Collections

The Herbarium

The UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity has about 300,000 specimens. The collections are worldwide in scope, with strengths in the following geographic regions: California; Ecuador; Baja California; the Antilles; the Pacific Islands; Mediterranean-climate regions.

Our collection includes:

  • Vascular Plants
  • Bryophytes
  • Lichens
  • Macroalgae
  • Cones
  • Xylarium

Herbarium Specimens 

Vascular Plants

Our vascular plant collection contains approximately 300,000 specimens. The collections are worldwide in scope, with strengths in the following geographic regions: California; Ecuador; Baja California; the Antilles; the Pacific Islands; Mediterranean-climate regions. 

The following specialty areas are strong: range plants of California; vernal pool plants of California; alpine flora of western North America; poisonous and weedy plants of California; Euphorbiaceae; Poaceae; and the genera Quercus, Allium, Arctostaphylos, Atriplex, Capsicum, Clarkia, Eschscholzia, Lycianthes, Lycopersicon, Mimulus, Navarretia, Stephanomeria, Trifolium, Vitis.

Only the California portion of our collection (145,000 specimens) is completely databased and 58% imaged. Specimens from outside California are databased and imaged upon request.

DAV data and images for all of our vascular specimens (including ferns) are served via the Symbiota data portal CCH2

This data is available on both CCH1 and CCH2 platforms, see the CCH2 page.

Bryophytes

Bryophyte Lichen specimen

Our bryophyte collection is 100% databased and served through Consortium of Bryophyte Herbaria.

Specimens can be imaged upon request. 

Most of our collection is from Northern California, with strong representation from the Western US. We house the bryofloras of two University of California Reserve units: Stebbins Cold Canyon and Quail Ridge Reserves and Henry Coe State Park (donated by John McLaughlin). Notable collectors: T.C. Frye (N. America), F.R. Fosberg (French Polynesia), G.H. Snodgrass (California) Jack Major (northern Alaska, arctic Canada and Antarctica), A.T. Whittemore (California), and S.P. Rae (California). Other notable collections include tardigrade host species, collected by D.S. Horning and colleagues of the Bohart Museum of Entomology in New Zealand, oceanic islands and Antarctica in the 1970's.

Lichens

A lichen


Our lichen collection is 100% databased and served through Consortium of Lichen Herbaria

Specimens can be imaged upon request. 

It was founded by Shirley Tucker in 1968 from a set of 850 specimens from her own collections and exchange material she had acquired to that point. Recent lichen floras added are from University of California Reserve units: Stebbins Cold Canyon and Quail Ridge Reserves. Other collections of note: 115 New Zealand lichens that are tardigrade hosts, collected by D.S. Horning and colleagues at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, 156 western North America (W.A. Weber, Exsiccatae), and 55 Jack Major collections from Alaska and British Columbia. The collection was rehoused and stabilized in 2020.

Macroalgae

Macroalga mounted specimen.

Our macroalga collection is 100% databased, 99% imaged and served through the Macroalgal Herbarium Consortium.

It consists primarily of marine macroalgae from California (50%) and from east and west coasts of North America. 

Cones

Ana Verschoor and Karen Miyagishima showing large and small cones in our cone collection.
Ana Verschoor and Karen Miyagishima showing large and small cones in our cone collection.

We have a collection of 600 conifer cones from western North America. Data provided upon request.

 

Xylarium

Xylarium wood samples


UC Davis Xylarium is a collection of wood specimens of timbers found worldwide. The collection is primarily small rectangular blocks of wood used in identification of unknown woods or studying wood anatomy. The list of wood specimens will be available and can be downloaded as a PDF or in Excel.

Reference
Plants of the World Online - https://powo.science.kew.org/

Data

Type Specimen Images

Images of our 344 type specimens are available at the JSTOR Global Plants type specimen library.

GBIF Data

Our data is served worldwide through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility