The herbarium contains over 17,000 specimens of flowering plants from Suffolk and elsewhere in the British Isles. There are several very important early collections with specimens dating back to 1790.
The Rev. William Kirby's herbarium contains many interesting late 18th and early 19th century specimens. The small Henslow Collection is particularly interesting because it was created between 1840 and 1860 by the parishioners of Hitcham, where Professor Henslow was vicar. Lady Blake's herbarium, compiled between 1840 and 1850, has many specimens obtained through the botanical exchange club. The Rev. W. M. Hind Collection contains over 3,000 plants, of which at least 1,500 are records for the Flora of Suffolk published in 1899.
Other collections from the Victorian period include the John Notcutt Collection from the Ipswich area which has exact descriptions of the location where the plants were growing. We also have a small collection of lichens, and a small collection of seeds and fruits.