Herbaria
Herbaria preserve plant specimens as permanent records of plants and the world they inhabit. They provide reference materials for identifying and classifying plants, including type specimens. Herbarium collections are invaluable for botanical and ecological education, plant identification, and research. Physical herbarium specimens serve as a unique archive of biodiversity spanning decades and centuries, chronicling long-term changes while preserving their chemical makeup and DNA for future analysis.
Many herbaria are digitizing detailed photographs of specimens accessible to a global network of scientists and the public. To learn more about why herbaria are important, here is a list from the Smithsonian: 100 Uses for a Herbarium.
Donations to Regional Herbaria
Herbaria are irreplaceable resources that must be preserved for future generations. For years, the Native Plant Society of New Mexico has supported herbaria through annual gifts, which currently include those listed below. Click on any herbarium in blue to visit their website.
- Carrizo Mountain Herbarium, Beclabito
- New Mexico State University, Las Cruces
- San Juan College, Farmington
- Santa Fe Botanical Garden
- University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
- University of Texas at El Paso
- Western New Mexico University, Silver City
Other scholastic, tribal, or museum herbaria in New Mexico or West Texas are invited to apply for donations by writing to NPSNM, P.O. Box 35388, Albuquerque, NM 87176.
Herbaria at New Mexico State University, San Juan College, Santa Fe Botanical Garden, the University of New Mexico, and Western New Mexico University have searchable databases of their specimens at SEINet. Click on the link: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php
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The University of Texas at El Paso also has a searchable database on SEINet: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/misc/collprofiles.php?collid=354
Common Sunflower, Helianthus annus,
image courtesy of SEINet, © 2014 UNM
Herbarium. All rights reserved.