Herbarium

The Eastern Michigan University Herbarium (EMC) provides botanical resources, research facilities and educational opportunities to the University and broader scientific community. The herbarium seeks to continue and develop the scientific acquisition, documentation and monitoring of the plants of Michigan and the Great Lakes Region, including those that are threatened, endangered and rare.

The herbarium contains over 30,000 vascular plant specimens, mosses, fungi and algae. Most specimens are from Michigan and Ontario, Canada.

The herbarium houses two additional collections of interest—a large collection of specimens from Dr. Prescott from throughout North America in the mid-1900's and Dr. Robert Belcher's senecio collections from Australia.

The herbarium is fully capable of exchanging and processing loans. The herbarium supports teaching and student and faculty research, and has recently incorporated GIS capabilities in its computer system.

In the summer of 2003, the herbarium was contracted to survey, using student assistants, vegetation types in the Pittsfield Preserve for Pittsfield Township, Michigan and produce GIS data files for the Township's use. We are currently databasing the collection and hope to begin digitizing specimens in the coming year.  

Our collection has been digitized and images and data are available through the Consortium of Midwest Herbaria. More information can be found on the Hanes Lab website.

Location

The herbarium is located in 255M of the newly renovated Mark Jefferson Science Complex on EMU's campus. Please stop by or contact the director to schedule a visit.

Faculty Research

Margaret Hanes

My research explores the processes creating plant biodiversity by investigating the interaction between genetic change and ecology in a community context. I have two main systems in which I ask these questions: Malvaceae (Hibisceae) in Madagascar and Sarracenia (Sarraceniaceae) in North America.

Gary Hannan

My research focuses primarily in the reproductive biology of plants and on the effects of reproductive biology on genetic diversity and population processes. Current and past research has included Iris lacustris (Dwarf Lake Iris), Iris cristata (Dwarf Crested Iris), Starflower (Trientalis borealis) and Caulophyllum (Berberidaceae).

I am also preparing taxonomic treatments of the genus Eriodictyon (Yerba Santa) and the poppy family (Papaveraceae) for the Flora of North America and The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California.

Student Opportunities

Undergraduate and graduate students are a vital part of the herbarium's survival. There are diverse opportunities for students to work in our herbarium and acquire important skills and training in plant systematics, museum curation and field research.

Contacts

Margaret Hanes, director 
401M Mark Jefferson Science Complex
734.487.4394 | [email protected]

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