Collections
The Department of Biology is home to three collections of living and preserved specimen: the Garden and Greenhouse, the Wisconsin State Herbarium, and the UW Zoological Museum. These collections are indispensable assets for teaching, research and the protection of the planet’s biodiversity.
Botany Garden and Greenhouse
The Botany Garden and Greenhouses are living laboratories for teaching, research and outreach. Our living plant collections feature 2300 plant taxa from 220 families that provide students and visitors the opportunity to explore the vast diversity of plant life from habitats around the world.
Wisconsin State Herbarium
The Wisconsin State Herbarium documents and increases knowledge about the world’s flora, broadly defined to include plants & plant-like organisms. With over 1.39 million specimen, the Herbarium’s repository of preserved collections provides support for teaching and research.
UW Zoological Museum
The UW Zoological Museum is a depository for nearly 750,000 biological specimen used for teaching and research. It is dedicated to the preservation, study, and understanding of the vertebrate and aquatic fauna of Wisconsin, the Midwest, and other parts of the world.
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Plant enthusiasts joined the Wisconsin Herbarium’s 2026 Foray in La Crosse County, Wi
By Elise Mahon This past July, the Wisconsin State Herbarium and Botanical Club of Wisconsin hosted their 8th annual foray. Over the course of three days, a total of 46 volunteers explored…
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UW researchers train future scientists and educate communities about wisconsin’s peatlands
Peatlands are powerhouses when it comes to improving water quality, minimizing flood risks, providing habitat and storing carbon. Yet, most people are unaware of these important ecological places. Researchers and students from…
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Agave Death Bloom featured as State Journal Photo of the day
UW–Madison’s Botany Garden and Greenhouse’s Agave victoriae-reginae plant bloomed in early June, catching the attention of the public and the Wisconsin State Journal. The plant, which is about 30 years old, blooms…
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Creating Glass Models of Deep Sea Creatures
Aquatic invertebrates are often difficult to study when they are living, and some can’t even survive outside their deep-ocean habitats. That’s why, 127 years ago, University of Wisconsin biology professor Edward Birge…