The Fort Lewis College Herbarium is home to over 20,000 specimens of preserved plants and fungi and is the most extensive research collection of its type in western Colorado. The Herbarium is an important resource for researchers, land managers, students, and the general public who use these specimens for studies ranging from plant identification, to documentation of rare species, to describing plant communities, and modeling global environmental change.
Herbarium collections
The collection is focused on the Four Corners Region and contains specimens for over 3500 individual taxa of vascular plants and 790 taxa of fungi. The oldest specimens date to the late 1800s, with continued active collecting and exchange with other institutions adding between 300-500 specimens yearly.
The herbarium is fully databased and digitized for access by researchers worldwide. All vascular plant data is accessible via the SEINet data portal and fungal data is accessible via the Mycology Collections data portal. Our data is also available via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Disclaimer: Collection records may contain offensive or unacceptable language and historical place or taxon names. These do not reflect the views and values of Fort Lewis College. Our collection data is presented in its original form to maintain historical accuracy and to facilitate research.
Herbarium history
The Fort Lewis College Herbarium had its start during the school's earliest days in 1910, with specimens collected to support a strong focus on education in agriculture and forestry. Ernest H. Bader and Dr. Arthur D. Moinat were principal figures for the herbarium in its early days. Bader, who arrived at FLC in 1915, contributed 190 specimens collected at Mesa Verde National Park in the 1920s, some of the first scientific specimens to be gathered at the then-newly established park. Moinat contributed specimens from the original Hesperus campus and national forest lands throughout Southwest Colorado.
From 1955-1978 Dr. Herbert E. Owen oversaw the collection, personally contributing over 200 specimens, with many more contributed by his students. In 1978 Dr. David Jamieson arrived at FLC, focusing his work mainly on the bryoflora of western Colorado as well as sedges, rushes, alpine flora, and other vascular plants in the 2000 specimens he contributed. Dr. Jamieson built a significant bryological collection that he transferred to the University of British Columbia upon his retirement. Also arriving in 1978, Dr. Page Lindsay established FLC’s mycological collection as the area's only representation of fungal diversity.
The current curator Dr. Ross McCauley assumed stewardship of the collection in 2008 and has overseen significant growth since then. He moved the herbarium’s physical location to accommodate its expansion through the acquisition of several collections: The Peggy Lyon Western Colorado Flora Collection, the Susan Komarek Collection, and exchanges of materials with San Juan College, Northern Arizona University, and the Denver Botanic Gardens.
Student work and volunteer opportunities
Students are an important part of the Fort Lewis College Herbarium and contribute to all aspects of herbarium development and maintenance from collecting specimens to mounting and databasing. A paid herbarium assistant position is available to students with work study as part of their financial aid package. Students may also work in the collection as a volunteer or through a focused independent study in herbarium curation. For more information on these opportunities contact the herbarium director.
Visiting and donating specimens to the collection
The herbarium is open to visitors. All visits must be arranged ahead of time with the herbarium director.
High quality botanical specimens are accepted as donations. Specimens must be pressed and dried and fit within an area of 30 × 42 cm (11 ½ ×16 ½ in). They must also be accompanied by an appropriate label on archival paper or have label data giving sufficient information of taxon and locality. All donated specimens are required to have been collected and transported legally, following all applicable state, federal, and international laws.
Botanical resources
- Fort Lewis College Herbarium
- Other Regional Herbaria
- Useful web resources
Support the collection
The Fort Lewis College Herbarium does not have a fixed budget from the college. It is supported through course fees, grant monies, and donations. If you would like to help support the collection and our mission of botanical documentation and education in Southwestern Colorado, you can donate to the FLC Herbarium Fund through the Fort Lewis College Foundation.
Contact
Herbarium director, Dr. Ross McCauley
Email: mccauley_r@fortlewis.edu