The Herbarium

Herbaria, collections of pressed and dried plants specimens, are key to our understanding of biodiversity and our efforts to preserve it. Herbaria provide windows into our past, telling us what kinds of plants were present, where those plants were, and when those plants were there. With this information we can track changes over time and use that information to predict and prepare for our future.

Dating to the founding of Vassar College in 1865, the Vassar College herbarium holds over 15,000 specimens of vascular plants, bryophytes, and algae. Holdings are primarily from northeastern North America, and include collections made by several notable 19th century botanists, including A.A. Heller, and J.K. Small; by Vassar faculty, including Gladys E. Baker, J. R. Lawrence, Madelene Pierce, Louise Potter, Frank Ranzoni, Edith A. Roberts, and Margaret Wright; and by many Vassar students. At present, the primary research foci of the herbarium are documentation of the vascular flora of the Vassar College Ecological Preserve, and digitization of the collection.

Located in the basement of the Bridge Building for Laboratory Sciences (BLSB10), the herbarium is available for use by Vassar faculty and students. Please contact the Curator, Professor of Biology Margaret L. Ronsheim (marsonsheim@vassar.edu).