Have you ever stopped in to visit the Otis Douglas Hyde Herbarium here at the Center for Urban Horticulture? This amazing resource is home to over 20,000 plant specimens and focuses on horticulturally significant plants for gardens and landscapes. With specimens dating as far back as 1908, you can view native plant specimens taken from the UW campus from before the campus was even built. Or identify a plant growing in your garden today with the Herbarium’s free plant identification service.
In addition to providing plant identification to the public, the Herbarium serves as a resource to University of Washington students learning about plant identification. Students can compare multiple specimens of the same plant side-by-side to observe finite details between species, something that would be very difficult to do in nature!
Want to support this great resource? Take a little piece of the UW Botanic Gardens home with a one-of-a-kind framed herbarium specimen or stop by the Washington Park Arboretum gift shop for a pressed flower note card handmade by Herbarium volunteers. Speaking of volunteers, the Herbarium has a large and active volunteer community and is always looking for new volunteers.
The Herbarium is run by a part-time Research Assistant and is open 20 hours per week. Check the website for current hours.