Housing approximately 520,000 specimens, including 450,000 vascular plant specimens, 65,000 lichens, and smaller holdings of bryophytes and non-lichenized fungi, the R. L. McGregor Herbarium (KANU) is dedicated to the study of the flora of the Great Plains, the grassland biome of central North America. The greater part of vascular plant and lichen specimens deposited in KANU represent the flora of the Great Plains and herbarium staff is involved in taxonomic and floristic studies of the region. Our goal is to expand our understanding of past and current botanical diversity of the Great Plains and to preserve this knowledge for the future.