The Vascular Plant Herbarium is a repository of plants collected primarily from New York but it also contains a significant number of specimens from North America and abroad. The early establishment and importance of the Herbarium through John Torrey’s collections for A Flora of the State of New York (1843) and the prominence of Herbarium staff attracted many important botanists and collections. This included material from Lewis Caleb Beck, Chester Dewey, H. P. Sartwell, Edward Tuckerman, Asa Gray, P. D. Kneiskern, among others. The herbarium also received important type specimens from M. A. Curtis, L. S. Rose, I. W. Clokey, C. F. Austin, B. D. Gilbert, C. S. Sheldon, E. Brainerd, C. S. Sargent, E. P. Bicknell, and H. M. Denslow. Throughout its history, the herbarium grew considerably from collections made by state botanists, Charles H. Peck, Homer D. House, Eugene C. Ogden, and Richard M. Mitchell and curators, Stanley J. Smith and Charles J. Sheviak. More recent acquisitions include the complete herbarium of the State University College at Brockport, significant transfers from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and the complete collection of the Wildlife Resources Center (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation). Today, the Vascular Plant Herbarium continues to grow and contains approximately 210,000 accessioned specimens.
A portion of the NYSM Vascular Plant database focusing on invasive species can be accessed here: https://greatlakesinvasives.org/portal/collections/misc/collprofiles.php...
The remaining portion of the NYSM Vascular Plant database can be accessed here: https://neherbaria.org/portal/collections/misc/collprofiles.php?collid=65
More specimen records will be added in the future.
For information about requesting Specimen Loans, please see the Loan Policy.
