Section of Botany

CMNH - Section of Botany

~Services~

The CM herbarium has significant worldwide holdings as well as the best representation in any herbarium of specimens from western Pennsylvania and the Upper Ohio Basin. Outside of the immediate region for which CM's collection is the best in the world, the greatest number of specimens are from the rest of North America (especially arctic Canada, southeastern U.S., and western U.S.), followed by Latin America, and Asia.

Type Collections:
Carnegie Museum of Natural History's Herbarium has approximately 2,500 type specimens representing about 0.6 % of the collection. Included in CM type specmens are:

Collections of C.G. Pringle from Mexico

Collections of H.H. Smith from Columbia

Collections of A.D.E. Elmer from Malaysia

Collections of E. Palmer from Mexico

Collections of M. Bang from Bolivia

M. Ownbey's uniform-garden Allium (Liliaceae) collections, which includes many cytovouchers and types, a donation arranged by Research Associate Terry Jacobsen, one of Ownbey's last graduate students.

Types of Crataegus (Rosaceae) species from western Pennsylvania described by C.S. Sargent (Thomas & Boufford 1986).

The private herbarium of Hannibal and Tyrecca Davis containing 20,000 specimens with a concentration on Rubus (Rosaceae). The Rubus collection includes topotypes, material compared to types, type photographs, and life history specimens with floricanes, primocanes, and other growth stages (Anonymous 1987; Davis 1990; Utech 1990).

Available Reprints:
Copies of selected reprints are available on a first come first served basis until supplies run out.

Requests should be made in writing to:

Section of Botany
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
-or-
cmherb@CarnegieMNH.org

CMNH Library (Section of Botany):
The CMNH Library is dispersed across a main library unit and individual section libraries. General and multidisciplinary works are housed in the main library. The Botany Library is a satellite of the CMNH Library and contains approximately 15,000 volumes, 125 periodical titles, and 25,000 reprints sorted taxonomically and floristically.The library is not a lending library and materials must be used in the Library. Xerox facilities are available in the building. Botany Library holdings can be searched through the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh web page at http://www.clpgh.org/clp/

CMNH Database:
The CM herbarium has over 600,000 specimens. Data from approximately half of these specimens have been captured into an electronic relational database, including all plants from Pennsylvania, type material, and all collections made by current staff.

Avinoff WildFlower Paintings:
In 1941 Andrey Avinoff, Director of Carnegie Museum, began an ambitious project with his friend, Otto E. Jennings, curator of botany. They wanted to describe and illustrate the flora of western Pennsylvania, based on Jennings’ lifelong study of the region. Jennings and his colleagues brought in the living plants, fresh and unwithered. Avinoff worked quickly to capture accurately the color and manner of growth.Most of these specimens were then dried and pressed and placed as vouchers in the herbarium. Above is the watercolor with the dried specimen Avinoff used to illustrate the species Aster radula. This species is now on the federal endangered list for Pennsylvania.

SELECTED AVINOFF REPRINTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ($25).Call 412-622-3253.

Slide Collection (35mm):
We have approximately 35,000 slides donated mainly from, Virginia Phelps, Wayne Harpster, Otto Jennings and Werner Buker , all patrons of botany.These slides are available for study and can be loan out for short periods of time. Call 412-622-3253 to make an appointment.