About MONTU

The MONTU Herbarium is the largest collection in the State of Montana with over 135,000 collections of vascular plants, lichens, bryophytes, diatoms, algae, and seeds. It serves as the primary reference and data source in the region for botanists, land managers, and conservation organizations. Some agencies include the U. S. Forest Service and the Montana Natural Heritage Program. The collections are used for undergraduate courses, and by graduate students, professors, consultants, and visiting researchers. Our loan and exchange program allows for specimens to be sent around the world to different herbaria for important research. Montana's position at the intersection of many different floristic regions broadens the importance of the Herbarium's collections for documenting patterns of regional diversity in response to environmental change and other disturbances. Without the MONTU collections, many would not be able to learn and contribute towards the biodiversity of Montana and the larger Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions.