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…
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…
Art Cronquist's Hat
If you spend time looking at herbarium specimens collected by Arthur Cronquist,…
Tomato Persona
Choose your tomato persona. While all the same species, Solanum lycopersicum, tomatoes…
Typical: Erythronium helenae
Specimen StoriesWhat's in a name?
One of the common names for the genus Erythronium is the dogtooth…
John Kunkel Small
John Kunkel Small (1869-1938) was a taxonomist and botanical explorer, who specialized…
Ballast Plants
Ships transporting cargo and passengers use ballast to stabilize the ship at…
Granite outcrop specialists
Plants are amazing and can adapt to live in the most unlikely…
John Muir
John Muir (1838–1914) was an influential naturalist and conservationist, and co-founder of the…
Hitchhikers
Some plants have evolved to literally hitchhike on passing animals. They have…
Mulled Cider
Put these fruits, seeds, bark, and flower buds together to get mulled…
Typical: Christmas in the clouds
Bassett Maguire (1904–1991), a botanist who spent the majority of his career…
Before & After: P. F. Zika 28277
The unmounted herbarium specimen, as it arrived at the garden in the…
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…
Greetings from Camp
Even if you have never attended a sleepaway summer camp, chances are you've gotten a…
What is a type specimen?
When a researcher names a new species of algae, fungi, or plant,…
Seeds go ballistic
Getting help is great, but sometimes you just have to do something…
A trip to Fire Island with Peggy Hopkins
While we might not get to summer with the likes of Madonna…
Bigelow's mushroom photographs
In the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden there are over 30,000…
Point Judith
Can't get away to the beach? Let these field photographs and algae…
Salix loan to Japan
Botany is a collaborative science that relies on sharing data and specimens…
Floral Fireworks
When fireworks are needed, no matter the reason, these herbarium specimens will help…
Most Vibrant
Cabinet of CuriositiesWorks of Art
If we were to give yearbook superlatives to herbarium specimens, these would…
Fruit-eating lemurs
Given the abundance of tasty fruit, it is clear that many plants…
Sugar pine
Called "the most princely of the genus" by David Douglas, sugar pine…
Weird & Wild Legumes
Cabinet of CuriositiesSpecimen Stories
Members of plant family Fabaceae (bean or legume family) produce a kind…
A botanist's best friend
Botanists and dogs make good companions in the field. Dogs provide companionship, warn…
The Language of Flowers
Throughout time, people have assigned meaning to flowers, and many cultures have…
Escapes from cultivation
Humans have a long history of moving and cultivating plant species. But…
Western Road Trip
In the summer of 1952, recently retired Wabash College¹ botany professor Albert…
Label Appreciation: Borders
Labels are as important to a herbarium specimen as the plant, alga, or…
Traveling Plants
While plants can’t walk, they can definitely travel. Plants have evolved a…
George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver (1860s–1943) was an inventor, teacher, botanist, and mycologist (a…
Brown and Beautiful
Whether naturally brown, or turning brown during the preservation steps needed to create herbarium…
Western Road Trip: Crater Lake
It might be hard to believe the Bechtels could take their eyes…
Women in Genera
What's in a name?Women in Science
For as long as we've been using binomial nomenclature to name species,…
Dog Days of Summer: Bad Dog!
Specimen StoriesWhat's in a name?
Dogs have not always been the beloved companions and family members they…
Indicators of past settlement
Humans alter the environments where they live and we can use those…
Palm Patterns
Creating specimens of palms pose a challenge to collectors—how best to trim, arrange,…
Fruits of Rosaceae
Flowering plants differ from all other plants by producing seeds within fruits;…