The geographic scope is primarily Tennessee and the southern Appalachians, although the Pteridophyte collection is more cosmopolitan than the rest of the vascular plant collection due, in large part, to the collecting and exchange of A. M. Evans and A. J. Sharp. Early notable collectors include Harry M. Jennison, Augustin Gattinger, Royal E. Shanks, A.J. Sharp, and J.K. Underwood. The oldest known specimen was collected in 1833.