Upgrade and Replacement of Herbarium Cases and Cabinetry at the Herbarium of Youngstown State University

Youngstown State University, Youngstown OH

Investigators

Abstract

A grant has been awarded to Youngstown State University under the direction of Dr. Carl Chuey to upgrade the storage cabinetry of the herbarium of the university. This collection of more than 87, 000 specimens will replace older and inadequate storage cabinets currently in use and protect the collection for use in education and teaching. The new equipment will enlarge the crowded storage conditions that currently hamper specimen care. The collection contains many important historical specimens of vascular plants and bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and other so-called lower plants) including some of the first botanical collections in the Ohio region from the beginning of the 1900s. The herbarium contains plant specimens from all 50 states of the U.S., as well as most Canadian provinces and other areas of the world. Students are actively involved in caring for the collection and entering ecological and identification data into a database. Selected specimens are used in classes on plant diversity and field biology. This grant for storage infrastructure will safeguard the collection for the future.