herbarium

American  

[hur-bair-ee-uhm, ur-] / hɜrˈbɛər i əm, ɜr- /

noun

herbariums, plural herbaria plural

1. a collection of dried plants systematically arranged.

2. a room or building in which such a collection is kept.

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herbarium British  

/ hɜːˈbɛərɪəm /

noun

1. a collection of dried plants that are mounted and classified systematically

2. a building, room, etc, in which such a collection is kept

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• herbarial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• herbaria
  plural
• herbariums
  plural

Etymology

Origin of herbarium

1770–80; < Late Latin, equivalent to Latin herb ( a ) herb, green vegetation + -ārium -arium

Explanation

A herbarium is a collection of preserved plants. Think of it as a library of herbs. A herbarium can be something as simple as that book of pressed flowers you made at summer camp, or as complex as a building that holds case after case of flowers soaked in formaldehyde, dried moss stored in archival quality envelopes, and cones from conifers organized in boxes. Find these larger collections at universities, botanical gardens, and natural history museums.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

herbarium herbaria herbariums

Rousseau’s unfinished, unstructured “Reveries” resembles the herbarium in which he gathered a botanical record of his daily walks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

Kevin says he loved walks in the countryside and collecting plants for his herbarium, and also studying at school.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2024

“Duke’s decision to forgo responsibility of their herbarium specimens sets a terrible precedent,” the Natural Science Collections Alliance wrote in a letter to the university last Friday.

From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2024

UC has documented thousands of native and nonnative plant specimens at Spring Grove in surveys by people such as Kate Nordyke, the cemetery's former herbarium specialist.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 1, 2023

They peer into taxidermists’ drawers full of feathers and talons and glass eyeballs; they flip through two-hundred-year-old herbarium sheets bedecked with orchids and daisies and herbs.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

New techniques that allow scientists to key into specific regions of DNA and stitch together fragments have opened the door to sequencing herbaria samples—and made the new study possible.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 23, 2024

This intensive fieldwork resulted in over a thousand new specimens deposited at the National Herbarium of Canada at the Canadian Museum of Nature and other herbaria worldwide.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024

Meanwhile, Cheek said he's publishing more and more new plant species from undescribed herbaria specimens that are likely already extinct in the wild.

From Salon ● May 31, 2023

“There are undoubtedly more undescribed extinct species sitting in herbaria, collected 100 years ago.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 16, 2020

I shall take with me all very rare and doubtful plants, for examination and comparison with the celebrated herbaria of Europe.

From Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years with the Indian Tribes on the American Frontiers by Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe

The world’s herbariums contain a vast number of varieties that have yet to be genetically tested.

From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2018

Mr. Muñoz-Rodríguez and his colleagues visited museums and herbariums around the world to take samples of sweet potato varieties and wild relatives.

From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2018

"We are going to the woods, too," said another group, "and will gather flowers to press for our herbariums."

From Pixy's Holiday Journey by Lang, George

In search of these she was tireless and many hours were spent after her return from her rides, in pressing her “specimens” and preparing herbariums.

From Dorothy on a Ranch by Raymond, Evelyn

Hence the advantage of being able to see plants at pleasure, by forming dried collections of them, in what are called herbariums.

From Flowers and Flower-Gardens With an Appendix of Practical Instructions and Useful Information Respecting the Anglo-Indian Flower-Garden by Richardson, David Lester