The Bolus Herbarium was established in 1865 from a donation by Harry Bolus

Harry Bolus

Harry Bolus was a South African botanist, botanical artist, businessman and philanthropist. He advanced botany in South Africa by establishing bursaries, founding the and bequeathing his library and a large part of his fortune to the South African College...

 of his extensive herbarium and library to the South African College

South African College

The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools .-History:...

, which later became the University of Cape Town

University of Cape Town

The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...

.

Its collection of specimens numbers over 320 000, making it the third largest university herbarium

Herbarium

In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...

 in the Southern Hemisphere. The collection is highly representative of the Cape Flora and also houses a large number of type specimens. The international herbarium abbreviation BOL is used when referring to the Bolus Herbarium.