René Pomerleau Herbarium

With more than 25,000 fungi specimens—including tree diseases and soil fungi—as well as 400 specimens of decayed wood, a collection of fungal cultures and 15,000 slides, the René-Pomerleau Herbarium may be useful to anyone conducting research in mycology, taxonomy or fungal biodiversity.

Located at the Canadian Forest Service’s Laurentian Forestry Centre, in Quebec City, the internationally recognized René-Pomerleau Herbarium is used to identify, compare and validate fungi specimens and to conduct genetic studies on pathogens. It also serves as a reference source on fungal biodiversity in Quebec.

The René-Pomerleau Herbarium works much like a library. All of the specimens are coded according to places and dates of collection, host species and other conditions. Visitors can access an online tool that provides information about the specimens in the herbarium’s vast collection. Images of many of the specimens are also available at Trees, insects and diseases of Canada’s forests (TIDCF), a database containing information on native tree and shrub species, as well as insects and diseases found in Canada’s forests.

Ecologists, pathologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, historians, self-taught researchers and others wishing to verify an identification or find the distribution of a fungal species can book an appointment to examine specimens at the René-Pomerleau Herbarium.

René Pomerleau was Quebec’s first forest pathologist, working as a research scientist at the Laurentian Forestry Centre for over 40 years. His research on tree diseases and his teaching and numerous publications earned him an international reputation.