Alpine Adaptation: Solid As A Rock
Lichens are the primary colonizers of new habitat in alpine regions. Unlike…
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…
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…
Firewood and pathogens
As plants travel the world with people, these plants can bring along…
Maize & Teosinte
Maize (Zea mays), or corn, is a domesticated cereal crop native to…
Rice and its Wild Relatives
Humans have been farming rice for approximately 10,000 years. The two major…
Bioremediation
Bioremediation is the use of living organisms to remove contamination from the…
Autumnal
Grab a warm beverage and your favorite sweater—the colors on these specimens evoke…
Herbarium Specimens Show Changes in Carbon Dioxide Levels
It has been documented that since the industrial revolution there has been an…
Herbarium Specimens Show Changes in the Landscape
Changing climate means changing landscapes. Herbarium specimens document what plants are growing in…
Phenology and Herbarium Specimens
As habitats get warmer, a plant's life cycle can change. For example, when spring…
Climate Research and Herbarium Specimens
Climate research requires lots of data. Data about the conditions on earth now,…
Studying the DNA of Herbarium Specimens
Molecular biologists study the DNA of plants. They use this data to identify…
Learning from Extinct Plants
Specimen StoriesFocus on Science
From the woolly mammoth to the passenger pigeon, many extinct species owe…
Ghost Forests of the Mid-Atlantic
One of the most visually apparent impacts of climate change are the emerging…
Exploring the Bahamas with Lewis Jones Knight Brace
The Bahamas suffered its worst natural disaster recently as Hurricane Dorian, a…
Iconic plants of the Amazon
The Amazon Rain Forest, Earth’s largest tropical rain forest, is an immense…
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…
Floating Flowers
If you're staying cool this summer in your favorite swimming hole, here are…
Tomato Persona
Choose your tomato persona. While all the same species, Solanum lycopersicum, tomatoes…
Catnip: A Felicitous Herb
Focus on ScienceWhat's in a name?
Calling all cat lovers! As I was digitizing plants for the Southern…
The Lackluster Major William Rich
Major William Rich was selected to be the botanist on the U. S.…
Where the Gold was First Discovered
Cabinet of CuriositiesExpeditions
Herbarium specimens have been collected at poignant points in history. Major William Rich was…
Dog Days of Summer: Good Dog!
Cabinet of CuriositiesWhat's in a name?
Dogs have a special place in our lives, as trusting companions and…
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…
From 1920’s adventure narrative to new species –…
Focus on ScienceWhat's in a name?
The amount of time between when a species is first collected and…
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…
Oro City – A Colorado Ghost Town
Oro City was a gold placer (stream-bed) mining town in Colorado, founded…
The Atomic Specimen
Working with specimens from New Mexico for the Southern Rocky Mountain Digitization…
Typical: Erythronium helenae
Specimen StoriesWhat's in a name?
One of the common names for the genus Erythronium is the dogtooth…
July in the Native Plant Garden
The Native Plant Garden is looking lovely right now! Some plants that…
The Calabash in Capoeira Music
The Berimbau is the musical instrument played in capoeira. It consists of a…
Floral Fireworks
When fireworks are needed, no matter the reason, these herbarium specimens will help…
John Torrey’s Trip to California and Colorado, 1872
In July of 1872, John Torrey and his daughter Margaret departed on…
The LGBTQ+ Legacy of NYBG: Out of the…
Herbarium specimens are kept in metal cabinets to protect them from damage.…
The Many Colors of the Star Cloak Fern
While imaging herbarium specimens, I was struck by the unusual colors of…
Point Judith
Can't get away to the beach? Let these field photographs and algae…
Art Cronquist's Tree: Japanese Wingnut
Recently walking on the NYBG grounds on a lovely spring day just…
Celebrating Pride with Flowers
As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots during…
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Cabinet of CuriositiesSpecimen Stories
The beloved children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar is turning 50! See many of…
Beware! Stranglers on the Loose!
Focus on ScienceCabinet of Curiosities
Meet the genus Cuscuta, or as I like to refer to them,…
View of Sítio Burle Marx
This Calathea species was collected by botanist Helen Kennedy in Roberto Burle…
Resurrecting from the Dead
I remember coming across Selaginella lepidophylla while imaging herbarium specimens for the…
Plants of Sítio Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx was an artist, a landscape architect and an early…
Typical: Gymnopilus pallidus
Some characters are altered in the drying process used to create herbarium specimens.…
The Biltmore Herbarium: Botany and America’s Largest Home
Biltmore, a Gilded Era mansion in Asheville, North Carolina, is America’s largest…