Chapter 18:Herbaria Flashcards
What is an herbarium?
A place where preserved plant collections are kept, usually pressed and dried plant specimen attached to a sheet of paper.
What is an herbarium specimen?
a pressed and dried plant specimen attached to a sheet of paper
What is the function or purpose of a herbaria?
- maintain plant specimens
2. act as centers of plant systematics research
What are the 3 biggest herbaria in the US?
New York Botanical Garden in Bronx, NY
Missouri botanical Garden, Saint Louis, MS
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
What are the 3 largest herbaria in the world?
Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France ~ 9,500,000 specimens
New York Botanical Garden in Bronx, NY with 7,000,000 specimens
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England with 7,000,000 specimens
What is the size and format of herbarium specimens?
11.5”wide X 16.5” tall
has plant parts dissected to reveal morphology, annotation label, herbarium label, accession number, and an envelope.
What is the size and format of the Herbarium label?
5”wide X however tall it needs to be
At the top is the Herbarium info, with herbarium name, country, state, and Co.
Then the scientific name of the specimen
Then plant information, like how tall the plant was that was collected, what type of plant it is, what any features were that are not seen in the specimen or anything that may fade over time, such as colors.
Next is the information about the specific location of where the plant was collected, and information about the immediate surrounding habitat or any close plants, as well as elevation, etc.
Lastly is the Collectors name with any associated collectors, as well as the date of collection
What is a curator?
person responsible for running the herbarium, as well as:
Maintaining collection.
Processing new collections to the herbarium.
Distributing loans.
Resource for plant identification
What is an accession number?
Permanent number associated with each specimen.
Usually written with herbarium acronym: examples
SD 121596
SDSU 13655
UC 218486
How are specimens handled and stored in an herbarium?
~stored in herbarium cabinet /compactor, with sealed door.
~Genus folders stored,may be color-coded: alphabetical or by classification system.
~Handle carefully, gently; don’t turn upside-down.
What is an annotation label?
What are the different types of data that can be on an annotation label?
- ) Verifies or changes identity of specimen.
2) Documents removal of plant material
- may also have information if someone were to remove parts of the specimen for genetic data, different research studies, etc.
What must be done to remove plant material, and why would you want to?
- ) Get Permission
- ) May reconstitute in boiling water or detergent solution.
- ) Flowers, pollen, ovules, tissues, DNA.
What is an herbarium loan?
A loan from an herbarium to conduct specific studies. ~entire collections of certain taxa, etc, may be borrowed for about 6 months to a year for the studies to be conducted.
What is done for insect control in an herbarium?
The specimens are placed in a freezer regularly. Also, there is a tape you can use inside the cabinets to detect any insects that may be present, and if anything shows up, the whole cabinet can be frozen.
What is a data information system? Why should you input data into this system for all specimens of a herbaria?
~Inputting, organization, and accessing of information.
~Data may answer questions in plant taxonomy
Examples of data info systems fields:
Collector
Plant featuresFlower color, phenology, plant habit, size, etc.
Geography (specific latitude/longitude)Maps
HabitatSubstrate type, topography
Community associates
Rarity
~all other information so if someone wants to collect all of the specimens collected in a taxa or by a certain collector, etc, the information can be sorted and collected easily
