet Cosh Herbarium.

Dorothy O’Keefe

Dorothy O’Keefe donated a collection of resources to the Janet Cosh Herbarium in March 2010. The collection includes over 70 plant records collected between 1980–2009 from around the upper Minnamurra River, Jamberoo, NSW.  Dorothy’s donation also included a number of her booklets which document the history of the area and describe the flora of the Minnamurra area. She is a founding member of the Upper Minnamurra Landcare Group.
Dorothy represents a fifth generation of the Knight-Cole and Badans families who at one time or another have owned most of the land in the Minnamurra Falls area including Knight’s Hill at the headwaters of the Minnamurra River.

Geoffrey and Ann Long

In May 2010, Geoffrey and Ann Long donated a substantial collection of herbarium specimens from their 20.74 ha property, Bolwarra, in Foxground, NSW and from the Kosciusko area in southern NSW.
Geoffrey and Anne retired to Foxground in 1999. They have made significant achievements in the restoration and preservation of their valuable patch of rainforest.

Dorothy David

Dorothy completed a Science Degree at the University of Wollongong graduating with Honours 1989. Dorothy worked as a Research Assistant in Chemistry, University of Wollongong from 1989 – 2002. During this time she also pursued her interest in native plants and collected specimens from the catchment area and coal mining sites in the Illawarra. Dorothy donated approximately 70 specimens to the Janet Cosh Herbarium.
The material from all these donations will be incorporated into the Janet Cosh Herbarium.  They are a valuable addition to the Herbarium where they will serve as reference material for students, researchers and the community.