The Kriebel Herbarium comprises approximately 90,000 specimens of vascular plants, algae, bryophytes, lichens and fungi. The vascular plant collection is the oldest in the state of Indiana, originating with John Hussey (1831–1888), Botany Professor and one of the six professors hired to teach the first time Purdue opened its doors in 1874. The Herbarium itself is named in honor of Ralph M. Kriebel (1897–1946), a botanist who joined Purdue in 1943 and whose collection contains in excess of 10,000 specimens of important Indian​a flora. Today’s Kriebel Herbarium consolidates these as well as other collections formerly housed in the Department of Biological Sciences, the Stanley Coulter Herbarium, and the Herbarium of the Purdue Agricultural Experiment Station, and is managed by the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology.