Botanical Research Institute of Texas
The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) is a
History
The Botanical Research Institute of Texas was founded in 1987 around the herbarium and library from the Southern Methodist University that been substantially expanded by their final curator, Lloyd Herbert Shinners. It was located in a re-purposed warehouse in the main business and commercial area of Fort Worth.
The institute now consists of a two-story Archives Block that houses the herbarium in a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2),
BRIT Collections and Programs
Although BRIT covers the local Texan flora, it also includes plants world-wide. It contains a world-class collection of preserved plant specimens and books and also publishes about plants. Its staff provide outreach activities and also research and conservation about plants.
Herbarium
The Philecology Herbarium represents is among the ten largest in the United States with more than 1.5 million preserved plant specimens, some dating back to the late 1700s. These include the Lloyd H. Shinners Collection in Systematic Botany started in 1944, formerly housed at Southern Methodist University and moved to BRIT in 1991, and the Vanderbilt University Collection founded by Robert Kral was donated in 1997. In 2017 the R. Dale Thomas Plant Collection from University of Louisiana of around 0.5 million specimens was added. There are also a number of smaller collections, such as from the Houston Public Museum herbarium acquired in 2001, and the institute actively adds to the herbarium.[6]
Library
The library contains around 125,000
Research
Botanical research is conducted in Texas and also in
Plants and Peoples explores the relationship people have developed with plants. Landscape Ecology investigates plants and the environment. The institute also provides consulting and resource services.
Publications
The staff at BRIT publish new discoveries in
BRIT also publishes two scientific periodicals: the peer-reviewed Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (formerly called SIDA, Contributions to Botany) and Botanical Miscellany, an occasional series of monographs in which each edition is devoted entirely to a comprehensive study of one topic. In addition there is a newsletter, IRIDOS, which is distributed to Friends of BRIT.
The institute has established several annual awards. Since 1993 the institute has presented an International Award of Excellence in Conservation annually to an individual or organization that exemplifies ideals expressed in BRIT's mission.
Education
BRIT's plant collections and educational programs are open to the public. BRIT's
External links
References
- ^ "Mission, vision and history". Botanical Research Institute of Texas. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ "Botanical Research Institute of Texas". Balmori Associates. December 31, 2015. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ "Botanical Research Institute of Texas". www.brit.org. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- (PDF) from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ "The Living Roof". BRIT. June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ "About the BRIT Herbarium". FWBG-BRIT. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "About the Library". BRIT. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "Illustrated Texas Floras Project". BRIT. March 17, 2021. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "Flora of North America". Flora of North America. Archived from the original on September 1, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "Award Abstract # 0206645 The Compositae in the Flora of North America North of Mexico (CFNA)". National Science Foundation. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program in Peru (AABP)". BRIT. March 26, 2021. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "Shinners & Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas". Austin College. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ISBN 978-1889878010.
- ^ "International Award of Excellence in Conservation". BRIT. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "Dr. Sylvia Earle to Receive BRIT's 2018 International Award of Excellence in Conservation". Funding the Ocean. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy, Tropical Biologist and Respected Environmentalist to Receive BRIT's 2014 International Award of Excellence in Conservation". CISION. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "BRIT History". BRIT. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ "Education". BRIT. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.