Michigan is unique in that immediately after achieving statehood in
1837, the fledgling Legislature authorized a comprehensive "First
Geological Survey" of the State's natural resources. This included not
only geology and soils, but also timber resources, and a survey of
plants and animals, and it included the collection of specimens which
became the foundation of the present day Museum and Herbarium
collections. The plant collections are especially extensive, but were
poorly labeled and suffered from past curatorial practises that
diminished their value. But, reconstructing the data and itineraries
from several sources provides a detailed view of the flora and, to
some degree, the vegetation of the state before extensive modification
by European settlement, as well as insight into local extinctions and
other changes in the flora.