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| Maine Herbarium | |
|---|---|
| Name | Maine Herbarium |
| Established | 1898 |
| Location | Orono, Maine |
| Type | Herbarium |
| Collection size | ~150,000 specimens |
| Director | Charles L. Ray |
| Affiliations | University of Maine |
Maine Herbarium The Maine Herbarium is a botanical research collection housed at the University of Maine in Orono. It serves as a regional taxonomic repository supporting plant systematics, floristics, conservation, and ecological studies across New England, Atlantic Canada, and northeastern North America. The herbarium provides specimen-based evidence for projects involving universities, museums, government agencies, and non‑profit conservation organizations.
The herbarium traces its origins to late 19th‑century botanical activity associated with the University of Maine, emerging from faculty efforts similar to those at Harvard University, New York Botanical Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Missouri Botanical Garden. Early curators trained in traditions shared with Gray Herbarium, Field Museum of Natural History, Yale University Herbarium, Columbia University, and Michigan State University. Growth accelerated through collections influenced by figures connected to Asa Gray, Ernest H. Wilson, Charles Darwin, Carl Linnaeus, and later collectors linked to David H. Morrill and regional naturalists associated with Maine Audubon, New England Botanical Club, and Boston Society of Natural History. Funding and institutional support echoed patterns seen at National Science Foundation‑supported herbaria and programs at Smith College, Dartmouth College, Brown University, and University of Vermont.
Specimens span vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, and selected fungi, comparable in scope to holdings at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Natural History Museum, London but focused on northeastern North America. The collections document flora from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, with specimens associated with expeditions similar to those of Aleksandr von Middendorff and continental surveys like the Lewis and Clark Expedition in historical practice. Taxonomic representation includes families and genera studied by researchers at University of Minnesota, Cornell University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, and Duke University. Holdings include type specimens, historical collections tied to figures akin to John James Audubon, Pehr Kalm, and regional collectors connected to Charles C. Frost and Perley A. Raymond.
The herbarium supports peer‑reviewed research and graduate training affiliated with departments such as University of Maine Department of Biological Sciences, Bowdoin College Department of Biology, Colby College Department of Biology, University of New Hampshire, and University of Massachusetts Amherst. Staff collaborate on projects with institutes like Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and conservation NGOs including The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund. Research outputs align with journals and societies such as American Journal of Botany, Brittonia, Rhodora, Journal of Ecology, Ecology Letters, and organizations like Botanical Society of America and International Association for Plant Taxonomy.
Specimen storage, digitization, and databasing follow standards promoted by Integrated Digitized Biocollections, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, and Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities analogs in North America. The herbarium uses imaging systems and databases similar to those at New York Botanical Garden Herbarium and integrates with platforms developed at Smithsonian Institution Department of Botany and Biodiversity Heritage Library. Curatorial practices trace professional norms from training programs at Missouri Botanical Garden and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and employ preservation methods described by publications from Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections and manuals used at Natural History Museum, London.
Public engagement includes workshops, citizen science initiatives, and school partnerships modeled after programs at Maine Discovery Museum, Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine, Boston Museum of Science, and botanical outreach by Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. The herbarium participates in regional bioblitzes and community science platforms like iNaturalist, collaborating with organizations such as Maine Audubon, Coastal Enterprises, Inc., and county conservation commissions. Educational modules support K–12 curricula promoted by Maine Department of Education and university extension efforts similar to Cooperative Extension at University of Maine.
Institutional partners include University of Maine, regional colleges (Bates College, Colby College, Bowdoin College), government agencies (Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), and research consortia like Northeast Herbarium Consortium and networks akin to New England Plant Conservation Program. International collaborations align with projects at Atlantic Canada Herbaria, Canadian Museum of Nature, Dalhousie University, and networks such as Partners of the Americas and International Union for Conservation of Nature in applied conservation contexts.
Noteworthy holdings include early 19th‑ and 20th‑century collections documenting changes in northern forests and coastal flora, specimens used in climate change and phenology studies comparable to datasets produced by Harvard Forest, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, and Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. The herbarium has contributed records to statewide floras and conservation assessments paralleling work by NatureServe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Program, and regional red lists prepared with partners like Maine Natural Areas Program and New England Wild Flower Society. Specimens have underpinned taxonomic revisions published in venues associated with Royal Society Publishing, Springer Nature, and Oxford University Press.
Category:Herbaria in the United States Category:University of Maine