What is a Herbarium?

An Herbarium is traditionally known as a collection of plant specimens used for teaching and research. Herbaria are important for preserving species data, for historical distribution information, and for comparative reference information. There are nearly 217 herbaria in the Southeast United States, and each one has its own particular scope and focus. Together, these herbaria house an almost complete representation of regional plant information.

What is SERNEC?
SERNEC is an organization devoted to making the resources of these nearly 217 regional Herbaria of the Southeast available online, in concurrence with developing global standards, so that all available data can then be studied regionally or globally as one virtual, researchable collection. SERNEC will improve access to specimen data of a richly biodiverse ecological environment, and provide a platform for herbarium curators and plant scientists to exchange ideas, share expertise, and benefit from the value of information shared across institutions.

Where are the SERNEC herbaria?
Click on the map below to find SERNEC member herbaria.

Current Number of Participating Herbaria = 113
Ca. 52% of the known Herbaria in the Southeast!








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