Recently, art students visited the U-M Herbarium for a hands-on program that brought science and art together. Working from specimens in the Herbarium’s collections, the students from STAMPS ARTDES 352: Florilegium: A Plant Compendium learned to observe plants closely and translate their observations into original botanical illustrations.

The students’ visit began with a tour of the Herbarium’s vast collections, which hold 1.75 million specimens spanning vascular plants, algae, bryophytes, fungi, and lichens. Students also met plant mounter Nicole Sawallich, who demonstrated the careful process of preserving plant specimens for generations to come.

 

 

Next, Brad Ruhfel, Collection Manager, Vascular Plants, Associate Research Scientist, introduced students to the fundamentals of plant form and structure through his presentation, “Vegetative and Floral Morphology.” The lesson encouraged students to look beyond a plant’s overall appearance and consider the details that define its structure, from the placement and shape of leaves to the position of buds and the arrangement of floral parts. Understanding these details would become an important foundation for their drawings.

In the classroom, STAMPS Lecturer Cathy Barry guided students through the process of botanical drawing. Students put their scientific observations into practice, studying specimens carefully before sketching their forms and structures on paper. 

Together, the Herbarium tour and classroom instruction offered students a new way to engage with plants: through both scientific observation and artistic expression. The result is a collection of original botanical illustrations inspired by the Michigan landscape.

An ARTDES 352 student selecting a specimen to draw.
An ARTDES 352 student sketching from a Herbarium specimen.

 

“Touring the Herbarium’s collections gives art students the opportunity to see plants in a different way,” said Brad. “Each specimen is a record of a plant at a particular place and time, but it also contains so much information about the plant’s form and structure. When students have the opportunity to study and draw these specimens, they’re engaging with the collection in a very hands-on way and discovering details they might otherwise overlook.”

The experience demonstrates how closely science and art can work together. By using the collections to observe, identify, and document plants, students gain a deeper appreciation for the diversity and structure of the natural world, and discover new ways to see the plants around them.