Plants & Fungi

Plants and fungi are essential to life on earth—key components of the planet’s ecology, biodiversity, climate, and human cultures. The study of plants and fungi is fundamental to medical science, conservation, genetics, agriculture, food-web studies, soil science, climate studies, anthropology, and many other fields. Field Museum botanists are leaders in the study of plant and fungi evolution, ecology, biogeography, environmental/climate impact, plant-animal interactions, and more.

A glimpse of The Field Museum's Botany Department, with over 2 million specimens and a network of passionate researchers: