Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle

New photographs of plant specimens collected on Darwin's 1830s voyage are now accessible online for the first time as part of Cambridge University Herbarium's digitisation program

By Cambridge University Herbarium

In December 1831, Charles Darwin set off on the Voyage of the Beagle, a journey of over 5 years on which he gathered a great number of natural history specimens. Darwin sent hundreds of plant specimens to his former professor at Cambridge, John Stevens Henslow, who incorporated them into what is now the Cambridge University Herbarium.

Polypodium pleiosoros (1835-10) by Charles DarwinCambridge University Herbarium

Digitising Darwin's Legacy

This set of just under 1,000 herbarium sheets has been photographed with a DSLR camera to produce new, high-quality images of this important collection, making it more accessible than ever to researchers around the world. Read on to find out more about Darwin's journey.

Adiantum capillus veneris (1832) by Charles DarwinCambridge University Herbarium

Cape Verde and the East Coast of South America

In early 1832, the Beagle landed on the Cape Verde Islands, where Darwin collected volcanic rocks, marine animals and these ferns. Read more about Darwin's stops in Cape Verde and Brazil in Letter no. 171 of the Darwin Correspondence Project.

Christella dentata, Charles Darwin, 1832-1, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

Chaptalia integerrima, Charles Darwin, 1832, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

Sisyrinchium arenarium subsp. arenarium, Charles Darwin, 1832-9, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

Selaginella flexuosa, Charles Darwin, 1832-6, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

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Christella, Chaptalia, Susyrinchium and Selaginella specimens collected in Cape Verde and Brazil

Poa alopecurus (1833) by Charles DarwinCambridge University Herbarium

Tierra del Fuego

Many of the plants in this collection are type specimens, including this Festuca fuegiana (Poa alopecurus) from Tierra del Fuego. These type specimens are important references in the process of identifying and naming plants.

Polypodium paleaceum, Charles Darwin, 1835-9, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

Polypodium paleaceum, Charles Darwin, 1835-10, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

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Polypodium type specimens collected in the Galápagos Islands

Dicliptera peruviana (1835-10) by Charles DarwinCambridge University Herbarium

The Galápagos Islands

Darwin collected extensively in the Galápagos, writing to J.S. Henslow, "Amongst other things, I collected every plant, which I could see in flower, & as it was the flowering season I hope my collection may be of some interest to you." Darwin Correspondence Project, Letter 295

Polypodium pleiosoros, Charles Darwin, 1835-10, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

Parietaria floridana, Charles Darwin, 1835-9, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

Opuntia galapageia, Charles Darwin, 1835, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

Gymnogramma chaerophylla, Charles Darwin, 1835-10, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

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Darwin stopped on several islands in the Galápagos, collecting over 200 plant specimens.

Sicyos villosa (1835-9) by Charles DarwinCambridge University Herbarium

Sicyos villosa

Darwin collected this single specimen of a now-extinct species of the cucumber family in 1835 while visiting Charles Island in the Galápagos.

Dicliptera burmanni (1836-4) by Charles DarwinCambridge University Herbarium

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

By 1836, the Beagle had reached the Indian Ocean, stopping at the Cocos (Keeling) Islands where Darwin collected over two dozen specimens, including this beautiful Dicliptera burmanni.

Neisiosperma oppositifolia, Charles Darwin, 1836, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

Scaevola sericea, Charles Darwin, 1836, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

Eragrostis amabilis, Charles Darwin, 1836, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

Messerschmidia argentea, Charles Darwin, 1836-4, From the collection of: Cambridge University Herbarium

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Plants collected from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

In all, Darwin sent over 900 plant specimens to his friend and former professor, John Stevens Henslow, who incorporated them into the herbarium at the University of Cambridge, where they continue to be studied by researchers today. Browse the complete collection here.

Credits: Story

Sally Loesch for Cambridge University Herbarium. Special thanks to Ella Boston and Amber Horning for their work photographing the Darwin collection.

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 171,” accessed on 24 June 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-171.xml

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 295,” accessed on 24 June 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-295.xml

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