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This collection contains correspondence and newspaper clippings collected by Cora Clarke, a respected female botanist and entomologist.

This collection consists of 23 letters, five newspaper clippings, and six miscellaneous items. Nineteen of the letters are addressed to Cora Clarke, with four to her mother and one to her father. No single correspondent or time frame dominates the collection, nor are there themes which run through all the letters, except in the most general sense. Prominent people represented in the collection as correspondents include Grace Greenwood (a.k.a. Sarah Jane Clarke Lippincott), Jacob Abbott, James Freeman Clarke, Edward Sylvester Morse, Alpheus Spring Packard Jr., Robert Collyer, Samuel Eliot, Francis Parkman, and Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz.

The Clarke Papers appears to consist largely of letters retained for their autograph value, more than their substance. Clarke's botanical and entomological activities appear most clearly in letters from the Cambridge Entomological Club (1878 November 16) and Francis Parkman. However, only Charles Russell's letter discussing the anatomy of flowers (1870 December 19), provides anything approaching a lengthy or in-depth discussion. More typical are a letter dated 1875 May 25, mentioning the Boston Society of Natural History and the "Society to encourage studies at home," and a receipt for a summer botany course (1874 August 4) suggesting Clarke's commitment to continuing education. The value of the collection lies primarily in creating an impressionistic portrayal of a respected female scientist at a time when she was maturing into adulthood.

Curator of the University of Michigan Botanical Gardens and professor in the Department of Botany; journals, films, photographs, plant list, and drawings of plant habitats from the 1938 Nevill's Colorado River Expedition and following travels in 1939; also articles written about the expedition.

The Elzada Clover collection consists almost entirely of material relating to the 1938 Nevill's Colorado River Expedition. Included are Clover's journals, motion pictures of the trip, photographs, plant list, and drawings of plant habitats both from the 1938 Expedition and from later travels in 1939. There are also articles written about the expedition.

In 2009, DVD use copies were made of the motion pictures.

Established in 1897, the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, with its mission to study and disseminate knowledge of plants as they exist in nature, serves as an educational resource for the university and local community. In 2004 the Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum were joined as a single administrative unit. The records document the Gardens' various organizational, research, and community service activities.

The Matthaei Botanical Gardens records comprise 21 feet of materials spanning the years 1905 to 2012. The records document the Gardens' various organizational and community service activities ranging from administration work to special events for the public. The records have been divided into 11 series: Administrative, Correspondence, Topical, Photographs and Scrapbooks (except for Friends and Docents), Friends of Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Docents, Events, Plans, Projects, Research, and Topical Files. Unfortunately, due to multiple accessions and different processors, these series are not exclusive and researchers are advised to examine the entire finding aid carefully.