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Intermountain Herbarium Holdings: Plants

The majority of specimens in the Intermountain Herbarium are of vascular plants (ferns, gymnosperms, and flowering plants). We estimate that approximately 2/3 are from the western United States, with at least half of those being from the Intermountain Region.

The best represented families are Poaceae (grasses), Scrophulariaceae (traditional sense), and Asteraceae (composites or daisies). These are also among the families with the largest number of species in the region; the herbarium's holding reflect this fact but also the interest those associated with the herbarium have had in these three families.

There is one cabinet of bryophytes, many of which were collected by Seville Flowers, author of Utah' Mosses and Hepaticae of Utah.

There are two cabinets of type specimens. We are currently reviewing the status of all specimens in the cabinets, removing those that are not truly types. For those that are types, we are noting which kind of type they are and attaching a copy of the relevant publication. Once this task is completed, we shall make the listing available on the Web.