Nature Club: Plants

Today we’ll explore the plants from the herbarium, including vascular plants and bryophytes. Bryophytes include mosses and liverworts; this curious group of plants do not produce any flowers and reproduce using spores instead of seeds. Plants like trees, shrubs, flowers, and ferns are known as vascular plants, which means they have inner structures that transport water, sugar, and nutrients around their bodies. Learn about new and familiar plants while we explore different groups and their features.

We are home to the largest herbarium in Canada, holding more than 650,000 vascular plant and 327,000 bryophyte specimens, some dating back as far as 1804. A herbarium is a museum of dried plant specimens. Herbaria provide a permanent record of our changing flora over time, documenting all plant species discovered so far, their variation, and their past and present distributions. These specimens also hold a treasure trove of anatomical, chemical, ethnobotanical, and molecular information, and document the history of plant exploration.


Registration

Nature Club is free for UBC Families and Members. Museum admission rates apply for the general public. If you would like to pre-book your visit, please register below and check in at our admissions desk to purchase your tickets.