Possible Rumphius specimens detected in Paul Hermann's Ceylon herbarium (1672–1679) in Leiden, The Netherlands

Abstract

Georg Eberhard Rumphius (1627–1702), author of the monumental work Herbarium Amboinense (1741–1755) is seen as the undisputed patriarch of Malesian Natural Sciences. Until recently, it was thought that if Rumphius had collected any specimens, they all had been lost. The recent digitisation and revision of two book herbaria in Leiden collected by Paul Hermann (1646–1695) on Ceylon revealed four specimens with reference to either Rumphius or Ambon in Hermann’s handwriting: Colocasia esculenta, Gomphrena globosa, Helminthostachys zeylanica and Biophytum sensitivum, of which the latter does not occur in Sri Lanka. Here we discuss the description of these species in both published and unpublished historic works and consider the possibility that they may represent the only extant herbarium material attributable to Rumphius.