The Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Russian Academy of Sciences

The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....

  is a leading botanical

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

 institution in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, It is located on Aptekarsky Island

Aptekarsky Island

Aptekarsky Island is a small island situated in the northern part of the Neva delta. It is separated from Petrogradsky Island by the Karpovka River, from Kamenny Island and Krestovsky Island by the Malaya Nevka and from the Vyborgskaya region of St-Petersburg by the Bolshaya Nevka. It has an area...

 in St. Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, and is named after the Russian botanist Vladimir Leontyevich Komarov

Vladimir Leontyevich Komarov

Vladimir Leontyevich Komarov was a Russian botanist.Until his death in 1945, he was senior editor of the Flora SSSR , in full comprising 30 volumes published between 1934–1960...

 (1869-1945). The institute was established in 1931 as merger of the Botanical Garden and the Botanical Museum of the Academy of Sciences.

The institute hosts Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden

Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden

The Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden, also known as the Botanic Gardens of the Komarov Botanical Institute or the Komarov Botanical Garden, is the oldest botanical garden in Russia, consisting of outdoor and rich indoor collections, which is situated on Aptekarsky Island in Saint Petersburg and...

 as well as herbarium

Herbarium

In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...

 collections that house over seven million specimens of plants and fungi

Fungus

A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...

. The latter is the largest collection in Russia, and among the three largest in the world.

Further reading

• Shetler, Stanwyn G. The Komarov Botanical Institute, 250 Years of Russian Research. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1967.