The Collection
The Erysiphales Collection at the Herbarium of the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg (HAL) currently comprises about 1500 herbarium specimens, including 46 type collections. The oldest specimens were collected by D.F.L. von Schlechtendal before 1820, including several types (e.g., Alphitomorpha fuliginea Schltdl. = Sphaerotheca fuliginea (Schltdl.: Fr.) Pollacci), but the collection also contains numerous recently collected specimens.
The Database
"The Erysiphales Collection at HAL" and – if not stated otherwise – its supporting files, have been copyrighted © 2000–2024 by the ‘Martin-Luther-University, Institute of Geobotany, Herbarium’. Support is provided by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Wissenschaft (BMBF). Permission is given for free use of data in the search result for non-commercial purposes; any commercial use must be granted by prior written agreement.
The data project "The Erysiphales Collection at HAL" was established within the framework of the GLOPP project by U. Braun with technical assistance from A.-K. Wittig. It uses the DiversityWorkbench component DiversityCollection, a MS Access database application developed by G. Hagedorn and M. Weiß. The ColdFusion webinterface was programmed by W. Spiesberger and M. Weiß. Currently "The Erysiphales Collection at HAL" is maintained and continuously expanded by staff members of the ‘Martin-Luther-University, Institute of Geobotany, Herbarium’.
The original specimen label data were typed into the DiversityCollection database, illegible label texts were assigned to experts (e.g. for old hand writing or certain exsiccata series). The orthography of fungal names was taken according to the Erysiphales monograph (Braun 1987). All host plant names were checked by IPNI (International Plant Names Index) before including them in the database. Nevertheless, typing and other errors may occur. In such cases we kindly ask the user to contact the editorial staff at the ‘Martin-Luther-University, Institute of Geobotany, Herbarium’.
Searching hints
You may search "The Erysiphales Collection at HAL" using the fungus' taxonomic name or the host plant's name alone or using a combined search, e.g. "Taxon name: Erysiphe" and "Host plant: Acer". The taxon names may be selected from lists, or can be typed into the fields scheduled for data entry. In most cases it is sufficient to type the first three letters of a name in order to search for a specific genus name or species epithet, you do not need to add wild cards. For example, to call up all database records of "Erysiphe berberidis" just type "ber" into the taxon name field. In this way – in addition to the exact matches – you will also get all specimens named as subspecies, varieties or forms, and all specimens which still have an obsolete genus label, e.g. "Microsphaera berberidis". Another possibility to refine the search is to type the name of a collection locality (e.g. "Halle") or to select a collector's name from the provided list. The button "Get specimens" will start the search and after a few seconds the search results will appear. By clicking the specimen number of the records found (e.g. "HAL 826") you may view further details such as the host plant's name.