Botanical Links
Here are some useful links to help you explore the world of plants. The links given on this page are
primarily botanical in nature: they are devoted to the classification, distribution, cultivation, and natural
history of plants.
http://www.ncwildflower.org/index.php: many states have statewide pages devoted to the flora of
the state. Many countries of other regions do as well. I can hardly document them all, but here’s a
North Carolina page to give you an idea of the kinds of information these pages contain.
http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/info/herbs/herb.asp: This wonderful site is devoted, not just
to the herbs, but to growing them.
http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/: The Plant Atlas is an evolving partnership of herbaria, universities,
conservation organizations, government agencies and information technology professionals. Project
partners are united by a common need to manage and disseminate vascular and non‐vascular plant
information with colleagues and the public.
Ferns of the United States (1878).TI can simply not resist mentioning that this work was significant for
the wonderful color plates, issued by Louis Prang of Boston, the leading chromolithographer of the
period. Chromolithography was a fascinating technology for producing color prints before the advent
of color photography.
http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/VascularPlants.html: Imagine my surprise, in searching around for some
specific botanical information, to find the Freckmann Herbarium of the University in which I grew up,
from 5th grade, to my sophomore year of college! Many universities maintain a herbarium - and
frankly, in this world of genetically modified plants, these academically-maintained collections are a
valuable source of seeds, not merely information. But this particular guide will introduce you to the
plants of the North Central zone of the United States, and South Central Canada.
http://herbarium.rutgers.edu/: To continue my personal odyssey, how can I fail to include the
herbarium of my grad school days? The Chrysler Herbarium of Rutgers University is the last
internationally recognized herbarium still in existence in the state of New Jersey. Approximately
120,000 plant, algal, moss and lichen specimens are arranged and catalogued systematically. The
collection is world-wide in scope, with an emphasis on New Jersey.
http://www.mobot.org/: Early in my botanical education, I learned that, if there were to be only one
plant collection in the USA, it was surely the one at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Founded in 1859,
the Missouri Botanical Garden is the nation's oldest botanical garden in continuous operation and a
National Historic Landmark. My personal favorite part of the website is the listing of plants now in
bloom.
http://www.kew.org/: What the Missouri Botanical Garden is for the USA, Kew is for the UK. Kew is
250 years old! The mission of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is: "To inspire and deliver science-
based plant conservation worldwide, enhancing the quality of life."
http://abc.herbalgram.org/: The American Botanical Council is an independent, nonprofit research
and education organization dedicated to providing accurate and reliable information for consumers,
healthcare practitioners, researchers, educators, industry and the media.
http://www.winternet.com/~chuckg/dictionary.html: the Dictionary of Botanical Epithets - yes, it’s
humorous.
http://plants.usda.gov/: The PLANTS Database of the US Department of Agriculture provides
standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the
U.S. and its territories.
