Blacksamson echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia DC.) Collected by Ronald L. McGregor in Johnson County, Nebraska, December 5, 1960, unknown maker from the United States

An herbarium is a systematically arranged collection of preserved plants. The R. L. McGregor Herbarium houses approximately 400,000 specimens collected over the past 150 years. These include dried plant specimens (exsiccatae), seeds, and boxed and fluid-preserved vascular plant specimens. The herbarium also houses the largest single collection of plants from the grassland biome of central North America, as well as the largest collections of lichens and vascular plants from Kansas. This perennial plant is related to the daisy and is native to much of the central United States. Several varieties of Echinacea, including Blacksamson echinacea, have traditionally been used for a variety of medicinal applications by many Native American peoples. In recent years, these applications have been heavily marketed as herbal remedies.