search: calendar site
Watch our videos on YouTube Sign up for our e-Newsletter Read our blog Events and Classes Visit our Facebook profile Visit us on Twitter

preserved collections

Our preserved collections have over 65,000 specimens and are open to the public. For an appointment to use the herbaria, contact our curators.

kathryn kalmbach herbarium

Visit the Kalmbach Herbarium, a collection of over 45,000 specimens, with emphasis on the flora of Colorado and the Southern Rocky Mountain Region. Horticultural "cultivated" species are also represented. 

Our strengths for native collections include the Cyperaceae - Carex, Fabaceae - Astragalus, Poaceae, Orchidaceae, Brassicaceae - Draba and Ophioglossaceae - Botrycium. Strengths in our cultivated collection include rock alpine plants and Orchidaceae.

Field projects

Herbarium staff and volunteers conduct floristic surveys and inventories of Colorado and other areas of the Southern Rocky Mountain Region on an annual basis.

Public Service

The herbarium staff identifies plants for the public, public agencies, and other researchers.

Hours:
Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Wednesdays & Fridays: Noon - 4 p.m.
Please contact our staff to make an appointment for identification services.

Search our preserved collections database  

The Research and Conservation Department announces the establishment of the Sam Mitchel Endowment for mycological research. Dr. D.H. 'Sam' Mitchel, a very dedicated volunteer and mycologist, had the vision to establish a collection of Colorado mushroom specimens here at Denver Botanic Gardens. In Oct. 2009 we celebrated the memory of this remarkable man by officially naming The Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi.

See a video about Sam Mitchel >>
See a video featuring the dedication of the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi >>

sam mitchel herbarium of fungi

herbarium of fungi mycology staffThe Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi is the largest and best curated mycological collection of the Southern Rocky Mountain Region, with approximately 22,000 preserved and documented specimens of native fungi. The collection includes more than 1,700 species within approximately 250 genera.

Our strengths for most specimens are Basidiomycetes, but many Ascomycetes and approximately 250 species of Myxomycetes are also included.

Field projects

The mycology staff and volunteers continually survey the varied habitats of Colorado and adjoining states to collect and document the mycoflora throughout the fruiting season.

Public Service

The herbarium staff identifies fungi for the public, Rocky Mountain Poison Center and other researchers.  

Hours:
Wednesdays: Noon - 4 p.m.
Thursdays: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Please contact our staff to make an appointment for identification services.

Colorado Mycological Society   

chatfield spotlight

A shift in seasons is bringing significant change to Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield.

New Greenhouses at Chatfield NEW IN 2009!
Greenhouses at Chatfield

 

 

Need a break from the gym but don’t have time for a day trip to the mountains? Come to Chatfield for a brisk nature walk along our 2 miles of trails. Keep an eye out for migrating birds, ducks on the ponds, foxes – and, perhaps, a glimpse of a bear or two in the distance!

 

Deer Creek Discovery Deer Creek Discovery children's area
Bring the little ones out to play at Chatfield in our whimsical tree house.