Botany

The Botany Department is home to the Museum’s 75,000-specimen Herbarium. The staff have been conducting field inventories since the mid 70s. When the Ohio Natural Heritage Program was started by The Nature Conservancy in 1976 to track state occurrences of rare species, the Museum immediately began doing field inventories in order to contribute information for the program. Thousands of rare plant occurrences have been contributed to the program since 1976. This contribution by the Museum amounts to ten percent of the entire rare plant data base held by the State Heritage Program.

Outstanding natural areas in Ohio that have been protected in response to Museum data include Arcola Creek Marsh and Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve in Lake County, Cuyahoga Wetlands and Koelliker Fen in Geauga County, Morgan Swamp, Pallister State Nature Preserve, McCoy State Nature Preserve, Grand River Terraces, Cathedral Woods and North Kingsville Sand Barrens in Ashtabula County, Singer Lake Bog in Summit County, Putnam Marsh on Sandusky Bay and the adjacent mainland section of Sheldon's Marsh State Nature Preserve in Erie County.

In 1984, the Museum extended its rare plant and natural area inventory program into northwestern Pennsylvania. Museum work during the last twenty years has shown that northwestern Pennsylvania has many outstanding natural areas that were not located by previous investigators. Rare plants finds made by the Museum have contributed to the protection of Edinboro Lake Fen, Little Elk Creek Slumps, Swamp-thistle Fen, Bog-candle Fen, Shayne’s Fen, Harmonsburg Fen and Erie Bluffs State Park.

The Museum's regional herbarium, coupled with its strong rare plant and natural area inventory program, has produced a vital conservation data resource. Requests for that data are received by the Botany Department on a daily basis.

The Department of Botany offers programs giving an opportunity for a more in-depth look at the discipline. Interested students are encouraged to investigate the Adopt-A-Student programs.