The Harvard University Herbaria and Botanical Museum are institutions located on the grounds of Harvard University at 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Botanical Museum is one of three which comprise the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The Herbaria, founded in 1842 by

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually excl ...

, are one of the 10 largest in the world with over 5 million specimens, and including the Botany Libraries, form the world's largest university owned herbarium. The Gray Herbarium is named after him. HUH hosts the Gray Herbarium Index (GCI) as well as an extensive specimen, botanist, and publications database. HUH was the center for botanical research in the United States of America by the time of its founder's retirement in the 1870s. The materials deposited there are one of the three major sources for the International Plant Names Index. The Botanical museum was founded in 1858. It was originally called the ''Museum of Vegetable Products'' and was predominantly focused on an interdisciplinary study of useful plants (i.e.

economic botany ''Economic Botany'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers all aspects of economic botany. The editor-in-chief is Robert A. Voeks (California State University, Fullerton). The journal was established in 1947 and is published b ...

and horticulture). The nucleus of materials for this museum was donated by Sir William Hooker, the Director of the Royal Botanic Garden. Professor

George Lincoln Goodale George Lincoln Goodale (August 3, 1839 – April 12, 1923) was an American botanist and the first director of Harvard’s Botanical Museum (now part of the Harvard Museum of Natural History). It was he who commissioned the making of the Univ ...

became the museum's first director in 1888; under his direction the building was completed in 1890 and provided both research facilities and public exhibit space, which were the botanical complement to the "

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...

" Museum of Comparative Zoology. Three successive directors substantially enlarged the collections of economic products,

medicinal plants Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ag ...

, artifacts,

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

materials,

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

, and photographs.

Faculty Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument) A faculty is a legal in ...

and

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

s continue to add significantly to the extensive

paleobotanical Paleobotany, which is also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeogr ...

collections, particularly

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

material containing early life forms. The

Oakes Ames Oakes Ames (January 10, 1804 – May 8, 1873) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being ...

Collection of Economic Botany, the Paleobotanical Collection (including the Pollen Collection), and the

Margaret Towle Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

Collection of Archaeological Plant Remains are housed in the Botanical Museum building. The Botany libraries and various herbaria are located in the Harvard University Herbaria building. The Botany Libraries collectively are a founding member of the

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...

. The Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants, popularly known as the " Glass Flowers," are considered one of the University's great treasures. Commissioned by Goodale, sponsored by Elizabeth C. Ware and her daughter Mary (Goodale's former student), and created by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka from 1887 through 1936, the collection comprises approximately 4,400 models including life-size and enlarged parts for over 840 species. This is the only collection of its type in the world. The Botanical Museum of Harvard University and the other museums that comprise the Harvard Museum of Natural History are physically connected to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and one admission grants visitors access to all museums. The Herbaria publishes the journal ''

Harvard Papers in Botany ''Harvard Papers in Botany'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published twice a year, in June and December. It covers all aspects of plants and fungi including longer monographs, floristics, economic botany, and the history of botany. ''Harva ...

''.

References

External links

HUH.harvard.edu: Harvard University Herbaria websiteHarvard Museum of Natural History
* {{Coord, 42, 22, 43.75, N, 71, 06, 52.52, W, display=title Harvard University museums Herbaria in the United States Natural history museums in Massachusetts Research institutes in Massachusetts Economic botany Harvard University buildings Museums in Cambridge, Massachusetts University museums in Massachusetts Museums established in 1842 Scientific organizations established in 1842 1842 establishments in Massachusetts