Our mission is to document and promote understanding of plant diversity in the state of Oklahoma. We support: basic and applied research in the plant and environmental sciences, educational activities related to the life sciences, and awareness of Oklahoma’s flora and vegetation to the scientific community, professional organizations and agencies, and the public.
Please contact the Curator or Collections Manager to make an appointment to visit. All visitors must check in with staff and agree to follow herbarium policies and procedures before entry is permitted into the research collection. We ask all visitors to sign the guest register in the herbarium foyer.
No food or tobacco products are allowed in the herbarium.
Absolutely NO untreated plant material of ANY kind may be brought into the herbarium. Plant material must be treated by freezing at -30 to -80 degrees F for two weeks. Books and papers must also be treated. Please contact the Collections Manager for further information on adding materials to the treatment queue.
Herbarium specimens are fragile. Do not fold, bend, or turn specimen sheets face down. Keep cabinet doors closed when not in use. Please do NOT refile specimens.
Permission from the Curator is required for any permanent removal of material from a specimen. A destructive sampling agreement also must be signed (see link below).
We encourage annotations of specimens by qualified persons. Please use an annotation labels rather than writing on specimen sheets.
Library materials may only be removed from the herbarium with permission from the Curator or Collections Manager.
Loans are specimens that are provided to institutions rather than individuals. The borrowing institution has the responsibility of storing the specimens securely in herbarium cabinets and for their proper return. Loan requests may be sent to the Curator or Collections Manager and should include the name of the researcher(s), the title of the project, and a complete list of taxa (and their synonyms) required for the work. Electronic requests are encouraged.
The Robert Bebb Herbarium is seeking volunteers to perform various collection-related duties, such as typing labels and preparing specimens. Volunteers should be able to commit to three-hours blocks of time, but hours are flexible. Please contact the Curator or Collections Manager for more information.
Undergraduates enrolled at the University of Oklahoma may receive course credit while becoming familiar with basic herbarium practices and techniques. Each hour of credit requires three hours of work in the herbarium, with a maximum of three credit hours. Please contact Dr. Abigail Moore for more information.
Type Specimens in the OKL (PDF)
