About the Herbarium

banner for the Herbarium About page, featuring a drawer holding several dozen glass vials of seeds

The mission of the Pennsylvania Agricultural College (PAC) Herbarium is to enhance the knowledge and safeguard the diversity of the plant life of the Commonwealth, the Northeastern United States, and the world by collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the PAC collection.

The PAC Herbarium and its collection serve as the foundation for:

  • supporting faculty and student research at Penn State including collaborations with the larger botanical community
  • creating and delivering experiential learning (training, workshops, etc.) to faculty, primary (middle and high school) and secondary (University) students, as well as the general public
  • providing services to the University, larger botanical community, and general public including voucher processing and preservation, plant identification, speaking engagements, tours, and access to a botanical library