Botany

Welcome to the Department of Botany.  Our researchers are working in biodiversity hot spots around the world to document the extraordinary variety of land plants, and the environments in which they grow.  We invite you to share in the excitement of our discoveries and to join us in a botanical exploration of our planet.


Botany Research


 

Our researchers are working in North and South America, Africa, Madagascar and Asia to document, name and describe many of the wonderful new species to be found in these underexplored places.  We also work, with other researchers around the world, to understand the evolution of plants, and to study their interactions with animals.

Publications»

Our Collections

 

The Herbarium of the California Academy of Sciences is the 6th largest collection of vascular plants in the United States and houses the largest collection of vascular plants from California.  There are nearly 2 million specimens representing nearly all of the families of seed plants.  In addition to vascular plants there are also significant holdings of bryophytes and lichens from around the world.  Nearly half of our collection is from North America, but we also have extensive collections from Latin America and a rapidly growing collection from Asia and Madagascar.

Overview of the Herbarium»

Policies»

Speciman Holdings»

Collectors»

Organization»

Recent Projects


 

Updates and links to some of the recent and ongoing projects involving academy Botanists.

Chiapas»

Flora of China Project»

Gaoligong Shan, Yunnan Province, China»

Revision of Spathacanthus»

 

 

 

 

California Wildflowers

   

Enjoy the beautiful images of some of California's dramatic native wildflowers.

Learn more»

About the Department

   

General departmental contact information and a short history of the department.

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Staff

   

Contact information for Curators, Staff, Post-Docs, Students and Research Associates.

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Contact us!

   

For general inquiries about the Department of Botany please contact:

Botany Administrator
415-379-5361
botany@calacademy.org