Presentation of the University of Primorska Herbarium in Izola

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On Monday, 28 September 2026, at 7 p.m., Dr Peter Glasnović presented the story of the University of Primorska Herbarium at the Izola Public Library. Established in 2008, the herbarium has grown into an important collection comprising more than 6,000 specimens of seed plants, ferns and fern allies, mosses and macroalgae. The collection is geographically focused primarily on the western part of the Balkan Peninsula and the southeastern Alps, with particular emphasis on plant material from Istria and the flora of Slovenia.

During the lecture, Glasnović presented the importance of herbarium collections for researching and documenting plant diversity, as well as their role in the long-term preservation of scientifically significant plant material. A major milestone in the development of the UP Herbarium came in 2024, when, thanks to the efforts of Dr Glasnović, it was included in the international Index Herbariorum. It thus became the fourth herbarium in Slovenia to receive an internationally recognised code, joining a network of more than 3,500 herbaria worldwide.

Dr Peter Glasnović, who works at the Department of Biodiversity at UP FAMNIT, has been sharing his knowledge of the plant world with both the professional community and the general public for many years. In recognition of his efforts to promote knowledge and science communication, he received the Prometej znanosti award from the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 2025.

In the final part of the presentation, he also outlined plans for the future of the UP Herbarium, including the organisation and digitisation of the entire collection. A digitised collection will provide easier access to information and enable it to be shared more widely with researchers, students and the interested public. In this way, the University of Primorska aims to further connect the herbarium with the international scientific community and contribute to the development of botanical research in the region and beyond.

The event was held as part of the European Heritage Days.