1910s – 1950s

The oldest specimen in the collection dates from 1910. The early days of FLC saw a strong focus on education in agriculture and forestry, and courses in botany and plant classification were required. Ernest H. Bader arrived at FLC in 1915 and would contribute 190 specimens collected at Mesa Verde National Park in the 1920s to the herbarium during his time at the college. This period also includes flora from the Old Fort campus in Hesperus and national forest land throughout Southwest Colorado, mostly under the leadership Dr. Arthur D. Moinat, Professor of Botany and Agriculture.

1955 – 1978

Dr. Herbert E. Owen personally contributed over 200 specimens in his time as curator from 1955 to 1978, with many more contributed by his students.

1978 – 2008

Castilleja angustifolia preserved herbarium specimen

Dr. David Jamieson curated the herbarium for thirty years, focusing largely on the bryoflora of western Colorado, but also including sedges, rushes, alpine flora and other vascular plants in the 2000 specimens he contributed during his tenure. Dr. Jamieson transferred the bryological collection to the University of British Columbia upon his retirement.

Dr. J. Page Lindsay also arrived at FLC in 1978, and established FLC’s mycological collection as the largest regional representation of fungal diversity in the area.

2008 – present

Dr. Ross McCauley assumed stewardship of the herbarium in 2008 and has overseen significant growth since that time. 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. Digitization of the herbarium and mycological collections began in 2014, and was recently completed with support of a National Science Foundation grant.

Contact

Contact the Herbarium director, Dr. Ross McCauley, with questions or to arrange a visit.

970-247-7338 | Email Dr. McCauley

Southern Rockies Herbaria | Mycology Collections | Campus Plant List