The Herbarium of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission consists primarily of specimens collected in the course of statewide ecological and biological inventory work conducted by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Program. Many of the specimens represent species that are rare in the state or were collected from rare or unusual habitats. The goals of the collection are 1) to provide a reference collection for work performed by Natural Heritage Commission staff and their conservation partners, 2) to house voucher specimens for rare plant records in the database of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Program, and 3) to voucher plants of ecologically sensitive or otherwise significant lands, including those contained within the State's System of Natural Areas. While most specimens are from Arkansas, special care is being made to assemble a collection of plants from surrounding states that are not presently known in Arkansas but are likely to be found there.

The ANHC Herbarium recently adopted the Henderson State University and University of Arkansas - Little Rock Herbaria (HEND-LRU), which are being integrated into the ANHC collection.