United States National Herbarium (US-Botany)

The United States National Herbarium was founded in 1848, when the first collections were accessioned from the United States Exploring Expedition (50,000 specimens of 10,000 species). Current holdings total 5 million specimens, making this collection among the ten largest in the world representing about 8% of the plant collection resources of the United States. The herbarium is especially rich in type specimens (@110,000).
Contacts: Rusty Russell, Collections Manager, russellr@si.edu
Collection Type: Preserved Specimens
Management: Data snapshot of local collection database
Last Update: 6 May 2014
Digital Metadata: EML File
Collection Statistics
  • 238,399 specimen records
  • 48,651 (20%) georeferenced
  • 47,384 (20%) with images (47,384 total images)
  • 172,766 (72%) identified to species
  • 545 families
  • 4,191 genera
  • 36,612 species
  • 38,873 total taxa (including subsp. and var.)
Extra Statistics
Taxon Distribution
Taxon Distribution
  • Agarista (1)
  • Andromeda (1)
  • Anthopterus (4)
  • Arbutus (5)
  • Arctostaphylos (1)
  • Befaria (4)
  • Bejaria (21)
  • Calopteryx (3)
  • Cavendishia (119)
  • Ceratostema (24)
  • Comarostaphylis (2)
  • Demosthenesia (1)
  • Diogenesia (7)
  • Disterigma (41)
  • Eleutherostemon (6)
  • Englerodoxa (1)
  • Erica (2)
  • Gaultheria (86)
  • Gaylussacia (9)
  • Gonocalyx (1)
  • Killipiella (2)
  • Lateropora (1)
  • Ledothamnus (8)
  • Leucothoe (8)
  • Lyonia (1)
  • Macleania (29)
  • Mycerinus (1)
  • Notopora (5)
  • Oreanthes (1)
  • Orthaea (13)
  • Periclesia (2)
  • Pernettya (16)
  • Plutarchia (5)
  • Polyclita (1)
  • Psammisia (59)
  • Rusbya (3)
  • Satyria (16)
  • Semiramisia (5)
  • Siphonandra (2)
  • Sphyrospermum (34)
  • Tepuia (5)
  • Themistoclesia (38)
  • Thibaudia (29)
  • Vacciniopsis (2)
  • Vaccinium (56)