Herbarium Recovery Project
image: Herbarium Desk
 Research Botanist, noted taxonomist, and author of the Flora of Maine, Arthur Haines joined the NEWFS staff in 2001 to undertake a historic survey of all the major and minor New England herbaria. This project focuses on determining the historic distribution and location of New England’s rare and endangered plant populations.
The results of the investigation are impressive and significant. Arthur has discovered many mislabeled specimens and has thus dramatically adjusted the estimated volume of certain plant populations based on the new data. In addition, review of specimens has revealed records for historic but forgotten plant populations. In several cases, label information has allowed botanists to relocate these populations.
image: Herbarium Preparation

New England Wild Flower Society Herbarium
NEWFS inherited the herbarium of the Concord Field Station of Harvard University. It is a fantastic small collection with an emphasis on collections from the eastern region of Massachusetts. The herbarium is housed in the New England Wild Flower Society's Education Department at the Society's headquarters, Garden in the Woods. To learn more and visit the Education home page CLICK HERE.

Regional Herbaria. Herbaria are museums of plant species. They house pressed specimens of plants that have been collected from a region. These specimens are invaluable in documenting the natural history and flora of a particular area. Most large state and private universities house significant herbaria. There are many more herbaria throughout our region that are equally valuable albeit smaller in size. CLICK HERE for a list of many of the larger herbaria in the Northeast, along with links to one or two major collections of note in the rest of the U.S