OSU Herbarium

Collections for research and teaching

Pressed Monarda specimens arranged for comparison — Herbarium specimens preserve morphology, location, date, and other biological evidence.

The collection

The OSU Herbarium (OSC)

The OSU Herbarium supports researchers, students, and the broader OSU community. Visit the official herbarium website to learn more.

Visit the OSU Herbarium site ↗

Our specimens enable...

Research

Compare morphology, phenology, and location, extract genetic data, verify identifications from previous research, and revisit historical populations to enable research questions that look into the past.

Teaching

Study plant diversity, identification, taxonomy, and species distributions directly from specimens. Collections inspire plant enthusiasts of the future!

Documentation

Physically preserve observations so they can be examined again as questions and technologies change, and as natural populations are impacted by an increasingly human-modified world.

Patrick McKenzie working with cabinets in an herbarium — Patrick working at the James Madison University Herbarium. Collections are active research infrastructure.

Working with the collection

An herbarium is a resource meant to be used

Come visit us! We welcome research collaborations and student interest in collections-based research, digitization, and plant identification. More information about access and specific opportunities will be added as it becomes available.

Contact Patrick