The Department of Botany was established at Iowa State in 1870 with Charles E. Bessey serving as head. The first graduate degree issued by Iowa State was received by botany student J.C. Arthur in 1877. The Department of Botany also holds the distinction of graduating Iowa State's first Ph.D. student, Leslie Kenoyer in 1916, and first female Ph.D. student, Ada Hayden in 1918. In 2003, the Department of Botany was merged with the departments of Animal Ecology and Zoology and Genetics to form the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology. This collection consists of two volumes of hand drawn plates and typewritten descriptions done by students in botany. The first volume contains the work of students in cryptogamic botany and bacteriology and the second volume contains the work of students in physiological and histological botany.

The Department of Botany was established in 1870 with Charles E. Bessey serving as the department’s head. In 1871, the department first offered graduate courses for an M.S. degree in botany, and J.C. Arthur, in 1878, received the first M.S degree issued by the Iowa Agricultural College (Iowa State University). In 1914, the Department initiated a Ph.D. program, and again the Department held the distinction for awarding the first Ph.D. degree at Iowa State, given to Leslie Kenoyer in 1916. In 1918, Ada Hayden became the first woman Ph.D. at Iowa State College (University).

In 1957, an undergraduate curriculum in plant pathology was initiated in the College of Agriculture and the name of the department was changed to the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. A decade later, the department was moved to a new building, Bessey Hall. The Department of Botany became a separate entity again within the College of Sciences and Humanities after the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology split into two departments in 1979.

In 2003, the Department of Botany was merged with the departments of Animal Ecology and Zoology and Genetics to form the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology.

This collection (1890-1891) consists of two volumes of hand drawn plates and typewritten descriptions done by students in botany. The first volume contains the work of students in cryptogamic botany and bacteriology and the second volume contains the work of students in physiological and histological botany.

The collection is arranged in alphabetical order.