Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi

Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi (DBG) was founded by Dr. Duane H. (“Sam”) Mitchel in 1967. Sam was a physician who started studying mushrooms after he became fascinated with them while hiking. Throughout his lifetime, Sam collected over 2,000 specimens and authored several publications on the subject. Today, DBG holds nearly 20,000 specimens collected across Colorado and the greater Southern Rocky Mountain Region. It is one of the most diverse, well-collected and actively curated fungal collections in the region.

Explore DBG Collections through MyCoPortal

Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi specimens are discoverable online through MyCoPortal, an external database used by herbaria across North America. 

1. Go to mycoportal.org/portal (called “MycoPortal”)
2. Explore > Search Collections
3. Click Select/Deselect All at the top to deselect all the check boxes
4. Click the box next to “Denver Botanic Garden, Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi (DBG)” to select it
5. Scroll down and click Next
6. You can either enter in search criteria, including by county (e.g. Denver), or, just click Search to see all our specimens.
7. If you click Search without entering criteria, you will end up with “stub” or “skeletal” records which may only have the data and no picture, or a picture with no data. We are continuing to database our 19,000+ specimens to have our complete collection online.