Fruits of Rosaceae
Flowering plants differ from all other plants by producing seeds within fruits;…
Season it with Leaves
Culinary herbs are plants with aromatic properties and that are used for…
Bigelow's mushroom photographs
In the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden there are over 30,000…
Label Appreciation: Favorites
Labels are as important to a herbarium specimen as the plant, alga, or…
Polka-dot Ferns
Unlike flowering plants, ferns reproduce with spores instead of seeds. Fern spores…
Brown and Beautiful
Whether naturally brown, or turning brown during the preservation steps needed to create herbarium…
Greetings from Camp
Even if you have never attended a sleepaway summer camp, chances are you've gotten a…
Label Appreciation: Borders
Labels are as important to a herbarium specimen as the plant, alga, or…
Modern Art
Herbarium specimens play an important part in plant science research. But the specimens themselves can…
Draw and Create Specimen Challenge
Herbarium specimens are an important piece of a larger puzzle; helping people…
Palm Patterns
Creating specimens of palms pose a challenge to collectors—how best to trim, arrange,…
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…
Typical: Christmas in the clouds
Bassett Maguire (1904–1991), a botanist who spent the majority of his career…
Confetti
No party is complete without confetti—especially when ringing in the new year.…
Mulled Cider
Put these fruits, seeds, bark, and flower buds together to get mulled…
People for Scale
A picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes it's easier to…
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…
Traveling Plants
While plants can’t walk, they can definitely travel. Plants have evolved a…
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…
Autumnal
Grab a warm beverage and your favorite sweater—the colors on these specimens evoke…
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…
Tomato Persona
Choose your tomato persona. While all the same species, Solanum lycopersicum, tomatoes…
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…
Western Road Trip: Marble Canyon
The Grand Canyon might be the grandest of canyons carved by the…
Western Road Trip: Grant Grove
When visiting giant sequoia trees, you spend a lot of time looking…
Western Road Trip
In the summer of 1952, recently retired Wabash College¹ botany professor Albert…
Western Road Trip: Crater Lake
It might be hard to believe the Bechtels could take their eyes…
Typical: Erythronium helenae
Specimen StoriesWhat's in a name?
One of the common names for the genus Erythronium is the dogtooth…
Floral Fireworks
When fireworks are needed, no matter the reason, these herbarium specimens will help…
Point Judith
Can't get away to the beach? Let these field photographs and algae…
Typical: Gymnopilus pallidus
Some characters are altered in the drying process used to create herbarium specimens.…
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…
Chock-full of chromosomes
Cabinet of CuriositiesFocus on Science
Behold this fern which has the highest recorded chromosome number of any living…
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 Kunkel Small
John Kunkel Small (1869-1938) was a taxonomist and botanical explorer, who specialized…
Springtime with Peter Zika
If seasonal allergies or the depths of winter have got you down,…
#plantlove
Specimens contained in the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium represent the endless…
John Muir
John Muir (1838–1914) was an influential naturalist and conservationist, and co-founder of the…