Herbarium | U-M LSA University of Michigan Herbarium

Featured Moss Specimen MICH houses 2100 specimens of the widespread moss genus Brachythecium Schimp., which is named for its relatively short and thick capsules. In Michigan, Brachythecium is represented by ca. 15 species, which are documented at MICH by 307 collections.

Featured Fungus Specimen A cluster of "ghostly" golden chanterelles, Cantharellus phasmatis M.J. Foltz & T.J. Volk. Part of a cryptic species complex, this species was originally described from the driftless region of western Wisconsin. Foltz has recently confirmed using molecular techniques that populations exist here in Michigan, including the Washtenaw county specimens pictured here. Golden chanterelles are highly sought-after for their culinary value. The University of Michigan Herbarium holds over 1500 collections of Cantharellus as part of a fungal collection estimated to contain at least 285,000 specimens. Photo: M.J. Foltz

Featured Vascular Plant Specimen Marsh thistle (Cirsium muticum) is a native thistle that grows in moist to wet areas throughout Michigan. The deep rose-purple flowers and the weak spines make this species one of the most attractive thistles occurring in the state. Specimens of this species are included in the 1.1 million vascular plant collections in MICH.

Featured Algae Specimen The type specimen of Pseudogrinnellia barrattiae M.J. Wynne (phylum Rhodophyta), described from Wadi Forh, Sultanate of Oman, northern Arabian Sea (Wynne 1999). This specimen has sori of sporangia scattered over the blade surface. This alga is one of approximately 106,000 specimens of algae in MICH.

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Recent News

Grad student curatorial project: U-M Herbarium begins digitizing its wood collection

What rhymes with herbarium? Xylarium! What’s a xylarium, you may ask. The University of Michigan Herbarium’s wood collection (aka xylarium) contains more than 3,300 specimens representing more than 130 tree families, primarily tropical woods.

Inaugural Digital Data in Biodiversity Research Conference hosted by U-M museums

Participants demonstrated how biodiversity resources, such as museum specimens, archived tissues and related digitized data, are accessed and incorporated in research programs encompassing the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology.

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Welcome to the Herbarium

The University of Michigan Herbarium is home to some of the finest botanical collections in the world. The 1.7 million specimens of vascular plants, algae, bryophytes, fungi, and lichens combined with the expertise of the faculty-curators, students, and staff provide a world-class facility for teaching and research in systematic biology and biodiversity studies.

Michigan Flora September Featured Plant

Cypripedium reginae - The hairs of this species, and of C. parviflorum, are irritating to some people, producing a rash resembling poison-ivy. Learn More

Giving to the Herbarium

Michigan Flora Online

The Michigan Flora Website presents information about all vascular plants known to occur outside of cultivation. Information includes distribution maps, identification keys, discussions of species occurrence, and specimens documented.

Michigan Flora Website

Events

Sep

EEB Thursday Seminar: Mammal diversification in relation to dynamic landscapes

Catherine Badgley, Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Residential College, Dept of Earth & Environmental Sciences, and Museum of Paleontology, UM

4:00 PM
1210 Chemistry Dow Lab

Sep

EEB Tuesday Lunch Seminar: Long-term dynamics of Hudson River bivalve populations: invasions and responses

David Strayer, Visiting Scholar, Graham Sustainability Institute; Distinguished Senior Scientist Emeritus at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

12:10 PM
2009 Ruthven Museums Building

Sep

EEB Thursday Seminar - Michigan's amazing "gene thieves": Evolution and ecology of unisexual (all female) Ambystoma salamanders

Katherine Greenwald, Associate Professor, Eastern Michigan University

4:00 PM
1210 Chemistry Dow Lab

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Be a Victor

We strive to support the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts on the front lines of learning and research; to steward our planet, our community, our campus. To do this, the Herbarium needs you—because the world needs Victors.