About the Herbarium

Millersville University’s James C. Parks Herbarium (registered among the World's herbaria as MVSC) is a regional center for biodiversity research and informatics. Its mission is the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge about biodiversity, emphasizing plant diversity, and its products include research articles, web and phone applications, an eJournal, and posters (listed below). The core facility includes a regionally focused botanical library and a collection of 23,000 preserved plant specimens (photo of the Herbarium). These specimens serve generally as

Adjacent facilities and equipment includes a molecular lab, greenhouses, and light & electron microscopes. Since 2004, the herbarium has been named in honor of its late curator, James C. Parks. The Herbarium seal consists of illustrations of Plowmanianthus grandifolius and P. dressleri (Neotropical spiderworts) bound by three concentric rings containing the phrases "The James Clair Parks Herbarium" and "Millersville University 1855," separated from eachother by Quercus alba (white oak) leaves.


Herbarium Web Apps

NatureAtlas.org Christmas Tree Guide NatureAtlas.org

NatureAtlas.org
Where nature enthusiasts can find and report occurrences of flora & fauna.

Doug Fir’s Christmas Tree Guide
A guide to the selection, identification, history, and biology of America's 10 most popular Christmas trees.

Atlas of Ethnobiological Objects
Where nature enthusiasts can find and report occurrences of ethnobiological objects
trees of distinction

A guide to 21 of Millersville University's Trees of Distinction.

Herbarium Large-format Color Posters

woods poster bean seedling poster tubers poster

Woods of the World
Guide to the woods of the world, sorted by their Janka Hardness.
©2020 onwards

Seeds & Seedlings of Common Bean
Guide to the morphlogy & development of seedlings in the common bean
©2020 onwards

Tubers
An illustrated classification of tubers.
©2020 onwards
vascular plants poster Felidae poster soybean poster

An Illustrated Phylogeny of Vascular Plants
Guide to the phylogeny and economic importance of vascular plants.
©2019 onwards

The Cat Family
An illustrated phylogeny & biogeography of the cat family.
©2017 onwards

Development of Soybean
An illustrated developmental study of the soybean.
©2017 onwards
red mangrove poster black mangrove poster white mangrove poster

Red Mangrove
Guide to the biology of red mangroves.
©2018 onwards

Black Mangrove
Guide to the biology of black mangroves.
©2018 onwards

White Mangrove
Guide to the biology of white mangroves.
©2018 onwards
coconut poster aloe poster banana poster

Coconut Palm
Guide to the biology and utility of the coconut palm.
©2017 onwards

Aloe
Guide to the biology and utility of aloe vera.
©2017 onwards

Bananas
Guide to the biology and utility of bananas.
©2017 onwards
seagrape poster buttonwood poster phoenix poster

Seagrape
Guide to the biology of seagrapes.
©2017 onwards

Buttonwood
Guide to the biology of buttonwoods.
©2017 onwards

Phoenix
Guide to the biology of the date palm genus.
©2016 onwards
Orchidaceae poster Arecaceae poster phoenix poster

Orchidaceae
Guide to the taxonomy & biology of the orchid family.
©2016 onwards

Arecaceae
Guide to the taxonomy & biology of the palm family.
©2016 onwards

Bladderworts
Guide to the biology of the bladderworts.
©2016 onwards
invasives poster invasives poster

Illustrated glossary of botanical terminology
©2008 onwards

Photographic guide to plants invasive to Mid-Atlantic woodlands
©2006 onwards

Photographic guide to lawn weeds
©2006 onwards

Herbarium Publications

Notes: 1. Herbarium authors are in bold-face font.
2. An asterisk (*) indicates student author.

 

2023

Veléz-Negrón YI, LL Simbaña-Carrera, CM Soto-Ramos, O Medina, E Dinkel, CR Hardy, LI Rivera-Vargas, L Ramos-Sepúlveda. 2023. First report of bacterial pineapple heart rot caused by Dickeya zeae in Puerto Rico. Plant Disease 107: 210. [https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-01-22-0174-PDN]

2018

Hardy CR, NW Hardy. 2018. Adapting traditional field activities in natural history education to an emerging paradigm in biodiversity informatics. American Biology Teacher 80: 501-519.

2017

Faden RB, CR Hardy. 2017. Commelinaceae, the dayflower and spiderwort family. In New Manual to the Vascular Plants of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden Press, New York. [http://dx.doi.org/10.21135/893275471.047]

2016

Hardy NW, CR Hardy. 2016. NatureAtlas.org: exposing undergraduate computer science students to opportunities and applications in biodiversity informatics. 2016 World Congress on Engineering 1: 209-211 (ISBN: 978-988-19253-0-5).

O'Meara BC, SD Smith, WS Armbruster, LD Harder, CR Hardy, LC Hileman, L Hufford, A Litt, S Magallón, SA Smith, PF Stevens, CB Fenster, PK Diggle. 2016. Non-equilibrium dynamics and floral trait interactions shape extant angiosperm diversity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 283: 20152304 (DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2304).

