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
  • Aegiphila (180)
  • Alguelaguen (2)
  • Amasonia (4)
  • Asterohyptis (1)
  • Bystropogon (2)
  • Callicarpa (6)
  • Ceratominthe (1)
  • Chaunostoma (5)
  • Citharexylum (1)
  • Clerodendrum (12)
  • Clinopodium (3)
  • Coleus (1)
  • Cornutia (14)
  • Cunila (4)
  • Eriope (5)
  • Hedeoma (1)
  • Hyptis (69)
  • Leonotis (2)
  • Leonurus (1)
  • Lepechinia (6)
  • Marsypianthes (2)
  • Mesosphaerum (3)
  • Minthostachys (6)
  • Ocimum (3)
  • Peltodon (1)
  • Perilomia (2)
  • Salvia (99)
  • Satureja (16)
  • Scutellaria (22)
  • Sphacele (1)
  • Stachys (10)
  • Tectona (6)
  • Teucrium (1)
  • Vitex (80)