Herbarium: The Quest to Preserve and Classify the World’s Plants

Abstract

There may be no better way to learn about the history of botany and herbaria than through the lens of the former director of the second-largest herbarium in the world, Dr. Barbara M. Thiers. Thiers was no stranger to plant presses and herbarium cabinets when she became director, as she was the daughter of the herbariumcurator and founder of the Harry D. Thiers Herbarium at San Francisco State University. In Herbarium, Thiers expertly delivers centuries of botanical history from various geographies around the world.