An herbarium is a collection of curated specimens that can help describe local ecosystems throughout history. Some of the oldest specimens that exist are from the 1700's! Our herbarium is much smaller and more recent than most, but we're hoping to keep expanding for years to come.

You may notice when looking through that there are numbers next to the Latin names of the specimens. This is the coefficient of conservation in the state of Wisconsin. The higher the number, the more pristine the habitat needs to be for the plant to thrive. For example, a "1" may live in highly disturbed habitats like roadsides, while a "10" may need a lake with little to no recreation or development.