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…
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…
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;…
Polka-dot Ferns
Unlike flowering plants, ferns reproduce with spores instead of seeds. Fern spores…
Draw and Create Specimen Challenge
Herbarium specimens are an important piece of a larger puzzle; helping people…
People for Scale
A picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes it's easier to…
Good grief, Charles Geyer
Charles (Karl) A. Geyer was a pioneer botanical collector of the Northwestern…
Confetti
No party is complete without confetti—especially when ringing in the new year.…
Autumnal
Grab a warm beverage and your favorite sweater—the colors on these specimens evoke…
Springtime with Peter Zika
If seasonal allergies or the depths of winter have got you down,…
It's not easy being green
People might pass over these green specimens 'cause they're not standing out…
Chock-full of chromosomes
Cabinet of CuriositiesFocus on Science
Behold this fern which has the highest recorded chromosome number of any living…
Season it with Leaves
Culinary herbs are plants with aromatic properties and that are used for…
Seuss-ian Specimens
While the illustrations in books by Dr. Seuss depict fanciful folliage, reality…
What is a type specimen?
When a researcher names a new species (or other taxon) of algae,…
Typical: Hibiscadelphus stellatus
This type specimen is like a postcard from Hawaii reading "Wish you…
For the duration: The safekeeping of American herbaria…
The bombing of the military complex at Pearl Harbor, on December 7,…
Aquatic Hitchhikers
Although all plants need some water to grow, aquatic plants have adapted…
Firewood and pathogens
As plants travel the world with people, these plants can bring along…
Modern Art
Herbarium specimens play an important part in plant science research. But the specimens themselves can…