kathryn kalmbach herbarium

The Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium (KHD), a collection of over 49,000 vascular plant specimens, is a regional herbarium with a research focus on the species diversity of Colorado and the Southern Rocky Mountain region. The collection also contains species from other areas of the Southwest and those species that are in cultivation at Denver Botanic Gardens.

The herbarium has excellent collections of many plant families including Cyperaceae (particularly the genus Carex), Fabaceae (especially the genus Astragalus), Poaceae, Orchidaceae, Brassicaceae and Ophioglossaceae.

To learn how a plant in the field becomes a useful specimen to science, see the KHD Plant Collection Protocols.

Ethnobotanical Collection

Denver Botanic Gardens has one of the only actively curated ethnobotanical collections in the western United States. Ethnobotany is the study of the relationship between plants and people, and this collection documents how plants are used by humans for everything from medicine and textiles to cultural and spiritual purposes. The collection focuses on three areas of research: 1) how plants native to the region are used by people; 2) how Native American groups within the region use plants; and 3) how other cultural groups in the area utilize plants. This last research area emphasizes those plants bought and sold in Hispanic herb stores and farmers markets.

Public Service

The KHD collection can be used to aid plant identification and other types of study. Scheduled appointments are suggested for visitors, especially during the field season. Educational tours of the herbarium are also available for interested groups.

Hours:
Mondays - Thursdays: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Please contact KHD staff to make an appointment for identification services.
See our fees for identification services.

Field Projects

• Staff and volunteers are actively engaged in field research conducting floristic inventories throughout Colorado and the Southern Rocky Mountain region. Documentation of the Gardens’ collections at York Street is ongoing.
• Projects for the 2010 field season included an inventory of a large ranch in the Chalk Bluffs area of northeastern Colorado, a collaborative study with the Colorado State University Herbarium of the Soapstone Prairie (Fort Collins Natural Area) and Red Mountain Open Space (Larimer County Open Space), and the fourth year of an inventory of the Gateway Natural Area on the Western Slope.
• The Gardens sponsored and organized a "Bioblitz" with the Colorado Natural Areas Program. During this study, scientists from all disciplines documented all species of plants, fungi, mammals, birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians observed within a 24-hour period. This event was hosted by Jerry Wenger, the owner of the JE Canyon Ranch, a 60,000 acre property located in the Purgatoire River Canyon area of southeastern Colorado.