Herbaria
The Cultivated Herbarium of the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Boston, contains approximately 130,800 specimens of cultivated origin. Of these, over 45,700 specimens document accessions grown at the Arnold Arboretum throughout its history.
Seven hundred voucher specimens, collected from Arboretum accessions, are added to the collections annually. Generally, vouchers document accessions in flower, fruit, and vegetative states.
Please search our Cultivated Herbarium collections and seed images following the search criteria below.
The Harvard University Herbaria, of which the Cultivated Herbarium is a part, house one of the largest comprehensive collections of dried plant and fungal specimens in the world. Over five million specimens serve as a permanent reference to the diversity of life on earth.
Cultivated Herbarium Search
The Arnold Arboretum's Cultivated Herbarium collections can be searched by entering the scientific name, family name, or Arboretum accession number:
- Use * or ] as a wildcard character.
- For example, to search for all values starting with Gent, enter gent* or gent].
- Multiple search criteria should be separated by a comma.
- For example, to look up both Gentiana acaulis L. and Rhododendron lepidotum Wall. ex G. Don, enter Gentiana acaulis, Rhododendron lepidotum.
- Omit authorities or rank abbreviations (cv., var., ssp., or f.)
- Entries can be either upper or lower case.
The Seed Herbarium
Beginning in the 1960s, Arboretum propagator Al Fordham created a seed herbarium to assist the growing of unfamiliar species. Collecting the seed of several hundred rare and unusual taxa, Fordham envisioned a unique resource for the identification and propagation of woody plants from around the world. Carrying forward Fordham’s vision, Arboretum greenhouse staff continued to collect, and today maintain a seed herbarium of 1,500 samples, over 1,000 of which are from accessioned plants in our living collection.
The Seed Herbarium Image Project (SHIP)
In 2004, the Seed Herbarium entered the digital age. The Seed Herbarium Image Project (SHIP), made possible through the generous support of the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, and J. Frank Schmidt Family Charitable Foundation, utilizes high resolution digital photography to document the morphology of seeds. Whenever possible, associated fruit structures and seeds of closely allied species are photographed. The Seed Herbarium Image Project supports scientists, horticulturists, propagators, nurseries, and educators, particularly in conservation research and management of rare and endangered species. The digitized images of seed offer an important new aid for teaching seed identification – a fundamental skill in plant propagation, hybridization, and distribution.
The SHIP team is working to complete photography for the Arboretum’s six national collections within the North American Plant Collections Consortium: Acer (Maples), Carya (Hickory), Fagus (Beech), Stewartia, Syringa (Lilacs), and Tsuga (Hemlock). Acer, Stewartia, and Syringa were a focus in 2007. Using new protocols and equipment developed for micro-photography, SHIP will next document species within the Ericaceae (Heath Family).
We encourage your feedback. Please email the Seed Herbarium Image Project at: SHIPcomments@arnarb.harvard.edu
Search Seed Images
The Arnold Arboretum's Seed Herbarium collections can be searched by entering the scientific name, family name, or Arboretum accession number. To date, seeds of the following genera are available through this resource: Abies, Acacia, Acer, Actinidia, Albizia, Amorpha, Aralia, Arctostaphylos, Aronia, Berberis, Betula, Carpinus, Elliottia, Enkianthus, Erica, Fagus, Ilex, Stewartia, Syringa, Zabelia. Browse a gallery of closely allied species.
- Use * or ] as a wildcard character.
- For example, to search for all values starting with with Acer, enter acer* or acer].
- Multiple search criteria should be separated by a comma.
- For example, to look up both Acer barbinerve and Acer cappadocicum ssp. lobelii, enter Acer barbinerve, Acer cappadocicum lobelii.
- Omit authorities or cultivar indicators eg. cv., or intraspecific epithet(s)
- Entries can be either upper or lower case.
Records for this project are cataloged in our collections management database, BG-BASE™. Search functionality is hosted by the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Protocol for Measurements and Key to Abbreviations
Care has been taken to accurately document the overall size of the accessioned seed. In several genera, including Syringa, we have shown aspects of the plant parts, in many instances both longitudinal and transverse views.
Color and size of seed at the time of collection may differ from the time of digital capture. We have often grouped fruit and seed of species within a genus together, allowing side-by-side comparison. The following diagrammatic images provide key terms and measurement guidelines for select genera.
Seed Herbarium image |
IMAGE KEY:
Upon a given image you may see a set of perpendicular lines. This is the delineation line. Within this area you will find an abbreviation. The abbreviation signifies the plant part as follows:
| SA – samara | SD – seed |
| BR – bract | CAP – capsule |
| WS – winged seed | ND – needle |
| FR – fruit | SG – seedling |
| CN – cone | NT – nut |
| HSK – husk | SCL – scale |
ACCESS
The Cultivated Herbarium is located in the Hunnewell Building and is open, by appointment, Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM-3:00 PM. Please contact the Curator at 617.384.5769 to make an appointment. The Herbarium is closed weekends and holidays.
Click here for directions.
The Seed Herbarium is located at the Dana Greenhouse and is open, by appointment, Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Please contact the Dana Greenhouse staff at 617-384-5665 to make an appointment. The Herbarium is closed weekends and holidays.
The Dana Greenhouse
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
1050 Centre Street
Boston, MA 02130