A. Boyd Claytor III Education and Research Center, Claytor Nature Study Center, Home of the Ramsey-Freer Herbarium The Ramsey-Freer Herbarium (formerly the Lynchburg College Herbarium) is housed in the A. Boyd Claytor III Education and Research Center at Lynchburg College's Claytor Nature Study Center. It was established in 1927 by Dr. Ruskin S. Freer, who served as its curator until 1967. Under Freer's curatorship the herbarium grew to about 3000 plant specimens. Dr. Gwynn W. Ramsey, Professor of Biology, was appointed curator in 1967 and since that time the herbarium has grown to become the 4th largest in the state of Virginia with almost 60,000 specimens. It is the largest private college plant collection in the Commonwealth.
What is an Herbarium?
An Herbarium is both a collection of dried plants and an educational and research institution. As a basic resource for the study of systematic botany and related fields, the herbarium serves as a reference center, a documentation facility and data storehouse. It is a botanical library, art collection, museum, history collection and natural history resource. Each specimen has information content and therefore value. A collection represents a source of primary information about explorations and observations and also documents past inquiry into the nature and relationships of plants.
Photo of Mounting Process
What is the Ramsey-Freer Herbarium?
The Herbarium is a collection of dried, pressed plants mounted on special paper, and catalogued by families. The specimens are used both for teaching and research. Each specimen is unique and irreplaceable, representing a particular plant from a particular location collected at a particular time. The specimens are housed in special metal cabinets and kept insect free. The specimens last indefinitely, becoming more valuable each year. Most of the specimens document floristic elements from Central Virginia, especially the Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountain Physiographic Provinces. There are thousands of specimens from across the U.S. and around the world.
What is the Significance of the Herbarium?
The Herbarium is a facility in the School of Sciences which is believed to be the longest running research effort on campus. It is a university-sized plant collection which stores a vast amount of botanical data relating to the Flora of Virginia, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the George Washington National Forest, the Jefferson National Forest, the James River Face Wilderness, the Thunder Ridge Wilderness, the James River Gorge Watersheds, the Peaks of Otter, the Falling River, Percival's Island, and the Claytor Nature Study Center; as well as rare, threatened, and endangered species. Thousands of these specimens are irreplaceable and are the voucher specimens for county and state records, and serve also as the basis for many publications. The Ramsey-Freer Herbarium is the major repository for the Blue Ridge Parkway (National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior) with over 4500 sheets.
Is the Herbarium Recognized in any Major Reference?
The Ramsey-Freer Herbarium (LYN) is listed in "Index Herbariorum, an index to the herbaria of the world, and also in "Herbarium Resources for the United States." Recently, we have been listed with "The National Institutes of Health," because many of our plant specimens are recognized as drug, medicinal or pharmaceutical plants. See photo at left of herbarium specimen of Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa), a source of Cimicifugin, used as a medicinal for hundreds of years.
Which Classes Have Used the Herbarium the Most?
Plant Systematics, Survey of Plants, Biogeography, Tropical Botany, Desert Biology, Biology for Hopwood Scholars, Elderhostel, Mountain Field Biology, Plant Biology.
Does the Herbarium Have a Library?
Yes. The Herbarium Library is composed of approximately 500 volumes of manuals, floras, keys which aid in identification, nomenclature and classification. In addition, there are numerous botanical journals, soil and topographic maps, monographs and revisions.
Have Publications Resulted from Field and Herbarium Research?
Professor Freer produced about 10 Journal Articles in Claytonia and Castanea. Dr. Ramsey has published about 25 Journal Articles in Castanea, Sida and the Virginia Journal of Science, and has co-authored the book "Atlas of Virginia Flora." Dr. Ramsey has published with four former students.
Photo of specimen label (click to enlarge).
Have Students Contributed to the Growth of the Herbarium?
At least 17 students have done ecological-floristic, undergraduate research under the direction of Dr. Ramsey. All of these research projects are justified and validated by plant collections. Students in the plant systematics course were required to make a plant collection as partial fulfillment of the requirements of the course. These student collections are generally given to the herbarium. In this way students have contributed significantly to the growth of the herbarium over more than fifty years. Many graduates have contributed important collections to the herbarium from the regions where they take up residence.
Who Uses the Herbarium?
The specimens are used for research and identification by scientists, students, gardeners, amateur botanists, businesses, museums, botanical gardens, and governmental agencies.
Can Students Serve as Laboratory Assistants in the Herbarium?
Yes. Biology or Environmental Science majors may work part time in the Herbarium, word processing labels, mounting, filing and performing routine maintenance. In this way, students learn museum techniques and management.
What is the Current Research Emphasis?
The Vascular Flora of The Peaks of Otter, the Vascular Flora of the Falling River in Campbell County, the Vascular Flora of Percival's Island, the flora of the Claytor Nature Study Center, the Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family) of Virginia, Systematic Treatment of the North America Cimicifuga.
Have Research Efforts been Funded?
Yes. The study of the Flora of Percival's island was funded by the Lynch's Ferry Authority. The curator has held contracts with WESTVACO Corporation, the U.S. Forest Service, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Virginia Nature Conservancy..
What are Some Goals of the Herbarium?
- To serve as a teaching tool through research at Lynchburg College
- To discover information about the plants and vegetation of Virginia
- To serve as a state and regional resource for cooperative plant research
- To monitor rare, threatened, and endangered plant populations
- To identify plants for the general public
Does the Ramsey-Freer Herbarium Have Value?
Yes. It has historical value, research value, teaching value, informational value, educational value, cultural value and economic value.
Are the Herbarium Specimens Available for Loan to Research Institutions?
Yes. Loans are made upon request to any reputable educational institution. Researchers are also invited to visit and utilize the Ramsey-Freer Herbarium in Lynchburg.
What Are Some Interesting Facts Regarding the Ramsey-Freer Herbarium?
- Was established in 1927.
- Has had only 2 curators in its history.
- Possesses almost 60,000 mounted specimens,
- Is the longest running research effort at
Lynchburg College - 4th largest plant collection in Virginia
- Largest private college herbarium in Virginia
- Major repository for plants collected along the
Blue Ridge Parkway - Houses some mounted specimens collected over
110 years ago - Houses many voucher specimens of taxa found for
the first time in many counties and the state of Virginia - Boasts a superb botanical library contributed by four botanists:
Dr. Gwynn W. Ramsey, Dr. Ruskin S. Freer, Dr. Elizabeth
Sprague, and Dr. Alton M. Harvill
For more information, contact Dr. Gwynn Ramsey, Curator. E-mail: ramsey@lynchburg.edu Fax: (434) 544-8646