The history of the modern Institute of Botany began in September 1921, when A.V. Fomin founded and headed the institution that was called the "Botanical Chamber and Herbarium of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences". In 1922 it gave start to the Research Chair of Botany, which was subsequently transformed in 1927 into the Scientific Research Institute of Botany of the Peoples' Commissariat of Education of the Ukrainian SSR. In April 1931 that institute was merged with the Botanical Chamber and Herbarium to form the Institute of Botany of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, and it 1971 it was renamed after M.G. Kholodny, an ou. tstanding Ukrainian scientist. At present, the Institute of Botany is an internationally recognized scientific institution in plant sciences, biodiversity (plants and fungi) research and conservation at various levels, from molecules to ecosystems. The unique biological collections accumulated by several generations of scientists form the solid basis for research. These collections are officially recognized as Ukraine's National Heritage units, containing the National Herbarium (KW)(more than 2 million specimens of vascular and non-vascular plants and fungi), living mushroom cultures (IBK), . The most substantial contributions of Institute's scientists in biodiversity research are the fundamental 12-volume Flora of the Ukrainian SSR, the Identification manual of plants of Ukraine, Vegetation of the Ukrainian SSR, 10 volumes of the planned 40-volume Flora of Fungi of Ukraine, the 5-volume Identification Manual of Fungi of Ukraine, five issues of the Flora of Algae of Continental Water Bodies of Ukraine and Identification Manual of Freshwater Algae of Ukraine and etc. Considerable achievements in plant conservation are two editions of the Red Data Book of Ukraine and the Green Data Book of Ukraine.