NYBG Herbarium Visit

Getting an invite to visit the New York Botanical Garden’s Herbarium was a genuinely exciting event. Having regularly visited the garden for over a decade, I’ve always wanted to venture beyond the veil—I’m patiently waiting for the opportunity to visit the propagation & private collection glasshouses. Moving on, The Steere Herbarium is one of the largest herbaria in the world and has the impressive designation of being the Western Hemisphere’s biggest.

‍

All of that aside, I love plants—living, dead or otherwise indeterminable—so having the opportunity to be shuttled around the cool halls on a hot Summer’s day was a joy. We meandered through corridors, passed shared offices and around students & staff. We then made our way to one of the main collections, containing many stacks. After getting the general lay of the land and some introductory information, we were able to poke around a bit. It sort of goes without saying, but we mostly focussed on certain genera/taxa of the succulent variety and got to see many significant specimens. A highlight being a Welwitschia from a 1973 collection in Angola. 

‍

Surprisingly, the herbarium has a specific collection of 1/1 books, most being handmade by an enthusiast or scholar. These ranged from antiquity to current day—Sea Mosses & Pepiao being the favorites. The range of works, the methods and means were equally unique, impressive and strange. 

‍

The lichen collection was an unexpected crow-pleaser. We had no idea, but totally understood, that the lichen collections are mainly grouping of small stones. It makes sense, but the contrast to the flattened, sepia-toned plants, to bright-ish lichen on striking stones was mesmerizing. Pulling a tiny flat file out to see grids of neatly arranged little stones tickled both the childish and scholarly parts of our brains. 

It was nice to end our visit on a symbiotic high note before we were subsumed into the midday sun. Off to see the grounds and glass houses~

Instagram: @ocotillo_chico