Posted January 30, 2012 by Featured Instructor
After several months of bare tree branches, I am ready for the arrival of spring and with it returning to Colorado’s flower filled natural areas. The gardeners I know spend these short days and long cold nights perusing seed and plant catalogs to gear up for the next season.
In lieu of shiny catalogs, botanists, like myself, and mycologists work with specimens (mycologists study organisms in the kingdom Fungi). Specimens are individual plants or fungi that have been dried and archived into a collection. These plants and fungal specimens are collected as part of a scientific study to document species diversity and distribution.
The specimens themselves serve as a voucher or as a representative of the population for future botanical and mycological research. For botanists, anxious to get out into the field, specimens allow us to continue our work even when the plants or fungi are dormant for the season. Likely for this reason, in the 1500’s, the Italian botanist and physician Luca Ghini developed the practice of preserving plants by pressing and drying them when freshly collected, and then
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Posted June 17, 2010 by Anna Sher, Adjunct Research & Conservation Researcher
Biologists, ranchers, and other interested folk who participated in the first JE Canyon Ranch Bioblitz
Q: What do you get when you set loose over three dozen passionate biologists who study animals, plants, and fungi in a nearly pristine ranch in Southeast Colorado for a 24 hour period?
A: A BIOBLITZ!
Last week was the first ever comprehensive biological survey of JE Canyon Ranch, an area east of Trinidad, Colorado. The primary organizers were Dina Clark, Curator with Denver Botanic Gardens, and Renée Rondeau of the Colorado Natural Heritage Program. Jerry Wenger, the owner of the ranch, hosted the event, opening his amazing property to the 50+ individuals who participated, representing (in no particular order): Denver Botanic Gardens, Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP), the Division of Wildlife (DOW), Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO), Colorado State University (CSU), Nature Serve, University of Colorado (CU), Colorado College (CC), University of Denver (DU), and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT).
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Posted September 14, 2009 by Jennifer Ramp Neale, Director of Research & Conservation
Have you ever wanted to go on a mushroom hunt? Your opportunity has arrived. Join the Colorado Mycological Society September 18-20 for the Rocky Mountain National Park Mycoblitz. The mycoblitz, an event where a group of people get together for a short period of time to identify mushrooms in a given area, will be the second to be held at Rocky Mountain National Park. The mycoblitz is a joint endeavour between the Colorado Mycological Society (CMS), Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and Denver Botanic Gardens Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi.
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After several months of bare tree branches, I am ready for the arrival of spring and with it returning to Colorado’s flower filled natural areas. The gardeners I know spend these short days and long cold nights perusing seed and plant catalogs to gear up for the next season.
Posted in: At the Gardens, Conservation & Ecology, Education - Comments(1)