Modernization of The Morton Arboretum Herbarium (MOR)

Morton Arboretum, Lisle IL

Investigators

Abstract

The Morton Arboretum has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to modernize its Herbarium. The grant will provide for installation of a new compactor shelving system, thereby providing greater accessibility and use of the collections by scientists and public users. The 155,000+ specimens of vascular plants are currently housed in 116 cabinets that are filled to capacity. A backlog of another 7,500 plants is stored in boxes. Approximately 4,500 specimens are added to the Herbarium annually. The new system will guarantee long-term accessibility and improved care of the specimens and will increase the Herbarium's storage capacity by more than 50%. Increased pressure is being placed on the Herbarium to make specimens and herbarium data available owing to 1) greater use by botanists, conservation scientists, land stewards, and students and 2) continued and extensive vouchering of specimens resulting from Arboretum research in taxonomy, conservation, and arboriculture. To provide greater use of and access to these collections and to responsibly curate them, a modernized herbarium is critical. Major plant collections housed in the Herbarium include: plants of the Chicago region's globally significant ecosystems, rare plants of the Midwest, plants of the greater Yellowstone area, several important historical collections, and a fine collection of lichens and basidiomycetes. The Morton Arboretum's Herbarium is the third largest of any arboretum in North America. This significance has resulted in a major National Leadership Grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to the Arboretum to develop a digital herbarium (www.vPlants.org) that includes Chicago regional flora housed at The Morton Arboretum, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Chicago Botanic Garden. The award from NSF will complement that from IMLS, resulting in a premier botanical resource in the mid-continent US.