Plants Pressed narrates the power of plants throughout history. Herbaria of pressed plant specimens originally served as pharmaceutical references of potent poisons and healing remedies. Herbarium collections continue to provide scientists vital information about plants in our past and present environments, but they also document and represent a disturbing history that give us insights into the harmful racial divide that persists in the United States today. The Otis Douglas Hyde Herbarium collects and houses pressed plant specimens from the UW Botanic Gardens and from the research of students, staff and faculty. It is a valuable storehouse of botanical DNA from the Seattle region, the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Exhibit open during Miller Library open hours. (library closed Thursday, 9/5) Free lecture about the exhibit on September 26th at 5pm in the Library. |