University of Florida Herbarium (FLAS)

The UF Herbarium (FLAS), established in 1891 as the Herbarium of Florida Agricultural College, contains approximately 1/2 million specimens, including vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, algae, fungi, wood samples and seed vials. The collection is rich in historical material dating back into the mid-19th century, providing a valuable resource for identification and taxonomy. There are over 280,000 accessioned sheets of vascular plants with a major focus on the flora of the southeastern United States and select circum-Caribbean areas, especially Haiti. Important collectors include J.R. Abbott, A.H. Curtiss, A. Cuthbert, A.K. Gholson, R.K. Godfrey, H.H. Hume, W.S. Judd, F. Rugel, J.K. Small, E.P. St. John, R.P. St. John, and E. West. The bryophyte and lichen collections comprise approximately 160,000 specimens of worldwide scope with an excellent representation of species from Florida and tropical areas such as Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Brazil, including collections by D.G. Griffin, III, and S. Rapp. The fungal herbarium holds about 45,000 specimens with the majority being Florida fungi (especially agarics, boletes, and polypores) and includes ca. 1,000 historic W.A. Murrill types and zygomycetes of R.K. Benjamin and G. Benny. The 18,000 sample wood collection is of worldwide coverage. Most of the 3,500 algal specimens are macroalgae from coastal Florida.