The Harvard University Herbaria and Botanical Museum are institutions located on the grounds of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
at 22 Divinity Avenue,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
. The Botanical Museum is one of three which comprise the
Harvard Museum of Natural History.
The
Herbaria, founded in 1842 by
Asa Gray, 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
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
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 and
horticulture
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
). 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,
artifacts,
archeological materials,
pollen, and
photographs.
Faculty
Faculty may refer to:
* Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage)
* Faculty (division)
A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject ...
and
students continue to add significantly to the extensive
paleobotanical collections, particularly
Precambrian material containing early life forms.
The
Oakes Ames 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 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
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
. 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
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropological material, wi ...
and one admission grants visitors access to all museums.
The Herbaria publishes the journal ''
Harvard Papers in Botany''.
References
External links
HUH.harvard.edu: Harvard University Herbaria websiteHarvard Museum of Natural History*
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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