PLANT COLLECTIONS AND PLANT COLLECTING

Let Us Voucher Your Specimens

The Intermountain Herbarium’s core mission is to house, curate, and disseminate plant biodiversity data, i.e., plant specimens and their associated collection information. By doing so we document that diversity (for example, we can accession specimens that underlie specific research projects or that demonstrate the occurrence of particular species in particular places) and provide an invaluable bank of data for future research and conservation activities. See our Contributors’ Guide for more information.

Plant Collecting

Well-made plant collections last for hundreds of years when curated in collections like the Intermountain Herbarium and form an invaluable bank of data for future research, education and conservation activities. By accessioning specimens with us, you’ll not only provide support for your own work, you’ll also be contributing to this important resource that now comprises nearly 300 thousand specimens—your specimens have the potential to contribute to botanical study, education, and conservation in ways that are impossible to imagine in the present. 

In addition, collecting plant specimens is a powerful way to learn more about botanical diversity, providing individuals with the opportunity to closely examine individual plants and to compare among different varieties.

However, not all specimens are created equal and specimen curation is a time-consuming activity. It is important to ensure that your specimens are of the highest quality in order to maximize their utility.

Resources for Plant Collecting

• The Intermountain Herbarium Contributors’ Guide
• Overview of how to make good specimens 
• Information on options and regulations for collecting on public land 
• Herbarium specimens and why to make them, in poster form
• How to collect material for DNA-based study
• Collection data and specimen labeling

HERBARIA AND RELATED RESOURCES

Other herbaria of the Intermountain Region

• BYU (https://lifesciences.byu.edu/magazine/byus-herbarium)
• UT (https://nhmu.utah.edu/botany)
• WSCO (https://www.weber.edu/botany/Herbarium.html)
• UVU (https://www.uvu.edu/biology/herbarium/index.html)
• EPHR
  
• DSU (https://discover.utahtech.edu/history/)

Specimen portals

• intermountainbiota.org - Intermountainbiota is a network of SYMBIOTA portals (such as SEINET, OregonFlora, CNH, SERNEC, etc.), and brings together data from hundreds of thousands of herbarium specimens from herbaria all across the world.
• mycoportal.org - Portal for collection records retaining to higher fungi (excluding lichens). 
• lichenportal.org - Portal for collection records retaining to lichenized fungi.
• bryophyteportal.org - Portal for collection records retaining to bryophytes (also known as mosses, liverworts, and hornworts).
• www.gbif.org - GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, is the primary aggregator of the metadata associated with natural history collections. Unlike SYMBIOTA portals, however, GBIF does not provide images of specimens.

Herbarium curation

• See this video series for a behind-the-scenes tour of how herbaria curate plant specimens.

BOTANICAL GROUPS AND SOCIETIES

USU Botanical Groups

• USU Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab (https://extension.usu.edu/planthealth/uppdl/)
• USU Plant Science Club (https://caas.usu.edu/clubs/plant-science)
• USU Forestry Club (https://usuforestryclub.weebly.com/)
• Let’s not forget our gardener friends: See these tips from USU Extension

Other Botanical Groups

• Botanical Society of America (https://www.botany.org/)
• Utah Native Plant Society  (https://www.unps.org/index.html)
• Eriogonum Society (https://eriogonum.info/)
• Penstemon Society (https://penstemons.org/)
• American Fern Society (https://www.amerfernsoc.org/)
• Society of Range Management (https://www.utsrm.org/)
  
  

Other Botanical Resources

• Reporting Noxious Weeds: There are ~50 known vascular plant species in the state that are considered noxious by the Utah Department of Agriculture. Reporting populations that are established or new occurrences is critical in removal of these species to prevent further destruction of the native biodiversity. By submitting observations directly to the Department of Agriculture through EDDmapS, observations are directly sent to the state weed management department! USU extension has also compiled a guide: Noxious Weed Field Guide for Utah.
• Rare plant guides: In Utah, there are roughly 290 species of plants that are considered to be rare. Currently, there are two field guides relating specifically to rare plants of Utah. One done by the Utah Native Plant Society (found here) and another done by the Department of Natural Resources (found here).
• Other Resources for Plant identification
  • Learn how to key plants with this Dichotomous key - how to guide or stop by during PIP! [ <-hyperlink to pip section located in services]
  • Miscellaneous treatments can be found in this Keybase along with FNA vol. 24 & 25
• A short discussion of the rare ferns of Utah, with some Cystopteris and polyploidy information snuck in