Biology

Herbarium

What is the herbarium?

The St. Cloud State University herbarium (recognized the world over by the herbarium code SCL, https://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/) is an archive much like a library or a museum. It contains more than 20,000 accessioned (mounted, labeled, and barcoded) pressed, dried plant specimens that serve as primary data sources that document plant species and associated metadata. We have an additional 10,000 specimens that are waiting to be accessioned, including plant specimens from the 1960's onward. Each specimen includes the plant collected (usually but not always from central Minnesota) along with a label that includes metadata such as locality, ecological characteristics of the site it was collected on, and collector information.

Come visit us!

The St. Cloud State University herbarium is located on the second floor of the Wick Science Building in room 216. If you would like to visit, set up an appointment with Dr. McDonnell. We welcome research visitors, artists, and anyone interested in learning more about native plants, plant systematics, or museum science.

Why are herbaria useful?

Herbaria are repositories that contain data to support a wide variety of studies and interests including:

  • Floristics
  • Systematics (or taxonomy and classification)
  • Phenology (changes in life cycle events due to variation in climate)
  • Biogeography (shifts in geographic distribution due to climate changes)
  • Plant identification
  • Historical land use change

Staff

Staff in the herbarium are responsible for maintaining the collection. We are in the early stages of digitization which will allow the entire collection to be accessed via the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. At the moment, we are reorganizing the collection to follow current classification, processing important components of the backlog, and securing funding to support our work.

  • Angela McDonnell, Director
  • Kendall Cross, Graduate Student Curator
  • If you are interested in volunteering time in the herbarium, please contact us!

St. Cloud State University Herbarium Guide & Strategic Plan

To support and maintain the longevity of our collection, we have developed the resources below to aid new and existing users in current best practices in the herbarium.

student curators with a plant specimen sample

Student curators Makayla Michael (right) and Kendall Cross (left) examine a Magnolia specimen.

a historical collection of plant specimens

An example of an herbarium cabinet at SCL; this one contains most of our historical collections. These specimens were donated by Rev. E.V. Campbell who collected them prior to 1930. (This collection in particular likely contains some of the oldest known plant collections in the state!)

Cypripedium reginae specimen
A specimen of the Minnesota state flower, Cypripedium reginae, or Showy Lady’s Slipper.
SCSU faculty and students present research at Botany 2025 international conference
Herbarium specimen data are used in research that is presented widely and poised for publication in scholarly journals.

A timeline of events in the SCL herbarium

Reverend E.V. Campbell donates first specimens to St. Cloud State University, known as the Third State Normal School at that time. In total Rev. Campbell donated approximately 300 specimens.

Dr. Max Partch and several others expanded the collection during his time with the university. The SCL collection grew from hundreds of specimens in 1950 to thousands by 1980. His research included prairie ecosystems.

Dr. Lester Lindstrom served as curator; he and his students deposited at least 5,000 specimens to the collection during his tenure.

Dr. Gerald Wheeler, a Carex (sedge) expert, gifted many specimens to the St. Cloud State University Herbarium from the University of Minnesota collections. 

Dr. Wayland Ezell grew the botanical library housed at SCL with many books and other media. It is likely that Dr. Ezell used the herbarium specimens to teach classes in plant anatomy, mycology, and other areas of plant biology. We also have a large variety of microscope slides from his time working at SCSU which are still used today in Plant Biology, Plant Systematics, and Mycology courses.

Dr. Jorge Arriagada maintained the collection during his time as Director. SCL holds specimens of the Central and South American sunflower genus Clibadium from Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ecuador which were collected as a part of his dissertation research.

 

Dr. Angela McDonnell is appointed as Herbarium Director and includes students in curation and revitalization of the collection. The collection is used in Plant Biology and grows via Field Botany.

The collection surpassed 20,000 accessioned specimens in the late summer of 2025 through processing some of the backlog, adding student collections, and implementation of an exchange program.

We have received small grants to support initial digitization efforts and are working on procuring more extensive funding to support modern infrastructure.

Our current goals are as follows:

  1. Grow the collection via local projects, an exchange program, courses such as Field Botany and Aquatic Plants, and processing the backlog.
  2. Integrate data from our local herbarium specimens into coursework using Couse-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs).
  3. Train the next generation of botanists and museum-minded scientists via work-study, volunteers, and research including morphometrics and floristics.
  4. Develop an independent teaching collection to support plant identification by students in Field Botany and Plant Systematics.
  5. Create a strategic plan to ensure relevance and longevity of the collection at SCSU.