Flora and fonds: activating herbaria as archives

Abstract

An herbarium (pl. herbaria) is a collection of botanical specimens, primarily used for identification and classification of species. While herbaria may not be structured as archives traditionally are, I will argue that the concerns of management, preservation, access, and use, can be paralleled. After establishing the herbarium as an archive, I will apply archival theories of societal provenance and total archives to herbarium collections and discuss the possible benefits of an archival lens to herbaria.