Harvard University Herbaria Renovation Project
The Harvard University Herbaria will undergo a large renovation that will affect the accessibility of the following families from December 2012 to July 2013:
- Aceraceae, Anacardiaceae, Balanopaceae, Barbeyaceae, Brexiaceae, Brunelliaceae, Burseraceae, Buxaceae, Celastraceae, Cephalotaceae, Cercidophyllaceae, Chrysobalanaceae, Connaraceae, Corynocarpaceae, Crossosomataceae, Cunoniaceae, Daphniphyllaceae, Dichapetalaceae, Didymelaceae, Dipentodontaceae, Dirachmaceae, Elaeagnaceae, Elaeocarpaceae, Erythroxylaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Euphroniaceae, Fabaceae, Francoaceae, Geraniaceae, Gunneraceae, Haloragaceae, Hammamelidaceae, Hippocastanaceae, Hippocrateaceae, Humiriaceae, Icacinaceae, Ixerbaceae, Kiriaceae, Krameriaceae, Linaceae, Malpighiaceae, Meliaceae, Melianthaceae, Myrothamnaceae, Nitrariaceae, Oxalidaceae, Pandaceae, Parnassiaceae, Pentaphylacaceae, Picramniaceae, Polygalaceae, Pottingeriaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rosaceae, Rutaceae, Sapindaceae, Saxifragaceae, Simaroubaceae, Stachyuraceae, Stackhousiaceae, Staphyleaceae, Strasburgeriaceae, Surianaceae, Tepuianthaceae, Tremandraceae, Trigoniaceae, Vitaceae, Zygophyllaceae. These families are roughly those in the Englerian sequence ranging from the Saxifragaceae through Vitaceae.
- During this period we will be unable to send loans of specimens from those families. Return of loans of specimens from those families, however, will be accepted. We apologize for any inconvenience.
The Science of Trees Exhibit
The Harvard University Herbaria and Botany Libraries are pleased to present the exhibit, The Science of Trees, showcasing the myriad ways in which trees are collected for scientific study and highlighting the current research of Andrew Richardson.
- This is the first display in the Northwest Science Building exhibit cases located in the lobby near the security desk. The cases were made possible through the generosity of a 2012 Harvard Library Lab Grant.
New England Vascular Plant Project
- Due to this project we are be unable to accommodate loan requests that include specimens from the New England area. Researchers are, however, welcome to visit our herbarium and work with the collection during this time. We apologize for any inconveniences. If you are interested to learn more about the project, please visit: http://herbarium.peabody.yale.edu/NEVP/
Professor Charles Davis Lab cited in The Economist
Parasites: A Gene Thief
Plants of the genus Rafflesia are among the oddest on the planet. They have the largest known flowers (up to a metre across) and are parasites, growing on South-East Asian vines of the genus Tetrastigma. >>More info.-
Professor Donald Pfister is among the collaborators on a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) titled North American Lichens and Bryophytes: Sensitive Indicators of Environmental Quality and Change. The award was made in July 2011, as part of the NSF's Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections program. >>More info.-
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New USPS American Scientist Stamp Features Botanist Asa Gray
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- On June 16, 2011, the U.S. Postal Service issued a first-class stamp honoring botanist Asa Gray. A Harvard natural history professor, Gray also established academic instruction during the summer at Harvard, beginning in 1871, with the Summer School of Botany.
- Part of the USPS American Scientist series, the Asa Gray stamp image collage depicts Gray in a circa-1860 photograph; illustrations of plants studied by Gray (Shortia galacifolia and Aesculus discolor); Gray's signature, from an 1855 letter to naturalist Spencer F. Baird; the words "Shortia galacifolia" in Gray's handwriting; and his printed abbreviation of the title of his work Synoptical Flora of North America.
- The story of Gray's epic quest for Shortia galacifolia was told in a 1946 article from Arnoldia, the quarterly magazine of the Arnold Arboretum. Download that article.
- >> More News & Events
- >>HarvardScience Botany
The Harvard University Herbaria participate in the large collaborative digitization project 'Mobilizing New England Vascular Plant Specimen Data to Track Environmental Changes' which includes imaging all New England vascular plant specimens.
- The Harvard University Herbaria, with more than
5 million specimens, are one of the 10 largest Herbaria in the world in number of specimens, and along with the library, form the world's largest university owned herbarium.