Mercer Botanical Center serves as an important resource in plant conservation, preservation, and research. Mercer’s MERCA herbarium has a collection of preserved plant specimens and aids botanists, students and citizen scientists in documenting plant populations and assisting in scientific studies. The MERCA herbarium is critical in the conservation of threatened and endangered plant species. Out of 20,000 native plant species in the U.S., 200 species have become extinct and over 766 plant species are federally listed as endangered or threatened.
Click here for an article about the MERCA herbarium programs and collections.
Another article is titled, “Herbarium Provides Glimpse into the Past .”
Volunteers are critical to Mercer and the MERCA herbarium. Several Heartwood chapter TMNs are regular, dedicated volunteers. Visit www.hcp4.net/mercer for more information or to volunteer click here http://hcp4.net/Community/Parks/Mercer/Volunteering.
Mercer Botanic Gardens is located at 22306 Aldine Westfield Road, Humble, TX 77338-1071 •
Phone: 713-274-4160 • Email: [email protected]