Research Support students and researchers by providing historical and contemporary specimens for study 
Education Support courses taught in Biological Sciences and create opportunities for graduate and undergraduate research and student curatorships 
Services Resource for students, professional botanists, private consultants, and the Flagstaff community Deaver Herbarium
Learn about the Deaver Herbarium on campus at NAU in Flagstaff
The Deaver Herbarium (ASC) is home to more than 120,000 dried museum specimens of ferns, conifers, and flowering plants collected primarily in northern Arizona and the adjacent deserts. As a permanent scientific repository, the Deaver Herbarium was assigned a permanent acronym, ASC, when NAU was called Arizona State College. The herbarium is a public facility that supports a wide array of research projects and educational programs.
Our collection
More than three-quarters of the herbarium’s specimens were collected in Arizona, with most coming from the northern half of the state. In addition to northern Arizona, the collection emphasizes plants from the southern Colorado Plateau and adjacent deserts.
Each specimen documents the existence of an individual plant species at a particular place and time. Collections of specimens allow researchers to identify unknown plants, investigate how plants are related to each other, and how plants respond to environmental and biological changes over time. This information is critical in the study of biological diversity and in understanding how climate change, invasive species, and other challenges will affect biodiversity.
In addition to its collections, the Deaver Herbarium offers a small library and helpful staff. “If anyone is interested in plants and studying diversity, this is the place to do it,” says Tina Ayers, NAU Professor and Deaver Herbarium Curator. “Anybody can walk in here and ask, ‘what’s this?’ and we will help them.” Research staff members also collect plants in northern Arizona, the Colorado Plateau states, and the mountains of the southwestern United States, western Mexico, and South America.
Historical notes
Started in 1930, the herbarium is named for its first curator, Chester “Danny” Deaver.
Each permanent scientific repository is assigned a unique identifier, which takes the form of an acronym. The Deaver Herbarium’s permanent acronym, ASC, was assigned when NAU was called Arizona State College.
Map and directions
On the campus of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, the Deaver Herbarium is housed in the Biological Sciences building (Bldg. #21) at 617 S. Beaver St. This Google map image shows the exact location.
As you approach Flagstaff from I-17, take S. Milton Rd. north for about 1.3 miles to Butler Ave. Turn right on Butler Ave. Take the second right onto S. Beaver St. The Biological Sciences building will be on your right near the corner of S. Beaver St. and E. Franklin Ave.
The Deaver Herbarium is on the third floor of the building and can be easily located by entering the building at its southern entrance, which can be found just south of a covered bus stop on S. Beaver St. If you enter the building through the southern entrance, take the stairwell to the third floor, and the herbarium will be just across the hall in room 314.