Lichenicolous Fungi
Composed of different species each playing a different role, a lichen can…
Caroline Coventry Haynes
Caroline Coventry Haynes (1858-1951) is best known for her significant contributions to…
Women in Cryptogamic Botany
As scientific perspectives of the Enlightenment movement fostered enthusiasm surrounding the acquisition…
Elke Mackenzie (I.M. Lamb)
The work and dedication of Elke Mackenzie (1911-1990) is critical to our…
Clara Eaton Cummings
Clara E. Cummings (1855-1906) was a cryptogamic botanist who focused primarily on…
NYBG 2021 New Species Review!
Every year, botanists describe hundreds of new plant, fungal, and lichen species from…
Reindeer Lichens
In this most wonderful time of the year, Christmas is naturally on…
Arthonia stevensoniana
Arthonia etymology unknown stevensoniana from Stevenson, honoring Robert Louis Stevenson, author of…
Understanding Interactions: Taking Botany Out of Isolation
For centuries we have viewed plants and fungi in isolation. Tried to…
Species that Work-from-Home
Like many of you, NYBG herbarium staff are currently working from home…
Women in Genera
What's in a name?Women in Science
For as long as we've been using binomial nomenclature to name species,…
Seuss-ian Specimens
While the illustrations in books by Dr. Seuss depict fanciful folliage, reality…
Old Man's Beard: A Medicinal Lichen
Usnea is a genus of lichen, commonly known as Old Man’s Beard. …
Ascension Island: Volcanoes, Castaways, and Darwin’s Manmade Forest
One million years ago, a volcano broke the surface in the middle…
Witches!
Cabinet of CuriositiesWhat's in a name?
Don't be too scared by these witches - just some friendly plants…
Alpine Adaptation: Solid As A Rock
Lichens are the primary colonizers of new habitat in alpine regions. Unlike…
The LGBTQ+ Legacy of NYBG: Out of the…
Herbarium specimens are kept in metal cabinets to protect them from damage.…
Muhlenberg's Smile
Almost everyone can name an endangered charismatic megafauna. But most would be…
Discovering a Darwin Collection
Cabinet of CuriositiesSpecimen Stories
In the museum world, there's a sort of joke that you never…
Old Man's Beard
This lichen grows as an epiphyte on trees. They require clean air,…
4 Millionth Specimen
With 7,800,000 specimens in our herbarium, reaching 4,000,000 specimens catalogued in our…
#plantlove
Specimens contained in the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium represent the endless…
Dolly's Lichen
NYBG lichen curator James Lendemer and then-PhD student Jessi Allen named this…
Wolf lichen
The Wolf Lichen is one of the most showy North American lichens,…
Gross
Sometimes collecting the perfect specimen means going places you'd rather not. Here…
Ellen's Types
Among many of the interesting things Ellen Hutchins collected were collections that…
Smooth rock tripe
This Umbilicaria species is regarded to be one of the largest lichens…
Christmas Lichen
Specimen StoriesCabinet of Curiosities
This bright-colored lichen is called the 'Christmas Lichen' because of its bright…
Lettuce Lichen
Similar to the Old Man’s Beard, Lungwort lichens can only thrive in…
Pertusaria andersoniae
Specimen StoriesWomen in Science
Some of our herbarium specimens are of incredibly rare species. This is…