Welcome to the Emory University Herbarium! We are home to more than 21,000 plant specimens, dating back to the late 1800s. The majority of our collection is composed of plants from the southeast USA, but new collection efforts are expanding our reach as far as the Mediterranean and Australia! Other exciting activities ongoing at the herbarium include our digitization project. With the support of a generous donation, we were able to make our dream of capturing digital images and databasing the entire collection a reality ! These digital images of our specimens add great value to the collection by increasing global access to this amazing resource. We aim to incorporate these resources into botanical research and educational outreach initiatives at Emory and beyond. Visit the SERNEC Portal to view images and collection data on more than 20,000 of Emory’s specimens online.

What is a herbarium?

A herbarium is a museum of preserved plant samples that are used for botanical research and education. Herbarium specimens may include pressed and mounted plants, plant parts (seeds, wood sections, pollen), microscope slides, plant DNA, and objects made from plants. At the Emory Herbarium, we believe in connecting people to plants, and in addition to our pressed herbarium specimens, we also curate ethnobotanical objects (e.g. blow guns, baskets, gourds, herbal medicines, musical instruments, etc.) that can help us to teach students and the public about the importance of plants in our lives.

Hours and Location

The Emory University Herbarium is dedicated to serving as a resource for biology research and education. Any member of the public is welcome to contact GEO! We are happy to help!

You can also view data and images of our specimens via the SERNEC Portal.

Want to support our work?

There are several major ways to help support our work:

• We need volunteers to assist with our work of mounting and imaging specimens. Find out how to volunteer your time here.
• You can make a charitable donation to support our research and educational outreach efforts through the Emory University Giving website. More information is available here.
• You can donate botanical reference texts, plant objects, and historical specimens. Find out more about material donations here.

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If you want to cite this website:

Quave, C.L. (2015 onwards) Emory University Herbarium Website. Version 2.0, May 2016. https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/emoryherbarium/