247. Disclosing a Malesian Treasure: the typification project of Odoardo Beccari’s Herbarium in Florence.

Odoardo Beccari (1843-1920) was a well-rounded explorer and naturalist who developed a special interest in botany and was also skilled in zoology, physical geography and ethnoanthropology. Between 1865 and 1878 he travelled along South-Eastern Asia (including Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei), up to Oceania, during three long travels, the first of which would have been told in the renowned book Wanderings in the great forests of Borneo. As a result, he brought back to Europe thousands of specimens, objects and precious information which partially changed European’s view of those far away “worlds”. The bulk of botanic collection is the “Malesian herbarium” (FI-HB) kept in Florence, consisting of 432 boundles and near 16 thousands of sheets/specimens. Taking the opportunity of the 100th Anniversary of Beccari’s death (25th October 1920), we’ve started an organic, systematic and cooperative study of the Malesian herbarium through the complete taxonomic literature review and the type tracing, or new typification, of all the names based on Beccari’s exsiccata.