The foundation of any Herbarium lies in its specimens. Specimens are preserved biological material, with mostly intact DNA, many with flowers, fruits, leaves and stems, some with roots, seeds, pollen, etc. Each one also has a record of its context, e.g., what time of year it was flowering, or when it was first found in a particular location. Many specimens have even more information, e.g., what was growing nearby, or population size in a particular location.
Using these data and the physical specimen, scientists ask a broad array of questions and draw important conclusions about, e.g., changes in vegetation over time and space, exceptional traits hiding in natural populations, previously undocumented plants or ecological interactions, to name a few.
Our collection holds nearly 450,000 such specimens, and continues to grow by thousands of specimens per year. New specimen donations often come from active research projects for which we commit to preserving the vouchers. This is critical in biological sciences; for example, if there is any doubt about the identity of a plant used to draw a scientific conclusion, the voucher specimen should always be available for review.
Searching for specimens
To facilitate access, we are adding our label data into freely-available online databases. The main resource for herbaria in our region is the Southwest Environment Information Network, SEINet. There you will find more than two-thirds of our specimens posted, with more added every day. Over 10% also have images posted. These data are also shared out to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, GBIF, and the Integrated Digitized Biocollections, iDigBio. SEINet, iDigBio, and our own digitization efforts have been substantially supported by the National Science Foundation.
Special collections
Our 4000+ specimens of non-vascular land plants (mosses, liverworts, ferns) are also available through the Bryophyte Portal.
Our 1500+ type specimens are also available in higher resolution by subscription at JSTOR's Global Plants.
Our algae collection (green, red, and brown) await digitization.
Type specimen of Browallia eludens, described by RK Van Devender and P Jenkins. This is an image of the "holotype", the single specimen upon which the description formally relies. Other material collected at the same time was distributed to additional herbaria as "isotypes". This was the first record for the US, for any member of this genus of neotropical herbs. It remains of conservation concern.
Van Devender, R. K.; Jenkins, P. D. (1993). "A new species of Browallia (Solanaceae) from the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico". Madroño. 40 (4): 214–223.