Intermountain Herarium a ‘jewel in the basement’ at USU
The Intermountain Herbarium (IH) is a “jewel in the basement” of Utah State University, said Mary Barkworth, director, and provides students with an extensive resource for plant identification and research.
Barkworth said the IH began in 1931 with a collection of 90 teaching specimens and from there has grown to include 233,612 plant species. The collection grows at a rate of approximately 2,000 plants each year.
According to the IH’s Web site at www.herbarium.usu.edu, the specimens come mainly from western North America, but the IH also has examples from other parts of the world.
The herbarium also has a substantial slide collection built up, said Ali Kelly who graduated from USU with a masters of biology degree and currently works as collections manager at the IH.
Research is a large focus of Barkworth’s and she devotes 40 percent of her time to the study of plants, especially grasses.
Currently Barkworth is working with about 40 other people to produce a Manual of Grasses for North America north of Mexico. This main project is what Barkworth said takes most of her time.
“It takes a hell of a lot of work,” Barkworth said.
Barkworth said the first volume of the manual will hopefully be out by the end of this year, with the second volume being published one year after the first. Soon after that, Barkworth said they will publish a single volume edition and hopefully e-books, CDs and Internet resources.
“There’s a lot we’d like to do. The objective of the project is so people can identify a plant and be confident that they are right or confidant that they are wrong,” Barkworth said. “We’d prefer right.”
But the herbarium also focuses on other facets of the plant world.
Kelly is currently working on a project with bryophytes in Southern Utah deserts and Barkworth said the IH is looking forward to Robert Fogel, a fungi specialist from the University of Michican, retiring to Utah in three years.
Much of the IH’s focus is also on helping the public to identify plants.
Kelly said visiting taxonomists, community members, students, faculty members and local companies all come in for help in identifying specimens.
“It’s not a matter of everyone coming in here wanting to become a botanist,” Barkworth said. “Just so they get interested in plants and as a result want to preserve the ecosystem. The herbarium is not just for those in our profession.”
Barkworth said she did not get interested in botany until she took a class at age 28, after receiving bachelor’s degrees in both math and physics.
“Before that class they were just a scad of green things on the ground. Some were pretty. Some weren’t,” Barkworth said.
“I immigrated from England and the common names I’d learned never related. I got isty bits of information and began to see rationality and organization. Soon I got interested.”
“Now hiking and traveling are much more fascinating. Plants have much more ability than animals because they’re always out there. It’s not easy being green. Besides, botanists are great people,” she said.
Kelly said she’s always been a biologist.
“I was always putting bugs in the little containers,” Kelly said. “Besides, I don’t like to look at something and not know what it is. Botany is like exploration. You get to be outside and learn and find out what things are.”
Both women said they enjoy working at the IH.
“It’s fun,” Kelly said. “I like interacting with the public and I love plants. You can’t work here if you don’t love plants.”
The IH is also looking at expanding as funds become available and becoming a more comprehensive herbarium, Barkworth said.
Funding comes from the vice president for research at USU, the biology department, the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, revenue generated by commercial identification and donations, which Barkworth said are always welcome.
Volunteers are also appreciated, and Kelly said they are very helpful at the IH.
Anyone interested in the IH can contact them at 797-0061 or stop by in the basement of The Junction.
The IH is also putting on a tour for the Utah Native Plant Society Tuesday at 7 p.m. and everyone is welcome.