By Charles J. Zimmerman

Mar 18 2019

One of the earliest and most impactful scientific expeditions led by the United States Government was the US Exploring Expedition (or US Ex. Ex.) commanded by navy Admiral Charles Wilkes. Accompanying a fleet of 6 ships and 346 crewmen on this 3-year journey around the world were a team of scientists and artists tasked with meticulously documenting all the unique animals, plants, and minerals encountered along the way.

Setting sail in August 1838 from Hampton Roads Virginia, the expedition traveled across the Atlantic, around South America, throughout the Pacific, and even to the icy southern continent of Antarctica. Tens of thousands of natural history specimens, including 50,000 pressed plants, were collected during the journey, many of which represent previously undiscovered species.

Most of the collections made by the expedition scientists are housed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. However, thousands of plant specimens from this intrepid journey are kept in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden, where botanists use them to study plant biodiversity.

You can follow along with admiral Wilkes and his team of explorers as we trace their historic journey via the digitzed plant collections represented in the New York Botanical Garden herbarium!