2013

Hardy CR, CD Steinhart. 2013. Forensic botany in the resolution of an agricultural vandalism case. Journal of Forensic Identification 63: 144-154.

2012

Hardy CR. 2012. A primer on forensic microscopy. Pp 107-118 (Chapter 6) in DW Hall, JH Byrd (eds) Forensic Botany: A Practical Guide. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. London.

Hardy CR, DS Martin*[MU '11]. 2012. Plants and wildlife forensics. Pp 145-160 (Chapter 9) in JE Huffman, JR Wallace (eds) Wildlife Forensics: Methods and Applications. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, London.

Hardy CR, J Ryndock*[MU '09]. 2012. Floral morphology and organogenesis in Tinantia pringlei, along with a review of floral developmental variation in the spiderwort family, Commelinaceae. Botanical Review 78 (4): 416-427.

Hardy CR, JR Wallace. 2012. Algae in forensic investigations. Pp 145-173 (Chapter 9) in DW Hall, JH Byrd (eds) Forensic Botany: A Practical Guide. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. London.

Price J, CR Hardy, KS Tefend, DW Szymanski. 2012. Solute geochemical mass-balances and mineral weathering rates in small watersheds II:  Biomass nutrient uptake, more equations in more unknowns, and land use/land cover effects. Applied Geochemistry 27: 1247-1265.

2011

Warren BH, FT Bakker, DU Bellstedt, B Bytebier, R Claßen-Bockhoff, LL Dreyer, D Edwards, F Forest, C Galley, CR Hardy, HP Linder, AM Muasya, K Mummenhoff, KC Oberlander, M Quint, JE Richardson, V Savolainen, BD Schrire, T van der Niet, GA Verboom, C Yesson, JA Hawkins. 2011. Consistent phenological shifts in the making of a biodiversity hotspot: the Cape flora. BMC Evolutionary Biology 11: 39.

2010

Linder HP, CR Hardy. 2010. A generic classification of the Restioneae (Restionaceae), southern Africa. Bothalia 40: 1-35.

2009

Hardy CR, LL Sloat*[MU '06], RB Faden. 2009. Floral organogenesis and the developmental basis for pollinator deception in the Asiatic dayflower Commelina communis (Commelinaceae). American Journal of Botany 96: 1236-1244.

2008

Hardy CR, NW Hardy. 2008. Simple biodiversity mashups for non-tech-savvy biologists: a demonstration using the liana flora of Pennsylvania, USA. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 135: 585-594.

Hardy CR, P Moline, HP Linder. 2008. A Phylogeny for the African Restionaceae, and New Perspectives on Morphology's Role in Generating Complete Species Phylogenies for Large Clades. International Journal of Plant Sciences 169: 377-390.
(click here for supporting electronic appendices, matrices, and cladograms)

2007

Hardy CR, HP Linder. 2007. Phylogeny and historical ecology of Rhodocoma (Restionaceae) from the Cape Floristic Region. Aliso 23: 213-226.
(pdf available)

Parks JC (adapted). 2007. Lycopodiaceae: clubmass family. Pp 63-68 in Rhoads AF, TA Block (eds) The plants of Pennsylvania: an illustrated manual, 2nd ed. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Parks JC, JD Montgomery (adapted). 2007. Polypodiaceae s.l. (Fern Family). Pp 78-105 in Rhoads AF, TA Block (eds) The plants of Pennsylvania: an illustrated manual, 2nd ed. University of Pennsylvania Press.

2006

Hardy CR. 2006. Reconstructing ancestral ecologies: challenges and possible solutions. Diversity & Distributions 12: 7-19.

Davis JI, G Petersen, O Seberg, DW Stevenson, CR Hardy, MP Simmons, FA Michelangeli, DH Goldman, LM Campbell, CD Specht, JI Cohen. 2006. Are mitochondrial genes useful for the analysis of monocot relationships? Taxon 55: 857-870.

Petersen G, O Seberg, JI Davis, D Goldman, DW Stevenson, LM Campbell, FA Michelangeli, CD Specht, MW Chase, MF Fay, JC Pires, JV Freudenstein, CR Hardy, MP Simmons. 2006. Mitochondrial data in monocot phylogenetics. Aliso 22: 52-62.

2005

Hardy CR, HP Linder. 2005. Intraspecific variability and timing in ancestral ecology reconstruction: A test case from the Cape flora. Systematic Biology 54 (2): 299-316.

Linder HP, CR Hardy. 2005. Speciation in the Cape flora: A macroevolutionary and macroecological perspective. Pp. 46-73 in F. T.
Bakker, L. W. Chatrou, B. Gravendeel and P. B. Pelser, eds. Plant species-level systematics: new perspectives on pattern & process. Koeltz, Königstein

Linder HP, CR Hardy, F Rutschmann. 2005. Taxon sampling effects in molecular clock dating: An example from the African Restionaceae. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 35: 569-582.

