Sunday, March 18, 2012

Rocky Mountain Herbarium

The RM Herbarium is an essential resource for education, research, and public service. RM also includes the National Herbarium of the U. S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Wilhelm G. Solheim Mycological Herbarium (RMS).
The RM Herbarium was founded in 1893 by Aven Nelson. It has since grown to over 800,000 specimens with approximately 25,000 new specimens added each year.
The Rocky Mountain Herbarium Library is an official non-circulating branch of the University of Wyoming Libraries. It contains an excellent collection of systematics literature for North America and major floristics and systematics treatments for the world.
Dr. Ronald L. Hartman is the curator and B. Ernie Nelson is the herbarium manager. Over 40 graduate students have completed Master's degrees in floristics at RM. Associates include Robert Dorn, author of the "Flora of Wyoming."
The RM Herbarium is located on the third floor of the Aven Nelson Memorial Building at the University of Wyoming. Researchers should make arrangements for access prior to visiting and should check herbarium policies.
Protocols for bringing material into the herbarium, examining specimens, requesting loans, and using the herbarium library.