Eckert Herbarium
Welcome
The Eckert Herbarium is named for the late Dr. Theodore Eckert, a distinguished teaching professor in the Department of Biology at Buffalo State College. He was the herbarium's first curator, and his specimens formed the basis of the original collection. The collection of vascular plants focuses the flora of western New York state. A much smaller number of specimens come from elsewhere in New York state and the United States, mostly notably from coastal Maine and northern Florida. The earliest specimen dates from 1861; a small number date from the turn of the 20th century, but the great majority date from the 1960s,1970s and the 1980s.
The Eckert Herbarium houses two significant collections. The Dr. James D. Haynes Mycological Collection includes approximately 2500 specimens from New York State. Download a complete listing of the Haynes Collection (.xls, 702 kb). The Dr. Carol E. Sweeney Collection includes about 2500 vascular plants primarily from Niagara, Erie, and Orleans counties plus smaller collections of medicinal plants and tropical plant families. In the 1970s, the contributions of Dr. Eric Randall also increased the number and depth of the vascular plant collection. Recent collectors include James Battaglia, Joanne Schlegel, Dr. Javier Penalosa, Paul Corogin, and Richard Rosche. The majority of the collections are by students.
The Eckert Herbarium is located in Room 250A in the Science Building on the Buffalo State College campus. It is open Thursdays 9-3 from October to May or by appointment. For additional information, contact Dr. Daniel Potts.
Partnering to Survey of the Flora of the Lake Erie Shore
The Eckert Herbarium recently joined with Canadian ecologist Albert Garofalo and the Bert Miller Nature Club with the goal of to surveying Ontario's Lake Erie shoreline from Fort Erie to the Grand River. The presence/absence survey will determine the occurrence and distribution of species of conservation concern with the goal of better informing land management decisions and conservation efforts. To assist Mr. Garofalo, the Eckert Herbarium has made its collections available and has mounted several hundred plants vouchers. The Eckert Herbarium will permanently house a complete set of plant vouchers and will distribute selected duplicates to herbaria in the Canada and the United States.
The Herbarium Database: A Simple Database for Botanical Collections
The Herbarium Database, an application for Microsoft Access, is used to create a simple, searchable database of herbarium specimens. In addition, the application allows the user the printing of specimen labels from records in the database. Its creators believe that the Herbarium Database may be most appropriately used in personal and small institutional herbaria. Download the Herbarium Database (.mdb, 532 kb) and A Simplified Guide to the Herbarium Database (.pdf, 91 kb). The Eckert Herbarium and the Biology Department at Buffalo State College extend sincere thanks and deep appreciation to Peter Crane of Amherst, New York who devoted many hours to programming the Herbarium Database.
Flowering Plants of Western New York
Photography by Lincoln Nutting
Flowering Plants of Western New York is a portfolio of 495 photographs of wildflowers, flowering shrubs and vines growing without cultivation in Western New York state. The portfolio frequently includes several images of a species including habitat views, general views, and detailed views of the inflorescence, flowers, and fruits. This non-technical resource is intended for use by educators, students, and naturalists. To assist this audience, the portfolio employs the two popular field guides to the flora of the Northeastern United States; Wildflowers of Northeastern/North Central North America (Roger Tory Peterson, 1968) and the Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Lawrence Newcomb, 1977). Enter the portfolio here.
