Inside the New York Botanical Garden's Herbarium

Photography courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of The New York Botanical Garden

Come with us on a tour of the William and Lynda Steer Herbarium, located in the New York Botanical Garden. One of the largest collections in the world, Dr. Emily Sessa, the herbarium's director, explains that “An herbarium is a museum of plants that documents biodiversity.” 

Castanea dentata (AMERICAN CHESTNUT)—This specimen was collected in the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park in 1891, only a few years before an NYBG scientist diagnosed chestnut blight on trees in the Bronx Zoo.

Castilleja scabrida (INDIAN PAINTBRUSH)—Indian Paintbrush forms beautiful red carpets in wild desert areas of the American West in spring.

Chondrodendron tomentosum (CURARE)—An extract from this tropical Amazonian vine is the poison used on blow darts, one of which is included on the specimen sheet.

Lythrum salicaria (PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE)—This beautiful temperate flower is actually a highly invasive European weed that has crowded out native American species since it was introduced in the U.S. in the 1830s.

Nymphaea lotus (EGYPTIAN WHITE WATER-LILY)—The arrangement of flower and leaf in this specimen mimics how this water-lily grows in nature.

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