Resources

Indigenous Names for Plant Species in the UVIC Herbarium

In summer 2023, we compiled a list of plant names in the Indigenous languages of southern Vancouver Island, for vouchered plant species in the UVIC Herbarium. This list is compiled from Nancy Turner’s 2014 book - Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America. We have also condensed Nancy Turner’s guide to pronunciation and orthography to help those interested in learning these Indigenous plant names.

• Indigenous Names for Species in Our Collection
• A Brief Guide to Pronounciation and Orthography

Local Plant Species Lists

We are engaged in an ongoing effort to compile vascular plant species lists for parks and greenspaces in the Greater Victoria area. Additions or amendments from users are always appreciated; please email them to herbarium@uvic.ca.

• Bear Hill 
• Beaver Lake
• Jordan Meadows
• Lone Tree Hill
• Mill Hill
• Mt. Finlayson
• Mt. Tolmie
• Quicks Bottom
• Trial Island
• University of Victoria campus
• Uplands Park
• Witty's Lagoon

Reference Library

The UVIC Herbarium has a small reference library of 700 non-circulating books and a collection of B.C. topographic maps (mostly 1:50,000). Most of the books in our reference library are catalogued in the list below.

• UVIC Herbarium Reference Library

Oluna Ceska and Adolf Ceska Collection in the University of Victoria Library

The Oluna Ceska and Adolf Ceska Collection is comprised of botanical illustrations and scientific illustrations by Oldriska (Oluna) Ceska (1938-2022). Oluna Ceska (1938-2022) was a scientist and artist who emigrated from Prague (Czech Republic) to Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) in 1969. Ceska worked as a Lab Assistant and Research Associate in the University of Victoria Department of Biology. The illustrations in this collection are from both the Oluna Ceska and Adolf Ceska Fonds at the University of Victoria Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives, and the Government of British Columbia, who commissioned illustrations for the Illustrated Flora of British Columbia. The drawings in this collection highlight flora from southern Vancouver Island. The collection can be viewed in person at UVic's McPherson Library or online using the link below.

• Oluna Ceska and Adolf Ceska Collection

Herbarium Workflow Resources

• Handling Herbarium Specimens
• Organizing the Herbarium
• Inputing Specimen Label Data in the Database
• Creating Specimen Labels
• Mounting Specimens
• Giving a Mounted Specimen a Unique Accession Number