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Steere Herbarium
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Herbarium Visitor Information

Contact Information
Herbarium hours
Upon arrival
Lunch
Freezing study specimens
Arrangement of the collections
Taxa listed on CITES Appendices
Rules for Use of the Herbarium
Annotations
Study Rooms
Destructive sampling of specimens
Photographing Herbarium Specimens
Herbarium Floor Plan
Loans
Directions to the Garden
Accommodations


Contact Information

The New York Botanical Garden Herbarium is open to visitors professional and non-professional with scientific reasons to study the collections. Anyone wishing to study the collections should first contact one of the following staff members prior to your visit:

Name Role E-mail
Dr. Barbara Thiers Director of the Herbarium bthiers@nybg.org
Dr. Jacquelyn Kallunki Associate Director of the Herbarium jkallunki@nybg.org

The William and Lynda Steere Herbarium
The New York Botanical Garden
200th St. and Kazimiroff Avenue
Bronx, NY 10458-5126, U.S.A.

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Herbarium hours

Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Weekends and holidays: closed

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Upon arrival

Please ask the security guard or switchboard operator in the Watson Building Lobby to call the Herbarium office, ext. 8626 or 8638, to announce your arrival. A member of the Herbarium staff will greet you, have you sign the guest register, and issue to you a visitor badge, which must be worn while you are in the building. Normal working hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. By special arrangement, you may be able to work before and after these hours.

New York City law prohibits smoking anywhere in the International Plant Science Center-Museum-Watson Building complex.

The Garden’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s hours are different from those of the Herbarium. The Library is closed to the public on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday through Thursday, it is open to the public from noon to 6:00 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from noon to 5:00 p.m. During the summer months (July through mid-September) the Library is closed on Saturday and closes every weeknight at 5 p.m. By special arrangement, you may be able to work in the Library from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday and in the mornings on Tuesday through Friday.

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Lunch

You are invited to bring lunch and eat with the staff at 12:30 p.m. at the lunch-table near the Herbarium office (room 461-Museum). If you prefer, you can walk to a nearby cafe, delicatessen, or take-out restaurant or to the Terrace Cafe on the Garden grounds. The Herbarium secretary (room 461-Museum) can provide you with a list, or ask any member of the staff for directions. Vending machines, including a coffee machine, are located near the Watson Building Lobby.

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Freezing study specimens

Any specimens brought to the Herbarium to be studied must be frozen for 48 hours before using them in the Herbarium to reduce the possibility of introducing insect pests. Our shipping supervisor (room 159-Museum) will handle the freezing of your specimens. If you plan to be here for only one or two days, you must mail your specimens to be frozen in advance of your visit.

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Arrangement of the collections

Families are arranged in the Englerian sequence, modified to reflect the families recognized by Cronquist, 1988. Within each family, the genera are sorted alphabetically; each genus is sorted into geographical regions in color-coded folders; and within geographic regions the species are sorted alphabetically, with unidentified specimens at the end of each category. Boxes of separate parts, including fruits, are filed at the end of each family. Type specimens are arranged in a similar fashion but in a separate sequence. A list of the families and their numbers is useful in locating a family within the herbarium. See also the Herbarium Floor Plan (pdf).

Taxa listed on CITES Appendices

If you are studying any taxon listed on any of the CITES Appendices, please familiarize yourself with the Text of the Convention and the resolution regarding herbarium specimens that pertain to the use and transport of the specimens and their parts and products (e.g., DNA extracts). In brief, specimens (incl. parts and products) may be used only for scientific study (not for commercial purposes) and may be transported internationally only between institutions registered with CITES.
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Rules for Use of the Herbarium

Before opening a new aisle in the compactor, check to be certain that no one or nothing is in the open aisle within the same bank.

Given that someone will try, however, to close an aisle without first checking to see that it is clear, please close cabinet doors and remove carts and step-stools from an aisle in which you are working whenever you yourself are not working in the aisle.

Do not roll more than one bank at a time. Rolling more than one bank at one time puts excessive pressure on the chain within the end panel of the bank you are cranking.

Do not leave the aisles only partially open. The safety system doesn't always go into effect when the aisles are only partly open.

Be thoughtful of others using the area and of the specimens. Do not leave specimens, genus covers, species covers, etc., on the counter height cabinets overnight.

Any specimens to be filed into the Herbarium (for example, any that have been housed in an office for any length of time) must be frozen immediately prior to their filing.

