The Department for Environment and Water is the state agency which is responsible for the Herbarium, but the Board of the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium (established by an Act of Parliament, most recently the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium Act 1978) is charged with its establishment and maintenance.

[3] In 1954 the State Herbarium of South Australia was founded as part of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.

The State Herbarium's collections include collections of Ralph Tate, John McConnell Black (via the South Australian Museum), the moss herbarium of Professor David Guthrie Catcheside (1907–1994), and the collections of the Field Naturalists Society of South Australia.

[5][6] In late 2011 the Herbarium was due to list its one millionth specimen, possibly a new species.

[7][8] Also in 2011, the Herbarium produced an online version of the Flora of South Australia, 5th edition.