Botanical Lessons
Botany students must learn the structures of flowers in all their intricate variety.…
Treeline Expansion
The absence of trees at high-elevations both defines Alpine zones and is…
"Citizen Scientists" Support Alpine Research!
Increases in temperature and changes to the availability of moisture and snow…
Alpine Adaptation: Dig-Down & Stand Your Ground
Extreme conditions at high-elevations tend to impede the establishment of annual plants…
Alpine Adaptation: Hold Tight & Take It Slow
These prototypical "cushion plants" are extreme alpine specialists. Short and dense branching…
Extreme Alpine Plants
Cabinet of CuriositiesExpeditions
Few places on the land's surface present weather conditions that are more…
Alpine Adaptation: Duck and Cover
Leaves and flowering stems flattened to the ground and outwardly spreading from…
Traveling Plants: Plants on the move
Plants might not be able to move the way animals do, but…
Traveling Plants: People lend a hand
Plants have lots of ways they can move and distribute their propagules…
Firewood and pathogens
As plants travel the world with people, these plants can bring along…
Tumbleweeds
Tumbleweeds aren’t restricted to one species or plant family, but are an…
Duck dispersal
As more land is developed, plants have an increasingly difficult task of…
Ballast Plants
Ships transporting cargo and passengers use ballast to stabilize the ship at…
Hitchhikers
Some plants have evolved to literally hitchhike on passing animals. They have…
Seeds go ballistic
Getting help is great, but sometimes you just have to do something…
Fruit-eating lemurs
Given the abundance of tasty fruit, it is clear that many plants…
Escapes from cultivation
Humans have a long history of moving and cultivating plant species. But…
Indicators of past settlement
Humans alter the environments where they live and we can use those…
Aquatic Hitchhikers
Although all plants need some water to grow, aquatic plants have adapted…
Bioremediation
Bioremediation is the use of living organisms to remove contamination from the…
Autumnal
Grab a warm beverage and your favorite sweater—the colors on these specimens evoke…
Learning from Extinct Plants
Specimen StoriesFocus on Science
From the woolly mammoth to the passenger pigeon, many extinct species owe…
Iconic plants of the Amazon
The Amazon Rain Forest, Earth’s largest tropical rain forest, is an immense…
Attractive Frances Baker
This specimen arrived as part of an exchange from another herbarium, wrapped…
A botanist's best friend
Botanists and dogs make good companions in the field. Dogs provide companionship, warn…
Floating Flowers
If you're staying cool this summer in your favorite swimming hole, here are…
Tomato Persona
Choose your tomato persona. While all the same species, Solanum lycopersicum, tomatoes…
Catnip: A Felicitous Herb
Focus on ScienceWhat's in a name?
Calling all cat lovers! As I was digitizing plants for the Southern…
Dog Days of Summer: Good Dog!
Cabinet of CuriositiesWhat's in a name?
Dogs have a special place in our lives, as trusting companions and…
Dog Days of Summer: Bad Dog!
Specimen StoriesWhat's in a name?
Dogs have not always been the beloved companions and family members they…
Salix loan to Japan
Botany is a collaborative science that relies on sharing data and specimens…
From 1920’s adventure narrative to new species –…
Focus on ScienceWhat's in a name?
The amount of time between when a species is first collected and…
Western Road Trip
In the summer of 1952, recently retired Wabash College¹ botany professor Albert…
The Atomic Specimen
Working with specimens from New Mexico for the Southern Rocky Mountain Digitization…
Typical: Erythronium helenae
Specimen StoriesWhat's in a name?
One of the common names for the genus Erythronium is the dogtooth…
July in the Native Plant Garden
The Native Plant Garden is looking lovely right now! Some plants that…
The Calabash in Capoeira Music
The Berimbau is the musical instrument played in capoeira. It consists of a…
Floral Fireworks
When fireworks are needed, no matter the reason, these herbarium specimens will help…
John Torrey’s Trip to California and Colorado, 1872
In July of 1872, John Torrey and his daughter Margaret departed on…
The LGBTQ+ Legacy of NYBG: Out of the…
Herbarium specimens are kept in metal cabinets to protect them from damage.…
Celebrating Pride with Flowers
As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots during…
Beware! Stranglers on the Loose!
Focus on ScienceCabinet of Curiosities
Meet the genus Cuscuta, or as I like to refer to them,…
Heard it through the grapevine
Vitis is the genus of one of the world’s favorite horticultural crop:…
Being Loved To Death – A Third of…
As the many plants to be digitized in the Endless Forms project,…
It's not easy being green
People might pass over these green specimens 'cause they're not standing out…
Granite outcrop specialists
Plants are amazing and can adapt to live in the most unlikely…
Astragalus osterhoutii, Osterhout milkvetch
Astragalus osterhoutii M. E. Jones (or Osterhout milkvetch) is an herbaceous plant known…
The Azalea Garden
Always a destination for Mother's Day, the Azalea Garden is a spring…
NY's Missing Species
When you think of a rare, endangered species, you may think of far-off…
Don't touch
Plants have evolved many ways to protect themselves, from growing barbs that…
The Lilac Collection
The lilacs are blooming here at the Garden, gracing us with their…
Carnivorous plants
Cabinet of CuriositiesFocus on Science
Watch out, these plants are hungry! Most carnivorous plants grow in bogs…
Daffodils are blooming!
It's springtime and the daffodils are blooming outside! In the herbarium, these…
Most Vibrant
Cabinet of CuriositiesWorks of Art
If we were to give yearbook superlatives to herbarium specimens, these would…
J. K. Small's exploration in Southern Florida, 1915
John Kunkel Small, botanist and herbarium curator at the the New York Botanical…
John Torrey
John Torrey (1796-1873) is considered one of the most influential American botanists…
Springtime with Peter Zika
If seasonal allergies or the depths of winter have got you down,…
David Hosack's Elgin Botanic Garden
Elgin Botanic Garden was the first public botanical garden in the United…
#plantlove
Specimens contained in the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium represent the endless…
Fancy Foliage
Where did that sweet little potted plant sitting on your window sill…
Typical: Double type
A herbarium's version of a double rainbow — a double type specimen.…