Holdings
The Intermountain Herbarium houses over 290,000 specimens, primarily consisting of vascular plants (flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns, and lycophytes), and primarily originating from the Intermountain Region, but also including specimens from around the world.
In addition, the Intermountain Herbarium houses four smaller collections, beyond the core vascular plant holdings.
The specimens in the Intermountain Herbarium come primarily from western North America, but there are substantial holdings from other parts of the world. The average growth rate for the past five years has been slightly over 4,000 specimens per year (see graph below).
Most specimens in the herbarium are of vascular plants, with approximately half coming from Utah and Nevada, the core states of the Intermountain Region.
Fungal Collection
The herbarium has over 3,000 fungal specimens. These specimens have come from four main sources: transfer of most of the USU plant and forest pathology teaching collection; a large gift of duplicates from the University of Michigan Herbarium and Dr. Robert Fogel; donation of the personal collection of Michael Piep; and collections from Don Johnston of the Mushroom Society of Utah. The Intermountain Herbarium has been designated the official repository of voucher collections for both the Bridgerland Mushroom Society and the Utah Mushroom Society.
The collection includes a strong representation of plant pathogens, reflecting the agricultural origins of Utah State University. These specimens come from five continents and 30 countries.
Lichen Collection
The lichen collection is small but growing slowly, consisting of slightly over 1,200 specimens, primarily from North America, with specimens from Wyoming, Arizona, and Utah comprising the greatest percentage. About half the specimens are duplicates of specimens collected by Nash.
Bryophyte Collection
The bryophyte collection is small, consisting of slightly over 2,200 specimens, occupying one cabinet. About half the specimens are duplicates of specimens collected by Flowers, author of Utah's Mosses and Hepaticae of Utah..
Types
Among its specimens, the herbarium has 81 holotypes and 1,176 isotypes. Most of the type specimens are vascular plants, but 17 of the holotypes and several of the isotypes are of fungi and lichens. For more information about type specimens and their importance, see here.
Utah Plants Reference Collection
To facilitate the identification of plants from Utah, we have a reference collection that includes one specimen of each species that has been recorded from the state. Housed in its own cabinets, adjacent to the plant identification stations, this collection makes it easy to compare an unknown specimen to candidate species.
Originally assembled by Curator Emerita Dr. Leila Shultz, the Utah Plants Reference Collection was devised to assist students and researchers with easier access to seeing the diversity within the state and currently consists of ~4150 unique taxa, ~2764 species, and ~164 vascular plant families.
Collection Growth
The Intermountain Herbarium is actively growing through both the collecting efforts of its staff and associates and through an exchange program with other institutions. If you are interested in the Intermountain Herbarium housing your specimens, see our collectors’ instructions here.
Specimen Database and Online Portals
The Intermountain Herbarium was an early adopter of specimen digitization approaches and seeks to make our biodiversity data as broadly accessible as possible. Images of our specimens and searchable databases of their collection data are freely available via four online Symbiota portals:
- Vascular plants - intermountainbiota.org
- Fungi - mycoportal.org
- Lichens - lichenportal.org
- Bryophytes - bryophyteportal.org
In addition to serving our data via these portals, the Intermountain Herbarium maintains and operates intermountainbiota.org.
Slide Collection
The Intermountain Herbarium houses a collection of over 1,000 photographic slides that are used in teaching and presentations and are available on loan to local students and faculty.
The initial development of the slide collection was funded by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. Most of the original slides were taken by Dr. R.J. Shaw, who provided voucher specimens for each of his photographs. The collection has since been augmented by other photographers.
Anyone interested in determining whether the Intermountain Herbarium has a slide of a particular species should send an inquiry to the Associate Curator. We do not currently have the resources to digitize or catalog the collection.
Library
The Intermountain Herbarium houses a high quality, non-circulating reference library. Its holdings are included in the catalog of the main library of Utah State University, the Merrill-Cazier Library. The resources of the Intermountain Herbarium library can be accessed by research workers at other institutions through the InterLibrary Loan system. In addition, there are many reprints available.