While focused around the Great Lakes drainage basin, the region includes the six states that border the western Great Lakes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 132 herbaria are listed in Index Herbariorum (Thiers, B. [continuously updated]) from this region; we hope to eventually make data available from a majority of those collections.
The Great Lakes basin includes 84% of North American surface fresh water and includes a mixture of habitat types amidst a landscape that has been highly modified by agricultural and industrial uses and is home to 16% of the US population (US Census Bureau, 2014 estimates). Areas to the south and west of the lakes include lands which form portions of the Mississippi and Ohio River basins; much of this land escaped major glaciation. Plants and communities in the region are diverse, ranging from boreal forest to southern hardwoods, prairies, bogs and fens.
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