Hunt Institute specializes in the history of botany and all aspects of plant science and serves the international scientific community through research and documentation. To this end, the Institute acquires and maintains authoritative collections of books, plant images, manuscripts, portraits and data files, and provides publications and other modes of information service. The Institute meets the reference needs of botanists, biologists, historians, conservationists, librarians, bibliographers and the public at large, especially those concerned with any aspect of the North American flora. Learn more
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Orchid watercolors by Sarah K. Berndt
In 1980 the Institute exhibited watercolors by Sarah K. Berndt, a Pennsylvania artist. Known as "the orchid lady," Berndt grew exotic orchids to use as models for her paintings.
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Agnes Robertson Arber papers
Arber (1879–1960) was a plant morphologist, historian of botany and a philosopher. She was the first female botanist and the third woman ever to be elected a fellow of the Royal Society. This collection includes notebooks, letters and page proofs.
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To Make a Prairie: Pollination and Human Understanding
17 March–30 June 2026Building on the words of Emily Dickinson, "To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee," our spring exhibition explores how humanity came to understand one of nature's most essential relationships: the intricate partnership between plants and their pollinators.
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