The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) is a

botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

research institute A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...

located in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

, United States. It was established in 1987 for the

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (calle ...

and botanical library collections of Lloyd H. Shinners from

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , p ...

but has subsequently expanded substantially. BRIT focuses on plant

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

and

knowledge sharing Knowledge sharing is an activity through which knowledge (namely, information, skills, or expertise) is exchanged among people, friends, peers, families, communities (for example, Wikipedia), or within or between organizations. It bridges the in ...

for both scientists and the general public

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. In spring 2011, BRIT moved into new buildings adjacent to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden that dates from 1934. The buildings were designed by

Hugh Hardy Hugh Hardy (July 26, 1932 – March 17, 2017) was an American architect, known for designing and revitalizing theaters, performing arts venues, public spaces, and cultural facilities across the United States. ''The New Yorker'' writer Brendan ...

of H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture and have a

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

-NC platinum rating from the

U.S. Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...

for efficiency and

sustainable design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...

. The Institute is a 501(c)(3) private,

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

governed by a Board of Trustees. The institute now consists of a two-story Archives Block that houses the herbarium in a , climate-controlled space, with the remaining for research and a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

. Part of the roof is covered with

solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

. A second building, the Think Block is used for education programs, exhibits and administrative offices. This building has

natural lighting Daylighting is the practice of placing windows, skylights, other openings, and reflective surfaces so that sunlight (direct or indirect) can provide effective internal lighting. Particular attention is given to daylighting while designing a bui ...

through floor-to-ceiling glass on the north façade. The building design allows for future expansion. A

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and draina ...

of native Texan prairie plants was installed between 2007 and 2012. Botanical Research Institute of Texas

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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 Vanderbilt may refer to: People * Vanderbilt (surname) * Vanderbilt family Places In the United States: * Vanderbilt, California, a former gold-mining town *Vanderbilt, Michigan, a village * Vanderbilt, Nevada, a ghost town * Vanderbilt Mansion ...

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.

Library

The library contains around 125,000

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ...

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

s and

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also example ...

s from around the world. It was started from the personal libraries of Lloyd H. Shinners and

Eula Whitehouse Eula Whitehouse (1892–1974) was an American botanist, botanical illustrator, and plant collector known for gathering specimens from Africa, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Cyprus, India, Singapore, Fiji, and Mexico. She worked at Southern Methodi ...

. Although the content now focuses on material for research in

systematic botany Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy (the science that finds, describes, classifies, and names living things). Plant taxonomy is closely allied ...

and the

history of botany The history of botany examines the human effort to understand life on Earth by tracing the historical development of the discipline of botany—that part of natural science dealing with organisms traditionally treated as plants. Rudimentary b ...

, there is broad coverage of plant-related subjects. In 1997, BRIT was given the

Burk Children's Library Burk may refer to: Places * Burk, Bavaria, a municipality in the district of Ansbach, Bavaria, Germany * Burk, a city district of Bautzen_(district), Saxony, Germany * Burk, a neighborhood of Forchheim (Oberfranken), Bavaria, Germany People * Bur ...

of 4,000 children's books on botany and natural history.

Research

Botanical research is conducted in Texas and also in

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equator ...

s such as the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The research is divided into three programs: Floras, Plants and Peoples, and Landscape Ecology. Floras encompasses the discovery, classification, and characterization of plants and

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic charac ...

and researchers employed by the institute have described more than 80 new species. They have also undertaken floristic and systematic research in Texas, the USA and worldwide using their taxonomic expertise in a number of plant families. Surveys within the USA involve collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

, and

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

. Programs within the Floras remit include the Illustrated Texas Floras Project that has produced several publications useful for the citizens of Texas, contributing the Asteraceae section to the Flora of North America (FNA) Project and the Andes to Amazon Botany Program (AABP) 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

plant science Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

the professional literature and also in forms more accessible to the general public. In 1999, BRIT published ''Shinners & Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas'', written in collaboration with the Biology Department and Center for Environmental Studies at

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas. BRIT also publishes two scientific periodicals: the

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas
' (formerly called ''SIDA, Contributions to Botany'') and ''Botanical Miscellany'', an occasional series of

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monogra ...

s 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. Awardees have included

Sylvia Earle Sylvia Alice Earle (née Reade; born August 30, 1935) is an American marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer. She has been a National Geographic explorer-in-residence since 1998. Earle was the first female chief scien ...

(2018), Thomas E. Lovejoy (2014),

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (''née'' Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 whe ...

Robert K. Watson Robert "Rob" Watson, is a market transformation expert, international leader in the green building movement and CEO and chief scientist of The ECON Group. He founded the LEED Green Building Rating System of the United States Green Building C ...

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he ...

, John Cain Carter and Peter Hamilton Raven. In 2001 the Wendy Owsley Garrett Science Teacher Award was introduced and in 2010 the International Award of Excellence in Sustainable Winegrowing.

Education

BRIT's plant collections and educational programs are open to the public. BRIT's

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

programs about plants include lectures, workshops and classes at levels suitable for adults, families, schoolchildren and professional development for teachers. The programs are provided in collaboration with a large number of external organisations to deliver these programs. The teacher learning center is endowed by The Rainwater Charitable Foundation. There is a Distinguished Lecturer series about current plant-related topics as a public service to the community. The T.M. Barkley Plant Science and Ecology Seminar, in collaboration with Christian University, provides a forum for faculty and university students to present current research.

External links

BRIT Botanical Research Institute of Texas website

References

{{Fort Worth, Texas Culture of Fort Worth, Texas University and college academic libraries in the United States Libraries in Tarrant County, Texas Herbaria in the United States 1987 establishments in Texas Library buildings completed in 2011 Botanical research institutes