Iowa's herbaria are important resources both to the state and to the larger "botanical community". The two-thirds of a million or so specimens contained in Iowa's herbaria are used in various ways for research, teaching, plant identification, and supplying general information about plants. Iowa's larger herbaria are part of a global network, making possible loans, exchanges, and other interactions with herbaria around the world. While Iowa's herbaria contain specimens from many parts of the United States and the world, collectively they house the most complete record of Iowa plants and fungi. The following information is from Index Herbariorum: The Herbaria of the World (1990) - some of the information is available (and cited here) in a more recently updated online database at https://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/ .
| Institution | Date founded | Number of specimens (2020) | Contact person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell College (MOVC) | 1967 | 1,500 | Marty Condon MCondon@cornellcollege.edu 319-895-4154 |
| Drake University | 1958 | 3400 | Tom Rosburg thomas.rosburg@drake.edu 515-271-2920 |
| Grinnell College (GRI) | 1900 | 20,000 | Vince Eckhart 515-269-3028 |
| Iowa State University (ISC) www.herbarium.iastate.edu | 1870 | 655,000 (including IA) | Deb Lewis dlewis@iastate.edu 515-294-9499 |
| Iowa Lakeside Laboratory (ILH) | 1909 | 6,000 | Lori Biederman lbied@iastate.edu 515-294-2488 |
| Luther College (LCDI) | 1968 | 1,000 | Beth Lynch lynchbet@luther.edu |
| Putnam Museum (BDI) www.putnam.org | 1867 | 18,750 | Christine Chandler cchandler@putnam.org 563-336-7287 |
| Simpson College (SICH) | 1956 | 500 | William Gilbert 515-961-1823 |
| University of Iowa (IA) (transferred to ISC in 2004) | 1878 | 220,000 | Deb Lewis dlewis@iastate.edu 515-294-9499 |
| University of Northern Iowa (ISTC) | 49,000 | Steve O’Kane steve.okane@uni.edu 319-273-2219 | |
| Upper Iowa University (UIU) | 1857 | 3,000 | Scott Figdore figdores@uiu.edu 563-425-5223 |
| Wartburg College (WET) | 1930 | 3,000 | Johanna Foster johannafoster@wartburg.edu 319-353-8708 |