Herbarium Helps ID Plants for National Park

September, 19 2012

One of the chief goals of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC) herbarium is to provide a reference collection of Arkansas plants. Because of our herbarium’s official listing in the database of worldwide herbaria (Index Herbariorum), our collection of 6,000 plus specimens can be cited in publications and is a respected resource for conservation professionals. Recently, National Park Service scientists visited our offices (above) for help in identifying unfamiliar plants they had noted during a survey at Hot Springs National Park. Working with our botanists, they were able to identify all of the unknown plants and will use that information to develop management plans for federal park lands in our state. See some photos from our herbarium in this article.