By 2000 the
collection had grown to well over 242,000 specimens, largely acquired through a very
active exchange, but also through extensive collecting in the province and elsewhere.
The major representation is for British Columbia and adjacent states of the United
States: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona, in particular. Strong
representation is also for the Atlantic provinces of Canada, largely through R.J.
Belland. For Europe the collection has modest holdings; for Australia and New Zealand
the collections are representative, but not extensive. The same is true for Japan,
Taiwan and the Hawaiian Islands. Lowest representation is for Africa and South America.
The collections have been gained largely through research grants from NSERC. Bryophyta
Canadensia (1969 to present) has yielded rich dividends in collections. Generous gifts
of collections from Stanford University, through the efforts of J.H. Thomas has made
that collection available to the scholarly community. Gifts from Vancouver City Museum
and Royal B.C. Museum provided collections made by John Macoun to be curated and
incorporated into the collection. Duke University and the Canadian National Museum of
Nature have also contributed valuable historical collections.
A modest
number of type specimens form part of the collection: 220.
The bryophyte collection is arranged taxonomically by family based
mainly on Brotherus' treatment in Die Naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien edited by A. Engler & K. Prantl, 1924. In some cases, for
genera recorgnized since this publication, these are placed in the family to which they were ascribed. Families recognized since
Brotherus' treatment follow more recent literature that interpreted their relationship. Within families, the material is in alphabetical
order by genus and species. Each species is then arranged in order by geographical regions. The regions are separated by colour-coded index
cards. North America (North of Mexico) is indicated by a coloured marker on the upper left corner of the card. The cards for material
outside of North America have makers on the right. The geographical regions are assigned colours and numbers, where colours are put on the
index cards, and numbers are placed on the outside of the boxes.
A number is assigned to each family. An index of genera and the assigned number for each family is available for users
of the collection.
Genera
with most comprehensive representation are:
