Posted June 20, 2011 by Jennifer Ramp Neale, Director of Research & Conservation
Adjunct Researcher Loraine Yeatts works in the Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium
We have some exciting news to report from the Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium and Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi. Each collection has added a type specimen of a species new to science. A type specimen is a specimen selected to serve as a reference point when a plant or fungal species is first named. As a result, these specimens are extremely important to botanists and mycologists who are attempting to determine the correct application of a name.
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Posted July 12, 2010 by Anna Sher, Adjunct Research & Conservation Researcher
Denver Botanic Gardens and University of Denver (DU) are currently collaborating to conduct research that documents climate change effects on native flora in Colorado. We have been using preserved specimens from the Gardens Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium and other regional herbaria to determine if flowering time has changed over the last 100 years. A preserved plant with reliable label data is proof positive that it existed in a specific place at a specific time in the state it is shown. Such specimens show that some Colorado species were blooming on average as much as three weeks later 100 years ago than today– a reflection of warming temperatures that are causing earlier springs.
Amelia Bowman, ‘09 University of Denver (DU) graduate, first discovered this trend investigating a set of six early blooming species that were collected in Colorado
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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 February 18, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
During our recent stairwell work in the Boettcher Memorial Education Building, all of our staff and visitors had to avoid the public stairwell and use the elevator or the stairs near my office. One day, I found a child and chaperone looking for their school group. I volunteered to guide them to the classrooms to see if their group was there. We stepped behind the scenes, through a shadowed hallway to the stairs. At the bottom, the stairs open into a hallway between the research department offices and the herbarium. As we passed through, I explained “This is where the scientists work.”
And as we headed towards the classrooms, I realized how cool that was.
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