The UCR Herbarium is a clearinghouse for information regarding plant species distribution in the

Western hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

. The collection houses over 110,000 dried

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

s, approximately 80,000 of which are from the

United States 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 territori ...

, and 32,000 from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The collection is especially strong in the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

and the Baja California peninsula. The Herbarium maintains an online-assessable Filemaker database of every specimen in the stacks, which is constantly updated. The Herbarium's staff makes between 5-10 thousand identifications a year for visitors who bring in plant samples, approximately 1/4 of which have been made into new specimens. In addition, the Herbarium's active collection program generates thousands of additional specimens a year. Current field projects include the flora of the San Bernardino Mountains and western

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

, as well as an investigation of the Curú Biological Reserve on the

Nicoya Peninsula The Nicoya Peninsula () is a peninsula on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It is divided into two provinces: Guanacaste Province in the north, and the Puntarenas Province in the south. It is located at . It varies from 19 to wide and is approx ...

in Costa Rica. The Herbarium is an active correspondent to the ''Inventory of Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants of California,'' a list of

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

plants published by the

California Native Plant Society The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a California environmental non-profit organization (501(c)3) that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve it for future generations. The mission of CNPS is to con ...

(CNPS). The Herbarium's records allow the CNPS to provide scientific evidence to support

biological conservation Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an int ...

, leading to the nomination of certain species for federal listing under the Endangered Species Act.

References

External links

UCR Herbarium website
{{University of California, Riverside H Biodiversity Nature conservation organizations based in the United States Herbaria in the United States