Anytime after 4 pm in the afternoon, please turn off the lights when leaving an area if you are the only person in the room. On the 5th floor of the Herbarium, check to see if anyone is in the Fungus Room before turning off the lights. To do so, you can use the master switch, which is the left-most switch of the series of three to the right of the door as you exit.

No food or drink, including candy and cookies, is allowed in the Herbarium. There are drinking fountains in the elevator lobby on each floor.

The blue wastebaskets are for recyclable paper only, i.e., white paper, newsprint, magazines. All other trash must be placed in the tan wastebaskets.

The Herbarium is a place for visitors and staff to work peacefully. If you need to hold a long conversation with another person working in the Herbarium, please find somewhere outside the main ranges to talk so that others in the area can concentrate on their work.

If time permits, please refile the specimens that you examined--with the exception of those noted in the following section (see Annotations, below):

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Annotations

Visiting specialists are encouraged to annotate specimens using permanent ink on annotation labels, indicating the name of the investigator and the date of annotation. Annotation labels, if you do not have your own, and glue are available in supply baskets on the counters on each floor of the Herbarium and in the study rooms. Please use glue to attach to the specimen any annotation labels that you create.

Annotate previously unverified types with the basionym and original place of publication and include your name. Give these to a member of the Herbarium staff for inclusion in the Type Database. Special type annotation labels can be obtained from any staff member.

If you annotate any collections, please set them aside to be recorded by one of the Herbarium staff, but please make sure to leave species and genus covers in the Herbarium cases.

If your study results in the necessity of a rearrangement of our collections, please leave the specimens that you annotated on a table with a complete list of synonyms, so that the specimens can be filed and cross-referenced properly.

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Study Rooms

If you are assigned to a study room, please work with your specimens in that room, to the extent possible, in order to leave the scopes and counters in the Herbarium itself available to those without a study room in which to work.

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Destructive sampling of specimens

Removal of samples (e.g., pollen or leaf) from specimens may be undertaken only if permission is granted by the Director or Associate Director of the Herbarium, and then only in compliance with the Policy on Destructive Sampling of Herbarium Specimens.

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Photographing Herbarium Specimens

If you wish to take photographs of herbarium specimens, you may do so for scientific or educational purposes without charge, but permission is required to publish them. If permission is granted, the following citation should appear near the image on the web page or publication:

This specimen belongs to The New York Botanical Garden Herbarium (NY).

The locality data of any endangered species, e.g., those on the United States Federal Endangered Plant Species list and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants, should be restricted to county level and should be obscured from the label in the image.

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Herbarium Floor Plan

A map of the herbarium (pdf) will be useful in finding your way around the museum building and herbarium.

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Loans

Specimens that you desire to have sent on loan for further study should be set aside and clearly labeled with your name and institutional address (forms for this purpose will be provided). Please separate types from non-types. Return the genus folders, species covers, and mounted literature to the Herbarium cases. A formal written request for the loan must be received from the director of your herbarium before the material will be sent.

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Directions

The New York Botanical Garden is in the Bronx, one of the five boroughs of New York City. Many New Yorkers know the Garden not as "The New York Botanical Garden" but as the "Bronx Botanical Garden," and sometimes even confuse it with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Therefore, if you ask for directions or tell a taxi driver where you want to go, tell them "The Botanical Garden in the Bronx next to the Zoo and Fordham University." If you will be using a taxi, you may have to provide directions, so you should have these instructions handy. When you arrive at the Garden, ask The New York Botanical Garden security guard to direct you to the Watson Building. 

Directions from the main area airports are given below.  Instructions for reaching The Garden by car, or from Manhattan, can be found here.

TRAVEL FROM THE AIRPORT:

LaGuardia Airport is located on Long Island in Queens (another borough of New York City) about 8 airmiles south of the Garden. Kennedy Airport (JFK) is also located in Queens, about 15 airmiles southeast of the Garden. Newark Airport is located near Newark, New Jersey, about 23 airmiles southwest of the Garden. You can reach The Garden by taxi or by public transportation (see below).

Metered taxis are readily available at the airports. Take a metered taxi from the taxi stand outside the terminal. Do not accept a ride from the "gypsy" cab drivers who solicit fares inside the terminal. There is no charge for luggage that can be carried by one person. One fare pays for all passengers. If you encounter any problems, note the Vehicle Identification Number, located on the roof of the cab between the "on and off" duty sign, and report the incident to the Commission (212/302-8294); for taxi lost/found call 212/302-8294. Newark Airport, the farthest from the Garden, is in another state and the metered taxi fare is doubled! If you arrive at Newark, unless you have money to burn, take an airport bus from Newark Airport to Manhattan (see below).

