Alpine Adaptation: Duck and Cover
Leaves and flowering stems flattened to the ground and outwardly spreading from…
Alpine Adaptation: Solid As A Rock
Lichens are the primary colonizers of new habitat in alpine regions. Unlike…
Journey of the US Exploring Expedition (1838-1842)
One of the earliest and most impactful scientific expeditions led by the…
Old Man's Beard: A Medicinal Lichen
Usnea is a genus of lichen, commonly known as Old Man’s Beard. …
Leaves of three, let it be!
If you enjoy spending time outdoors, you surely have heard the age-old…
Okra’s journey to the United States
Many culinary delights that Americans enjoy today, especially in the Southern United…
Vampires Among Us: The Ghost Pipe Plant
Did you know that some plants lack chlorophyll? Often confused for a…
Wild Cinnamon
Although not related to true cinnamon, Cinnamodendron corticosum is a similar spice tree.…
Exploring the Conservation Status of Jamaican Root Tonic…
Jamaican root tonics are fermented beverages composed of roots, bark, and other…
Label Appreciation: Favorites
Labels are as important to a herbarium specimen as the plant, alga, or…
Typical: Gymnopilus pallidus
Some characters are altered in the drying process used to create herbarium specimens.…
Attractive Frances Baker
This specimen arrived as part of an exchange from another herbarium, wrapped…
Typical: Double type
A herbarium's version of a double rainbow — a double type specimen.…
Newspaper time capsule: B. Maguire 23559
A trip to the field isn't always necessary to describe a new…
Damaged by enemy action
Herbarium specimens are windows into the past and can help us answer…
Typical: Astragalus cusickii var. packardiae
Covered in flower dissection illustrations by Rupert Barneby — we should all…
Becoming a mountain woman
Marie Mooar spent a lot of time in the wilds of western…
J. K. Small's exploration in Southern Florida, 1915
John Kunkel Small, botanist and herbarium curator at the the New York Botanical…
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…
Typical: Hibiscadelphus stellatus
This type specimen is like a postcard from Hawaii reading "Wish you…