University of Minnesota, Bell Museum of Natural History Herbarium Fungal Collection (MIN)

The Bell Museum Fungal Herbarium collections date from the 1880's and consist of approximately 100,000 specimens, excluding the lichens. About 10% of the specimens are of Minnesota fungi; the remainder are from North America and elsewhere.

Intensive scientific investigation of Minnesota fungi occurred from about 1885 to 1910 supported by the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota. Collections made between 1910 and 1960 focused on plant disease fungi. Renewed interest in documenting fleshy fungi began in the 1960's and has expanded in recent years with the increased emphasis on the analysis of biodiversity.
Contacts: Tim Whitfeld, whitf015@umn.edu
Collection Type: Preserved Specimens
Management: Data snapshot of local collection database
Last Update: 7 October 2022
IPT / DwC-A Source:
Digital Metadata: EML File
Collection Statistics
  • 81,458 specimen records
  • 17,357 (21%) georeferenced
  • 71,421 (88%) with images (83,110 total images)
  • 74,429 (91%) identified to species
  • 338 families
  • 1,762 genera
  • 11,823 species
  • 12,043 total taxa (including subsp. and var.)
Extra Statistics