FROM KENNEDY AIRPORT (JFK) TO THE GARDEN (VIA THE WHITESTONE BRIDGE). Tell the taxi driver to go to the Van Wyck Expressway (I-678) NORTH to the Bronx Whitestone Bridge. Take the Hutchinson River Parkway NORTH. Exit from the Parkway at the Pelham Parkway WEST exit (EXIT 3) and continue on the Parkway for about 2-3 miles and then bear right onto Southern Boulevard (do not go to the underpass, continue bearing right). At this point the Garden will be on your right and the Zoo on the far left. At the traffic light, make a RIGHT turn onto Southern Boulevard (Fordham University will be on your left and the Garden on your right). Follow Southern Boulevard to the Garden's entrance (at 3rd traffic light).

FROM LA GUARDIA AIRPORT (LGA) TO THE GARDEN:. Take the Grand Central Parkway EAST and follow signs to the Whitestone Bridge and proceed from the Bridge as described in the previous paragraph.

ALTERNATE ROUTE FROM THE WHITESTONE BRIDGE: From the Bridge exit at the Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95) WEST. Proceed on the Expressway and exit at the Bronx River Parkway NORTH (EXIT 4b). Continue going NORTH on the Parkway and exit at the Botanical Garden exit (EXIT 8). This exit is shortly after the Bronx Zoo exit. You will now be on Kazimiroff Boulevard, circling the north end of the Garden grounds, and can enter at the Garden's entrance (at 2nd traffic light, follow the signs).

ALTERNATE ROUTE VIA THE TRIBORO BRIDGE: Many cabdrivers insist on a route to the Bronx over the Triborough Bridge instead of the Whitestone. If you get one of these, the route is: Triborough Bridge to the Bruckner Expressway (I-278) to the Bronx River Parkway, NORTH on the Parkway to the Botanical Garden exit (EXIT 8), which is shortly after the Bronx Zoo exit. You will now be on Kazimiroff Boulevard, circling the north end of the Garden grounds, and can enter at the Garden's entrance (at 2nd traffic light, follow the signs).

FROM LAGUARDIA OR KENNEDY AIRPORT BY AIRPORT BUS AND METRO- NORTH TRAIN OR SUBWAY:Take Carey Airport Express (airport bus) from stops in front of the terminals at either airport to Grand Central Station (125 Park Avenue, near Grand Central Station, between 41st and 42nd streets). The bus leaves Kennedy every 30 minutes and every 20-30 minutes from LaGuardia (6:45 am to midnight). From Grand Central Station you can take the Metro-North train  or the subway to the Garden.

FROM KENNEDY AIRPORT BY SHUTTLE BUS AND SUBWAY: (operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). At Kennedy there is a free shuttle bus to the Howard Beach subway station. From Howard Beach take the "A" Train marked "Far Rockaway" to 42nd Street and 8th Avenue (Port Authority Bus Terminal) in Manhattan.  From the Port Authority Bus Terminal you can take the Metro-North train or the subway to the Garden.

FROM LAGUARDIA OR KENNEDY AIRPORT BY RIVERDALE JITNEY AIRPORT SERVICE:
The Riverdale Jitney provides convenient and affordable door-to-door service between the Bronx and LaGuardia or Kennedy.  Jitney hours are 6 am-6 pm Monday-Friday, 6 am-5 pm on week-ends. Reservations for departing flights may be made one or two days in advance during daytime hours by calling 718/884-9400. You may call the same number when you arrive at the airport if you want the Jitney to drive you to the Bronx. The wait for this trip is between 5 and 60 minutes.

FROM NEWARK AIRPORT BY AIRPORT BUS AND SUBWAY: Take the New Jersey Transit airport bus (201/762-5100 or from New Jersey 1-800/772-2222) to the Port Authority Bus Terminal (42nd Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan). Buses leave the airport every 20 minutes. From the Port Authority Bus Terminal you can take the subway directly to the Garden or you can get to Grand Central Station where you can take the above-ground Metro-North train.

FROM NEWARK AIRPORT BY AIRPORT BUS AND TRAIN:
  Olympia Trails Express Bus (212-964-6233) to Grand Central Terminal (42nd Street and Park Avenue). Buses leave the terminal about every 20 minutes, travel time 30-60 minutes. From Grand Central Terminal you can get to the Garden by the Metro-North train or by subway.
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