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Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Blogs by Mason Heberling

Mason Heberling is the assistant curator in the Section of Botany and co-chair of collections at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Heberling is a plant ecologist and botanist whose research explores plant functional strategies in deciduous forest understories, especially in the context
of environmental change. Much of his current research focuses on the ecology
and evolution of non-native, invasive plants in the eastern United States, the ecophysiological strategies of the herbaceous layer in deciduous forests, and the impacts of climate change on the timing of leafing out and flowering in temperate deciduous forests.

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Collected on this Day in 1976

shrub species (Myrsine australis) specimen

Collected on February 24, 1976, this specimen was found by John Grehan near Whangarei, North Island, New Zealand. This shrub species (Myrsine australis) is endemic to New Zealand, meaning it is found only in New Zealand. New Zealand represents one of the most isolated regions of the world, with roughly 80% of its flowering plant species being endemic.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

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Collected on this Day in 1918

preserved specimen of the flower Helianthus debilis, also known as beach sunflower

Collected on February 17, 1918, this specimen was found in Palm Beach, Florida. Helianthus debilis (also known as beach sunflower) is native to the coastal United States. Most Helianthus species are native to North
America, including the well-known common sunflower (Helianthus annuus), which was domesticated in the southeastern United States by Native Americans over 4,000 years ago.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

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Collected on this Day in 1991

Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) specimen
Collected on February 10, 1991, this specimen was found in Somerset County at Mount Davis (the highest point in Pennsylvania) by former Assistant Curator of Botany Sue Thompson and the current Curator of Invertebrate Zoology John Rawlins. Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a shrub native to eastern North America, which flowers in late autumn after leaves have fallen. It is also known for its medicinal uses as an astringent.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

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Collected on this Day in 1917

ground pine specimens mounted in a display

Collected on February 3, 1917, this specimen was found by W. Millward in Butler County near the former Nixon Station on the Butler Trolley Short Line. This species, known as ground pine, belongs to an important group of plants that consists of the oldest living group of vascular plants called fern allies. This plant does not produce flowers or seeds.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

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Collected on this day in 1907

specimen Chromolaena odorata
On January 20, this specimen was found in Montserrat, in the Caribbean, by John A. Shafer, who became the museum’s first curator of the herbarium  in 1897.  Known as “devil weed,” Chromolaena odorata is in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). It is native to the Caribbean, Mexico, and subtropical United States, and it has become a problematic invader in tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

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Collected on this Day in 1935

eastern wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus)

Collection tag with collection location of Limestone Hill, near Connellsville, PA
This eastern wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus) specimen was collected near Connellsville, Pennsylvania on January 12, 1935 by John Franklin Lewis.

Eastern wahoo is native to midwestern states and parts of Pennsylvania. This specimen is part of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s hidden botany collection.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!