Koʻoloaʻula
This Federally Endangered Hibiscus relative with bright red flowers is endemic to…
Skunk Cabbage
Specimen StoriesFocus on Science
A locally occuring arum in the northeast U.S., skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus…
Incised fumewort
A new invasive, this relative of the Bleeding Heart was recently found…
Philodendron
Specimen StoriesFocus on Science
Greek: Philo- (love) dendron (tree) There are close to 500 species of…
Begonias
The genus Begonia contains over 1800 species. They are native to tropical…
Marantaceae, Arrowroot family
Marantaceae, the Arrowroot family, is thought to have originated in Africa, though much of…
Spider Plant
The spider plant is in the genus Chlorophytum which contains almost 200 species, mostly originating…
Air plants
Specimen StoriesFocus on Science
The little air plant in your house that you mist every day could…
Corpse Flower
Another famous plant in the Araceae family is the Titan Arum or…
Lavender
Lavender has been used in traditional medicine for centuries for its soothing…
Madagascar periwinkle
Commonly known as Madagascar periwinkle, this member of the dogbane family has…
Fig family, Moraceae
Ficus carica L., the edible common fig has been cultivated for millenia.…
Mary Treat
Those who have read Barbara Kingsolver's newest novel, Unsheltered, will be familiar with the…
A trip to Fire Island with Peggy Hopkins
While we might not get to summer with the likes of Madonna…
Weird & Wild Legumes
Cabinet of CuriositiesSpecimen Stories
Members of plant family Fabaceae (bean or legume family) produce a kind…
Venus flytrap
Even though Venus Fly Traps are widely available as cultivated plants, they…
Pitcher Plants
Pitcher Plants sometimes attract insects to their specialized leaves with nectar or…
Sundews
Sundews. Drosera is the largest genus of carniverous plants, with almost 200…
Becoming a mountain woman
Marie Mooar spent a lot of time in the wilds of western…
Newspaper time capsule: B. Maguire 23559
A trip to the field isn't always necessary to describe a new…
Fabian Michelangeli's field trip to Cuba, November 2013
A recent expedition to eastern Cuba took three Cuban colleagues and me…
The Cactaceae
The Cactaceae was a publication written by the founder of NYBG, Nathaniel Lord Britton…
The Language of Flowers
Throughout time, people have assigned meaning to flowers, and many cultures have…
Typical: Double type
A herbarium's version of a double rainbow — a double type specimen.…
Sugar pine
Called "the most princely of the genus" by David Douglas, sugar pine…
Fancy Foliage
Where did that sweet little potted plant sitting on your window sill…
#plantlove
Specimens contained in the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium represent the endless…
David Hosack's Elgin Botanic Garden
Elgin Botanic Garden was the first public botanical garden in the United…
Springtime with Peter Zika
If seasonal allergies or the depths of winter have got you down,…
John Torrey
John Torrey (1796-1873) is considered one of the most influential American botanists…
J. K. Small's exploration in Southern Florida, 1915
John Kunkel Small, botanist and herbarium curator at the the New York Botanical…
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…
The Lilac Collection
The lilacs are blooming here at the Garden, gracing us with their…
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…
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…
Granite outcrop specialists
Plants are amazing and can adapt to live in the most unlikely…
It's not easy being green
People might pass over these green specimens 'cause they're not standing out…
Being Loved To Death – A Third of…
As the many plants to be digitized in the Endless Forms project,…
Heard it through the grapevine
Vitis is the genus of one of the world’s favorite horticultural crop:…
Beware! Stranglers on the Loose!
Focus on ScienceCabinet of Curiosities
Meet the genus Cuscuta, or as I like to refer to them,…
Celebrating Pride with Flowers
As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots during…
The LGBTQ+ Legacy of NYBG: Out of the…
Herbarium specimens are kept in metal cabinets to protect them from damage.…
John Torrey’s Trip to California and Colorado, 1872
In July of 1872, John Torrey and his daughter Margaret departed on…
Floral Fireworks
When fireworks are needed, no matter the reason, these herbarium specimens will help…
The Calabash in Capoeira Music
The Berimbau is the musical instrument played in capoeira. It consists of a…
July in the Native Plant Garden
The Native Plant Garden is looking lovely right now! Some plants that…
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…
Western Road Trip
In the summer of 1952, recently retired Wabash College¹ botany professor Albert…
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…