About the Robert Bebb Herbarium (OKL)

The Robert Bebb Herbarium is maintained jointly by the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Department of Botany & Microbiology of the University of Oklahoma. The Herbarium is housed on the second floor of George Lynn Cross Hall with the Department of Botany and Microbiology.

History - The Herbarium at the University of Oklahoma originated with Edwin C. DeBarr in 1893 when he announced that 450 mounted plants were given to the herbarium. The number of collections increased to over 10,000 specimens by 1902 due to the combined efforts of Prof. DeBarr and Albert H. Van Vleet. The original collection was destroyed in the 1903 fire that destroyed University Hall and much of the rest of the university. After the fire, an intensive collection effort was initiated in the summer of 1903 and a new herbarium was begun. A new Science Hall was completed in 1904 and became home to the science collections including the Herbarium. The Herbarium's next move was into the Pharmacy Building in 1925 where it stayed until 1937 when the Botany and Zoology Departments moved into a new Biology Building (later named Richards Hall). The Robert Bebb Herbarium moved into its present location in George Lynn Cross Hall (Botany & Microbiology building) in 1965.

G. Cross, G. Goodman, et al. Fieldtrip in Canadian Co., 1935

D. Demaree, N. Boke, B. Boke
Oklahoma's big bald cypress, 1936

Supervision and Growth - Royal E. Jeffs became the first designated Curator of the Herbarium in 1927 with the establishment of the Oklahoma Biological Survey. After Dr. Jeffs died in 1933, George J. Goodman was hired to serve as Curator of the Herbarium, which housed approximately 10,000 specimens as it did at the time of the 1903 fire. Dr. Goodman established a friendship with Robert Bebb. When Dr. Goodman left to accept the position of Herbarium Curator at Iowa State University in 1936, Milton Hopkins was appointed Curator and continued the relationship with Mr. Bebb. In 1942, the Board of Regents commemorated the contributions of Robert Bebb by naming the Herbarium in his honor. By the time of Dr. Hopkins' resignation in 1945, the collection numbered about 80,000 specimens. Dr. Goodman returned to University of Oklahoma as Professor of Botany in 1945 and served as the Curator of the Robert Bebb Herbarium until his retirement in 1975. Dr. Goodman's tenure as Curator lasted 33 years and witnessed a doubling in the size of the botanical collections to around 170,000 specimens. Johnnie L. Gentry Jr. was appointed as Goodman's curatorial successor in 1975; he reorganized the herbarium according to the Cronquist system of classification. After Dr. Gentry resigned, James R. Estes was appointed Curator in 1979 and served in that capacity for 18 years until his retirement in 1997. Dr. Estes oversaw continued growth and development of herbarium collections and facilities. From 1998 to 2001, Mia Molvray was the Curator. Wayne J. Elisens began his current appointment as Curator of the Bebb Herbarium in 2001.

M. Hopkins, W. Felkner, G. Cross Botanizing in SE Oklahoma, 1937

For further reading:

Rice, E. L. and G. L. Cross. A History of the Department of Botany and Microbiology at the University of Oklahoma: The first hundred years. University of Oklahoma Foundation. 145 pp.

Robert Bebb - The herbarium is named for Robert Bebb, a Muskogee floral company owner and amateur botanist. His personal collection of over 30,000 specimens was donated to the University upon his death. The majority of his collections were from Oklahoma, but there also were many specimens from Illinois, Indiana, Texas, Minnesota, California, and the Rocky Mountain states. In 1942, the Board of Regents honored this contribution by naming the herbarium for him -- the Robert Bebb Herbarium.

The OKL collection - OKL houses the largest collection of Oklahoma plants in the state and maintains active, collections-based research programs. Collections exceed 208,000 vascular plant specimens, less than 500 algal and fungal specimens, and ca. 1500 lichen and bryophyte specimens. OKL has extensive collections of Poaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Cyperaceae, and Rosaceae, and of the genera Carex, Eriogonum, and Quercus. Some notable botanists whose collections reside at OKL include: B. F. Bush, G. J. Goodman, E. L. Little, G. W. Stevens, C. S. Wallis, and U. T. Waterfall. Noteworthy exsiccatae include F. J. Lindheimer's Texas collections and J. L. Reveal's western U. S. collections. The Bebb Herbarium has more than 220 type specimens, which are kept apart from the main collection in a separate cabinet. Also housed at OKL are complete sets of voucher specimens from inventories of Wildlife Management Areas, Bureau of Land Management properties, and the National Park Service installations in Oklahoma. The library contains >3200 volumes, a large reprint collection, and the OKL archive.

George J. Goodman - George Jones Goodman served as curator from 1933-1936 and again from 1945-1975. He was Curator Emeritus until his death in 1999. During his tenure as curator, Dr. Goodman added thousands of specimens to the collections making up the Bebb Herbarium. Dr. Goodman was a leading expert in the field of plant taxonomy who authored 73 publications, described 36 new plant taxa, made nine new combinations, and had four plants named for him. In 1975, the Board of Regents honored Dr. Goodman by naming the herbarium foyer for him - the George J. Goodman Foyer.

Organization - The Bebb Herbarium is regional in scope. Approximately 75% of its collections represent Oklahoma plants with ancillary concentrations representing the Great Plains, the southern and western USA, and Mexico. Specimens are grouped by family and organized according to the Cronquist system of classification. Within a family, specimens are filed alphabetically by genus and species names. A four-color folder filing system is utilized. Manila folders contain specimens from Oklahoma, blue folders contain specimens from the rest of North America, green folders contain specimens from the rest of the world, and pink folders contain cultivated specimens. The acronym assigned by Index Herbariorum for the Bebb Herbarium of the University of Oklahoma is OKL.

Services provided - The Bebb Herbarium provides assistance for plant identification within the academic, research, and governmental communities; supplies information requests consistent with its mission, and provides specimen loans to research or academic institutions.
     Service requests from for-profit organizations are subject to review by the Curator and may be assessed service fees.

Mission Statement - The mission of the Bebb Herbarium is to document and to promote understanding of plant diversity in the state of Oklahoma and adjacent regions. There are three primary components to our mission: 1) to support basic and applied research in the plant and environmental sciences, 2) to support educational activities related to the life sciences, and 3) to promote awareness of Oklahoma's flora and vegetation to the scientific community, professional organizations and agencies, and the interested public. The specimens housed in the herbarium must be maintained in good condition and arranged in an orderly fashion to facilitate use by authorized individuals.

This page is sponsored by the Oklahoma Biological Survey

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