Saint Ambrose University Herbarium (SAU)

In 1914 the herbarium of Saint Ambrose University was established as an addition to the biology department by Monsignor Ulrich A. Hauber. The herbarium currently holds over 900 of Hauber’s collections that were among the first specimens added to the facility and just over half of his collections were from the Quad Cities area. Today’s herbarium holds approximately 4500 specimens and, though it includes bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and fungi, flowering plants comprise nearly 90% of the total. Over 96% of the St. Ambrose University herbarium hails from the United States, with the remainder having been collected in the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland. Just over 3200 specimens in the St. Ambrose University herbarium were collected in Iowa and about 2300 (~50% of the total) document the flora of the Quad Cities region, the area within which the university is found.