The vascular plants type collection of the Chilean National Herbarium (SGO). Historic, temporal and spatial analysis

Abstract

The vascular plants type collection of the SGO Herbarium, Chile, was studied, including information about its history, temporal and spatial distribution of the specimens, prolific collectors and descriptors, together with the revision of the valid names up to date. The analyzed specimens reach a number of 6,555, collected in a lapse of 182 years (1828-2010). A great proportion of the specimens was collected in the Atacama, Coquimbo and Metropolitan regions. According to the names validity, from 4,236 specimens, 61% retains at least the genus name and 20.4% retains the complete name of its original description. R.A. Philippi appears as the most prolific plant descriptor, with 3,359 taxa, while together with F. Philippi they act also as collectors of a high number of type specimens.