Biological Sciences

R. M. Myers Herbarium

Waggoner Hall, Rooms 290 through 298
Curator: Dr. Eric Ribbens

The R. M. Myers Herbarium (MWI) was founded in 1945 by Dr. Myers. It contains about 70,000 specimens, mostly collected from Illinois. Our oldest specimens were collected by Albert Eads in 1860; other important collections include specimens from Alice Kibbe, a large collection with many specimens still waiting to be processed from Mr. R.T. Rexroat, and the extensive collections of Western Illinois University faculty and students interested in botany, including R.M. Myers, R.D. Henry, and R.L. Hartman.

These collections serve different purposes, including teaching, research, and public service. MWI is being computerized to provide easier access to the herbarium information; currently more than 34,000 specimens from more than 4000 different species have been entered into the database, and approximately 30,000 more are waiting to be entered.

Mission

The mission of the R.M. Myers Herbarium is to A) be the best collection of western Illinois plants, and B) provide a collection representive of the plant kingdom that is as comprehensive as possible.

Database Information (as of January 20, 2005)

  Angiosperms Gymnosperms Ferns Mosses Algae Total
# of Families 226 7 22 1 54 310
# of Genera 1428 19 53 2 112 1614
# of Species 4741 74 191 2 181 5489
# of Sheets 33214 567 994 13 428 35216

For additional information or access to the collection, please contact the curator, Dr. Ribbens, at: E-Ribbens@wiu.edu or call: (309) 298-2580.

Herbarium Websites of Interest