The Herbarium

The Herbarium houses approximately 3,000 vascular plants, 600 bryophytes, 800 fungi, 600 lichens and 20 algae specimens and is actively growing. We have specimens from all over the world, but have thus far specialized in specimens from the Puget Prairies and from Sun Lakes State Park. We house the voucher specimens from Evergreen alumna Heron Brae’s flora of Sun Lakes State Park, the voucher specimens from Evergreen alumna Sam Lohmann’s flora of the Evergreen State College campus, and the voucher specimens for The Flora of the South Puget Sound Prairies, a field guide still in the process of editing.

See the work that Heron Brae put into documenting plant species of the threatened sagebrush steppe ecosystem in Eastern Washington.
Heron Brae’s Flora of Sun Lakes State Park

See Sam Lohmann’s work on The Floristic Study of The Evergreen State College Campus here: Evergreen Campus Flora

We also offer teaching collections for public use. Our teaching collections span a variety of fields including specimen from the South Puget Sound prairies, lowland coniferous forests, European ethnobotanical plants, as well as winter twigs, fungi, and bryophytes.

Our herbarium has participated in an effort to get our herbarium specimens imaged. So far, we have imaged about 280 specimens, focusing our efforts on the plants associated with the Puget Prairies. These images are featured on the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbarium website, and can be seen here.

The Invertebrate & Vertebrate Room

The dry collections contain 8,163 insect specimens, 1,300 mammal specimens, 1,907 bird specimens, and 245 specimens skeletal specimens, the collection also contains marine shells, bird nests, and eggs. The majority of specimens were donated to the museum and prepared by students or student fellows. Most of the organisms are found in Washington and neighboring states, but we have several exotics.

These collections are used as a study aid for classes, as well as providing documentation of change in populations over time. These specimens are available for public viewing during our open hours, and can serve a variety of interests – from birders learning subtle differences between similar species, to artists studying the anatomy of their subjects.

The Wet Collection

The wet collection houses specimens preserved in fluids, including reptiles, amphibians, and marine organisms.