Pittsburg State University, Theodore M. Sperry Herbarium

Specimens of the Sperry Herbarium are used in support of teaching several botany courses, outreach, and reasearch by undergraduates, graduates, and facutly. Its 55,028 specimens document the distribution and natural variation of vascular plants and bryophytes, primarily from Kansas, adjacent states and North America, but also 60 foreign countries. Approximately 13,000 new collections have been added since 2014, mostly comprising student collections. Approximately 1500 vascular plant specimens are backlogged from North America, about 300 from Madagascar and hundreds of bryophytes. Many specimens are unicates. Important holdings from abroad include the Democratic Republic of the Congo (T. M. Sperry), Peru (H. Tuomisto), Myrtaceae (H.S. MacKee and others from New Caledonia); Eugenia and Syzygium from Madagascar, Poaceae (worldwide), and 30 isotypes. Data for some 7500 bryophytes are housed here or at the Consortium of Bryophyte Herbaria (https://bryophyteportal.org), including ca. 250 from Peru of Timme. Some collections of fungi and algae used primarily in teaching will be datasased in the future. Phenological data (flowering/fruiting) and geocoordinates are present for 47 percent of the specimens, and over 15 percent are vouchers for published research. The top in-house collectors numerically are W.W. Holland, S.Y. Pryer, T.M. Sperry, S.L. Timme, M. Daines and N. Snow. Student and volunteer curatorial assistance, and financial support from the PSU College of Arts and Sciences and the National Science Foundation (CSBR 1756276) are gratefully acknowledged. Homepage: https://www.pittstate.edu/biology/the-sperry-herbarium.html