Meise Botanic Garden was founded in the early 18th century and is one of the 15 largest botanic gardens, covering 92ha and containing 4 million preserved and living specimens. The collection has a global scope with a focus on Central Africa, Belgium, and South-West Europe. There are also important historical herbarium collections from Latin America, India and Australia. Notable collectors who have contributed to the herbarium, include Van Heurck, Von Martius, Sieber-von Reichenbach and Crepin. A wide range of taxonomic groups are covered including: vascular plants, lichens, mosses, liverworts, fungi, myxomycetes and algae.