2004

Hardy CR, RB Faden. 2004. Commelinaceae. Pp 425-427 in Smith N, S Mori, A Henderson, DW Stevenson, SV Heald (eds) Flowering Plants of the Neotropics. Princeton University Press.

Hardy CR, RB Faden. 2004. Plowmanianthus, a new genus of Commelinaceae with five new species from tropical America. Systematic Botany 29 (2): 316-333.

Hardy CR, JI Davis, DW Stevenson. 2004. Floral organogenesis in Plowmanianthus (Commelinaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 165 (4): 511-519.

Davis JI, DW Stevenson, G Petersen, O Seberg, LM Campbell, JV Freudenstein, DH Goldman, CR Hardy, FA Michelangeli, MP Simmons, CD Specht, F Vergara-Silva, MA Gandolfo. 2004. A phylogeny of the monocots, as inferred from rbcL and atpA sequence variation, and a comparison of methods for calculating jackknife and bootstrap values. Systematic Botany 29 (3): 467-510.

Linder HP, CR Hardy. 2004. Evolution of the species-rich Cape flora. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 359 (1450): 1623-1632.

2003

Hardy CR. 2003. Malawi . Natural History 112 (travel issue, supplement 4A): 75.

Hardy CR, DL Lipscomb, KC Nixon, H Ochoterena. 2003. WinClada ver. 1.0, a basic users manual. Available upon request from Kevin C. Nixon, Bailey Hortorium, 462 Mann Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.  

2001

Hardy CR. 2001. Systematics of Cochliostema, Geogenanthus, and an undescribed genus in the spiderwort family Commelinaceae. Ph.D. Dissertation, Cornell University , Ithaca , NY.  

2000

Dyer AF, JC Parks, S Lindsay. 2000. Historical review of the uncertain taxonomic status of Cystopteris dickieana R.Sim (Dickie's bladder fern). Edinburgh Journal of Botany 57 (1): 71-81.

Hardy CR, DW Stevenson. 2000. Floral organogenesis in some species of Tradescantia and Callisia (Commelinaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 161 (4): 551-562.

Hardy CR, DW Stevenson. 2000. Development of the flower, gametophytes, and floral vasculature in Cochliostema odoratissimum (Commelinaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 134 (1): 131-157.

Hardy CR, DW Stevenson, HG Kiss. 2000. Development of the flower, gametophytes, and floral vasculature in Dichorisandra thyrsiflora (Commelinaceae). American Journal of Botany 87 (9): 1228-1239.

Parks JC, AF Dyter, S Lindsay. 2000. Allozyme, spore and frond variation in some Scottish populations of the ferns Cystopteris dickieana and Cystopteris fragilis. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 57 (1): 83-105.

Parks JC. 2000. Lycopodiaceae. Pp 64-70 in Rhoads AF, TA Block (eds) The plants of Pennsylvania: an illustrated manual. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Parks JC, JD Montgomery. 2000. Ferns. Pp 71-106 in Rhoads AF, TA Block (eds) The plants of Pennsylvania: an illustrated manual. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Stevenson DW, JI Davis, JV Freudenstein, CR Hardy, MP Simmons, CD Specht. 2000. A phylogenetic analysis of the monocotyledons based on morphological and molecular character sets, with comments on the placement of Acorus and Hydatellaceae. Pp 17-24 in Wilson KL and DA Morrison (eds.) Monocots: systematics and evolution. CSIRO Publishing: Australia.

1998

Parks JC, KA Mosser. 1998. A morphological and allozymal study of a Cystoperis tennesseensis (Dryopteridaceae) population: first report of the species in Lancaster County, PA. Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences 71 (2): 78-83.

1989

Parks JC. 1989. Distribution of gametophytic populations of Vittaria and Trichomanes in Pennsylvania. Rhodora 91: 201-206.

1985

Parks JC. 1985. Erigenia bulbosa in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Bartonia 51.

Stober SS, JC Parks. 1985. Chromosomal studies of Physalis virginiana var. subglabrata and Physalis heterophylla. Bartonia 51: 65-68.

1984

Parks JC. 1984. A first report of the fern genus Vittaria in New York. Rhodora 86 (848): 421-423.

Parks JC. 1984. New Pennsylvania locality of Cryptogramma stelleri. Bartonia 50: 63.

1983

Parks JC. 1983. The fern genera Vittaria and Trichomanes in the Northeastern United States. Rhodora 85 (841): 83-92.

1973

Parks JC. 1973. A revision of North American and Caribbean Melanthera (Compositae). Rhodora 75: 169-210.

1969

Parks JC. 1969. Simple technique for demonstrating chromosomal coils using Tradescantia pollen mother cells. Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science 43: 61-63.  

1968

Parks JC. 1968. A revision of the genus Melanthera Rohr (Compositae): in North America and the Caribbean. Ph.D. Dissertation, Vanderbilt University.