Yes. The collection is open Monday-Friday 8-4:30, except during University closures. However, it should be noted that there are no public displays at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium.
Collection Overview
The Rocky Mountain Herbarium is the largest facility of its kind between Saint Louis and the West Coast. Rich in material from throughout US, Canada, and northern Europe, it is the largest collection of Wyoming and Rocky Mountains plants in the world and reflects the region’s biological diversity and evolutionary history. Researchers and scientists at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, and from around the globe, use these resources to document natural resources, elucidate evolutionary relationships and processes, describe the effects of climate change, and to identify organisms and landscapes of conservation concern.Links Menu
Location
Contact
Mailing Address : Rocky Mountain Herbarium
Department of Botany, Dept. 3165
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone : 307 766 2236
Fax: 307-766-2851
Email : bnelsonn@uwyo.edu
Rocky Mountain Herbarium
Mission
With more than 1.3 million herbarium specimens, our collections represent the backbone of our mission. Researchers and scientists at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, and from around the globe, use these resources to discover and disseminate botanical knowledge, emphasizing the identification, taxonomy and distribution of plant and fungal taxa present in the Rocky Mountain region. The Herbarium and its faculty, staff and volunteers, work to enhance scholarship about, and inform stewardship of, the region’s biodiversity, by making information about Rocky Mountain plant species available to researchers, land managers, students, and interested citizens.
Collections and Database
The Rocky Mountain Herbarium, which includes the U.S. Forest Service National Herbarium and the W.G. Solheim Mycological Herbarium, collectively contains more than one million specimens and an additional 300,000 that await mounting. The Herbarium ranks 15th in the nation of 641 herbaria, 75th in the world of 2,962 herbaria.
The Rocky Mountain Herbarium database contains more than 895,000 databased specimens and 300,000 specimen images. This searchable treasure trove of primary information, with a mapping function, is used extensively by the scientific community, state and federal agencies, and the public. Rocky Mountain Herbarium data is also available to the global research community through multiple data aggregators, including the Consortium of Southern Rocky Mountain Herbaria, Consortium of North American Lichen Herbaria and Mycology Collections Portal.
The Herbarium serves a critical role in providing plant identifications to the public, UW students and faculty, and state and federal agencies. We work closely with these agencies in documenting the introduction and spread of invasive species and noxious weeds throughout the region, and assist the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Veterinary Lab with cases of wildlife and livestock poisoning.
The Herbarium provides material for use in courses, including plant taxonomy, plant ecology, and general biology, and offers guided tours for K-12 classes, students in UW courses, and the public, in coordination with the Biodiversity Institute.
The Rocky Mountain Herbarium Library
The Rocky Mountain Herbarium Library is an official non-circulating branch of the University of Wyoming Libraries. The library contains an excellent collection of systematics literature for North America and major floristics and systematics treatments for the world. The Library specializes in the systematic classification of vascular plants, with particular strengths in the coverage of western North America. The collection is also strong in historic taxonomic literature including over 4,500 book titles in microfiche editions.
History
The RM was established in 1893 by Aven Nelson, a charter member of the UW faculty, who served as president of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists and Botanical Society of America, and as president of the University of Wyoming (1918-1922). Over the past 45 years, under the supervision of Curator Dr. Ronald Hartman, the Rocky Mountain Herbarium has been enriched by an unparalleled inventory program involving 50 floristics graduate students, as well as Herculean collecting feats by Curator Hartman and Manager, now Curator, Burrell “Ernie” Nelson.
In 1982 the US Forest Service National Herbarium (USFS), established in Washington, D.C. in 1911, and containing 120,000 specimens, was transferred to the Rocky Mountain Herbarium on indefinite loan. The W. G. Solheim Mycological Herbarium (RMS; established in the 1930’s by Dr. Solheim, distinguished UW teacher, researcher, and administrator) contains 48,000 specimens, principally parasitic fungi; also all of the major groups of fungi. It is based on Dr. Solheim’s own formal collection of approximately 1,800 species as well as specimens from many other states, Canada, the Farlow Herbarium at Harvard, and several European herbaria. The Rocky Mountain Herbarium collection, including USFS and RMS, now exceeds 1.3 million specimens.
Questions & Answers
We’ve compiled answers to some of the most common questions we receive. Have another question that you need help with? Contact us.
Can I volunteer?
You bet! We are always in need of help around the Herbarium. Volunteers are expected to make a long-term commitment with consistent hours. Visit our website for more information on joining the Friends of the Rocky Mountain Herbarium and becoming a volunteer.
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