Type specimens are the original specimens used to determine the name of a plant. They act as the reference material for the original name designation and therefore are very important to botanist that study taxonomy and phylogeny of plants. Type specimens are stored separately in the most secure part of the collection. The MU Herbarium Type Collection contains approximately 800 vascular species, 250 bryophyte species, and 350 mycological specimens. Several hundred were initially acquired when MU purchased the Oberlin Collection (OC) in 1967. H.A. Miller added several hundred bryophyte types during his research expeditions in the 1960’s. More information can be found in Vincent, M.A., 1991 Vascular Plant Type Specimens in the Willard Sherman Turrell Herbarium (MU) Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Rhodora, Vol. 93, No. 874 (April 1991), pp. 148-182. New England Botanical Club, Inc.
Xylarium (Wood Collection)
Our wood collection was assembled by Charles Heimsch and is linked to his slide collection. Our wood collection is not yet accessioned into our regular collection though we have plans to begin integrating the sample in the Summer of 2024.
Slide collection
MU has an archive of approximately 19,000 microscope slides of wood, stems, and roots of vascular plants from the research of C. Heimsch and T.K. Wilson.
Fossil Plants
Our collection of fossil plants is largely collected from western North America, along with coal balls and fossil wood by W.H. Blackwell and others. These specimens are not currently digitized though MU has plans to image and upload in the summer of 2024. Then you will be able to search the collection on the Pteridophyte Collection Consortium.
Exsiccatae
The Turrell Herbarium acquired many volumes of cryptogamic exsiccatae with the acquisition of the Oberlin Herbarium in 1967 (Table 1). All of the samples contained in these collected works are accessioned into our regular collection and are available on either the Consortium of Bryophyte Herbaria or the Mycology Collections Portal.
Table 1. Exsiccatae titles in the Turrell Herbarium.
Series title
Volumes
Editor (s)
Year
Die Algen Europa’s
40
L. Rabenhorst
1864
Phycotheca Boreali-Americana
50
F. Collins, I. Holden, W. Setchell
1916
American Algae
7
Joesphine Tilden
1900
Algae Aquae Dulcis Exsiccate
35
Veit Wittrock, Otto Nordstedt
1889
Fungi Bavarici
35
A. Allescher & J.N. Schnabl
1893
Bryotheca Europaea
27
L. Rabenhorst
1865-
Hepaticae Britannicae Exsiccatae
3
B. Carrington & WM Pearson
1883
Mycotheca Germanica
28
T. O. Wergel
1903
Wildflowers of Palestine
1
Harvey B. Green
no date
Musci Galliae
18
T. Husnot
no date
North American Fungi, 2nd series
21
J.B. Ellis & B.M. Everhart
1898
Economic Fungi
8
A.B. Seymour & F.S. Earle
1893
Hepaticae Europae
15
Gottsche & L. Rabenhorst
1869
Herbarium of British Grasses
1
Rev. Andrew Bloxam
Pre-1872
Sphagnaceae Britannicae Exisiccatae
1
R. Braithwaite
1877
Since the material presented in these collections is very small, the volumes of exsiccatae have been kept intact and specimens have not been integrated into our regular collection.
Contact the Herbarium
Physical Address:
Upham Hall 79 100 Bishop Circle Miami University Oxford, Ohio
Mailing Address:
212 Pearson Hall 700 High St. Miami University Oxford, Ohio 45056