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

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Help the Carrizo Mountain Herbarium

Arnold Clifford has been collecting and preserving plants on the Navajo Reservation for a lifetime. This unique collection holds around 35,000 vascular plant specimens. It is not housed at a university or other institution and needs funding for a permanent storage location and supplies. If you wish to support this special project, please send a check to NPSNM, P.O. Box 35388, Albuquerque, NM 87176, and add the note Carrizo Mountain Herbarium on the memo line of your check.

Or click below to donate via PayPal or a credit card, and note that it is for the Carrizo Mountain Herbarium:

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.