The Univeristy of Houston Coastal Center Herbarium emphasizes local collections from the UHCC field station in LaMarque, TX. The local habitats include coastal prairie, various wetland habitats (mostly man-made), and forest dominated by exotic Chinese tallow trees.

The University of Houston Coastal Center is designated by the Texas legislature as the Texas Institute for Coastal Prairie Research and Education. It is an environmental research and educational center about 14 miles northwest of the Gulf Coast, which contains about 300 acres of threatened coastal tallgrass prairie. UHCC aims to support environmental research on the Texas coast by providing researchers with access to field sites, equipment and facilities.

Prior to World War II, the UHCC was dominated by tall-grass prairie. The area was used by the military (Camp Wallace) during the 1940s, resulting in human disturbance to portions of the prairie and the introduction of non-native species. The UHCC has been managed by the University of Houston since October, 1960.

Current land management goals include maintaining the areas of pristine prairie, and, when possible, restoring areas invaded by exotic species or disturbed by human activity.