Housed inside of the Mark Jefferson Science Complex, the Eastern Michigan University Herbarium brings together a collection of over 30,000 dried plants to serve as a plant museum for the scientific community.
While the date of the actual construction of the EMU Herbarium looms large, the oldest specimen the catalog houses is from 1832. There are also 132 specimens collected before 1880, which predate the university itself.
“The herbarium is a really special place because it preserves and documents explicitly plant diversity,” Dr. Maggie Hanes, the museum director, said. “Herbaria [in general] are really important because they are documenting where plants were at a particular time at a particular place.”
Hanes began as a professor and the museum curator in 2010. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in Botany and earned a PhD at the University of Wisconsin. She had worked in previous herbariums and was interested in finding a job at a university with a collection.
“I'm a biodiversity scientist who really thinks holistically about all of the organisms on earth and trying to understand our reliance on them, our interconnectedness with plants,” Hanes said. “Herbaria are really important because they are documenting where plants were at a particular time at a particular place.”
A herbarium is known as a library of dead pressed plants used for research purposes. A specimen pressing consists of a representative piece of a plant that shows identifying characteristics that are presented in an aesthetically pleasing way. All plant pressings are attached to standard herbarium paper that measures 11.5 inches by 16.5 inches.
Mapleleaf Goosefoot specimen collected on EMU's campus in 1968 by Ruth B. Alford. Photo Credit: EMU Herbarium.
“Every single specimen is unique,” Hanes said.
The herbarium collects from three main sites, directly on Eastern’s campus and at their field stations at Fish Lake Environmental Education Center in Lapeer County and Parsons Center for Arts and Sciences in Benzie County. One of the goals of the herbarium is to document all plant diversity at the three collection sites. Emily Edwards, a graduate research assistant, is wrapping up her initial project at Parsons Center, which is the first time the center is being documented for the herbarium.
Even though the majority of the collection and collecting is done in Michigan, some different geographic collections have made it into the herbarium. Around 600 specimens from a former museum curator have come from Australia, and Hanes herself works in Madagascar, with the majority of her collection being housed in the EMU Herbarium.
“We have a very large collection from North America, but then we also have just little gems,” Hanes said. “We sort of have some sweet little geographic collections as well.”
Some students choose to do all of the steps in a herbarium, but some become acquitted with just one singular aspect and become experts. Anyone of any major is welcome to work in the herbarium, as the herbarium involves multiple facets in its collection with history, preservation, and more.
Students can become involved in one of Dr. Hanes’ classes to begin their herbarium journey, or anyone with an interest can do independent research projects inside the herbarium, or volunteer to receive class credits.
“Why plants are important in general is that everything from the oxygen you breathe to all the food you eat [involves plants],” Hanes said.
Hanes’ favorite thing about the herbarium is working with students to share enthusiasm and love for the collection. Hanes has been working in herbariums for over a decade and loves the history each one brings.
“Every time I walk into one of these museums, it feels like home,” Hanes said.
The EMU Herbarium is located in room 225M in the Mark Jefferson Science Complex. Visits can be scheduled by contacting Dr. Hanes through email at mkoopma2@emich.edu. Over 17,000 of the herbarium’s specimens can be viewed online through the Midwest Herbaria’s website.
