Explore a comprehensive research collection of plant specimens and botanical data.
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The Morton Arboretum Herbarium welcomes scientists, horticulturists, educators, students, and the public to tour its facilities or to study specimens.
Visits to the Herbarium must be scheduled in advance, and orientation training from an Herbarium staff member is required before using the collection. Email herbarium@mortonarb.org to schedule an appointment.
Please note that the Herbarium is not staffed on weekends.
Email herbarium@mortonarb.org to schedule orientation training or a visit to study specimens.
Tour the Herbarium
On select dates, Arboretum members and guests can attend a free 30-minute tour to learn how The Morton Arboretum’s Herbarium staff and volunteers preserve and process specimens to record biodiversity, and how the Herbarium aids biodiversity research.
On tour dates, groups meet in the lobby of the Administration and Research Center on the Arboretum’s East Side for half-hour tours starting at 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. Tours are free, but require advance registration.
Care should be taken in handling the specimens, as they have great scientific value. Guests are required to receive training from an Herbarium staff member before using the collection. Email herbarium@mortonarb.org to arrange for training prior to your first visit.
While using the collection, guests are required to request guidance from Herbarium staff in locating, refiling, or annotating specimens. Moreover, guests are asked to point out to Herbarium staff any damage to specimens so that they may be logged and repaired.
Specimen Handling Guidelines
The following guidelines are not meant to be exhaustive, but point out several of the particular risks to Herbarium specimens.
Food and beverages are not allowed in the Herbarium.
Herbarium specimens should be held as level as possible and not shuffled or leafed through like the pages of a book.
Specimens are not to be turned upside down at any time.
When returning specimens to the Herbarium cabinet, remove the genus folder from the cabinet before placing loose specimens back inside it. Do not force a Herbarium specimen into the genus folder while the folder is still in the cabinet.
When loose Herbarium specimens are carried, they must be placed on a cardboard corrugate. This provides support for the specimen and prevents breakage of the plant.
If specimens are to be used for display or classroom illustration, they are to be mounted on cardboard corrugates or other support with paper clips.
No parts of the specimens are to be removed from the Herbarium paper unless permission is given by the director. Any parts removed should be placed in the accompanying paper packet.
Do not mark Herbarium specimens with pencil or pen. Guests must consult with the director or an Herbarium staff member before annotating any specimens, and use only Herbarium-authorized annotation labels, adhesives, and pens.
Keep specimens out of sunlight, as this may cause plant material to fade.
Deposit Specimens
All material to be accessioned into the Herbarium’s collections must meet certain criteria. Often, Herbarium specimens are collected during research as a voucher for the species identity of the sample.
In keeping with the Arboretum’s mission, the Herbarium focuses on the flora of the Western Great Lakes region and the woody plants of the temperate zone. Additional collections in areas of research (e.g., oaks, sedges, elms, maples, Tilia) or collections strength (e.g., cultivated grasses, Rosaceae, or hawthorns, lindens) are developed as a secondary focus.
The Herbarium’s priorities when accessioning specimens are as follows:
A complete collection of plants both woody and herbaceous from the Arboretum grounds. This should include the various stages (i.e., flower, fruits, winter bud) of the plant.
As complete a collection of Western Great Lakes region plants as possible.
As complete a collection as possible of the world’s woody taxa, focusing on the north temperate zone.
Collections made by Arboretum staff from Arboretum grounds and other areas visited.
Special collections of taxa studied by Arboretum staff.
To be considered for accessioning, specimens must be:
Consistent with the Herbarium mission and priorities.
Carefully collected and prepared, with sufficient material to properly fill a sheet or packet, and adequately labeled with complete collection data on archival-quality, 100% rag paper. Learn how to collect material to make a good specimen.
Complete enough to allow diagnosis to the level of species, or positively identified by other means but providing insight into identification of other specimens. Specimens that are not identifiable to species may be accessioned if they are of particular research interest.
Deposited with documentation of appropriate collecting permits (as required).
If you are interested in depositing specimens into our collections, please contact Herbarium staff by emailing herbarium@mortonarb.org.
Use the Reference Library
Some book references, particularly those related to plant identification, are available for use in the Herbarium library. These resources are primarily floras, which provide treatments of plant taxa within specific geographic areas such as the Chicago region, individual states, or broader regions and countries. Additional references focus on particular groups of plants, including sedges, oaks, maples, and other taxa. Guests are welcome to use these materials while working in the Herbarium. The Herbarium library reference collection is accessioned into the Sterling Morton Library.