herbarium
noun
her·bar·i·um
ˌ(h)ər-ˈber-ē-əm 
plural herbaria
ˌ(h)ər-ˈber-ē-ə
1
: a collection of dried plant specimens usually mounted and systematically arranged for reference
2
: a place that houses an herbarium
Examples of herbarium in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In another example of how the legacy of scientific extraction lingers in collections, a 2023 study compared the diversity of herbarium collections to their colonial histories.
—
Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
One 2019 study found that just a quarter of the specimens from four focal species studied at the herbarium included roots.
—Maddie Bender, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024
Their patterns — incorporating cool blues for Winter and notes of maroon for Autumn — are based on Swedish herbarium specimen sheets that the pair found while antiquing.
—Caitie Kelly Siobhan Reid Abid Haque Gisela Williams Carla Valdivia Nakatani Rima Suqi, New York Times, 13 July 2023
By the time a new Cal Academy of Sciences opened in 1916 in Golden Gate Park, the 57-year-old Eastwood had expanded her ambitions from a California herbarium to a worldwide collection of plants.
—Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Apr. 2023
Eastwood was hired as an herbarium assistant by Mary Katharine Brandegee, the Academy’s botany curator, who had been just the third woman to attend medical school at UC Berkeley.
—Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Apr. 2023
The exhibition also features text from journals and publications documenting the original voyage and a selection of plant specimens that Banks brought back with him and are today held in the Smithsonian’s collections as part of the U.S. National herbarium.
—Lily Katzman, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Feb. 2020
The seeds and fruits that were selected are a tiny fraction of the three million specimens housed in the Royal Botanic Garden's herbarium, the oldest of which dates back to 1697.
—CNN, 31 Aug. 2021
One current project is a plant diversity survey in conjunction with the Marin Municipal Water District that includes making collections to house in the Academy’s herbarium, on Mt. Tamalpais, north of San Francisco...
—Guest, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2014
Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
One 2019 study found that just a quarter of the specimens from four focal species studied at the herbarium included roots.
—Maddie Bender, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024
Their patterns — incorporating cool blues for Winter and notes of maroon for Autumn — are based on Swedish herbarium specimen sheets that the pair found while antiquing.
—Caitie Kelly Siobhan Reid Abid Haque Gisela Williams Carla Valdivia Nakatani Rima Suqi, New York Times, 13 July 2023
By the time a new Cal Academy of Sciences opened in 1916 in Golden Gate Park, the 57-year-old Eastwood had expanded her ambitions from a California herbarium to a worldwide collection of plants.
—Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Apr. 2023
Eastwood was hired as an herbarium assistant by Mary Katharine Brandegee, the Academy’s botany curator, who had been just the third woman to attend medical school at UC Berkeley.
—Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Apr. 2023
The exhibition also features text from journals and publications documenting the original voyage and a selection of plant specimens that Banks brought back with him and are today held in the Smithsonian’s collections as part of the U.S. National herbarium.
—Lily Katzman, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Feb. 2020
The seeds and fruits that were selected are a tiny fraction of the three million specimens housed in the Royal Botanic Garden's herbarium, the oldest of which dates back to 1697.
—CNN, 31 Aug. 2021
One current project is a plant diversity survey in conjunction with the Marin Municipal Water District that includes making collections to house in the Academy’s herbarium, on Mt. Tamalpais, north of San Francisco...
—Guest, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2014
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'herbarium.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near herbarium
Cite this Entry
“Herbarium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/herbarium. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
herbarium
noun
her·bar·i·um
ˌ(h)ər-ˈbar-ē-əm
-ˈber-
plural herbaria
-ē-ə
1
: a collection of dried plant specimens
2
: a place that houses an herbarium
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