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The
Otis Douglas Hyde Herbarium collects and houses voucher
specimens of all accessioned plants in theUniversity of Washington Botanic Gardens,
horticulturally significant plants, and plants that reflect
the research and project efforts of faculty, staff and
students at UWBG.
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Volunteers
at the Otis Douglas Hyde Herbarium
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Collecting
Clethra alnifolia
at the Washington Park
Arboretum |
Clethra
alnifolia in bloom
in August at the Washington
Park Arboretum
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Collecting
Specimens.
Most of the collecting that goes on in the Herbarium occurs
at the Washington Park Arboretum. Collecting lists are made by
first determining which plants are in fruit or flower, as the
most valuable specimens have one or the other. A collection list
in June might include Ceanothus sp., Weigela sp.
and Syringa sp. (Lilacs). Once the plants are chosen, the
Arboretum master list is cross-referenced with our inventory of
herbarium sheets so that we collect specimens that we don't already
have. Since a major part of the mission of the herbarium is to
house voucher specimens for the WPA, specimens are collected from
each individual accessioned plant. Often, we'll then narrow our
collecting list to a particular area in the Arboretum. Then, we
pull the maps for the sections where we will be collecting. The
WPA is sectioned off into grids, and each grid has an accompanying
map with specimen location information. With maps and a collecting
list in hand, we head out to the field and collect. Locating the
plants is a bit like searching for treasure, but treasure isn't
actually found unless the plant is in full flower or fruit - whichever
state is desired for collecting purposes. In a collecting book,
we record our name, the date, the name and family of the plant,
a unique collecting number for each specimen, and comments about
the plant and it's immediate environment, including dimensions,
aspect, surrounding plants and canopy cover.
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| Fruit and leaf
of Magnolia campbelli, collected at the Washington
Park Arboretum |
Pressing
and Mounting Specimens
Once specimens have been collected, we return to the herbarium
to press them. Plants are arranged so as to show as many parts
as possible - flower and fruit may be cut in half to display parts,
and leaves are arranged so that both sides of the leaf are displayed.
Care is also taken to arrange the plant so that it will fit on
standard mounting paper, which is 11" x 17". Specimens
are pressed in a sandwich consisting of newspapers, absorbent
felt blotter paper and cardboard ventilators. The stacks is secured
at either end with wooden frames, called press ends, and then
straps are wrapped around the entire stack and tightened. The
goal is to have specimens as flat as possible, because shelf space
in a herbarium is a hot commodity.
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Supplies
for mounting specimens include glue, weights and fragment
folders.
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Specimens
may be dried in a large oven at low temperature, or they may be
left for several days to air dry. Labels are then made for the
specimens, using the collection notes. When the specimens are
dry and the labels have been made, they are ready to be mounted
(glued). Herbarium specimens are mounted on acid-free paper, which
ensures the longevity of the paper and prevents acids from altering
the specimens. Fragment folders are mounted along with the specimen
and label. Fragment folders are envelopes, and they hold plant
parts that are too small to glue or extra flowers, fruits or leaves.
A terrific visual tour of an herbarium specimen can be found at
the New
York Botanical Garden's herbarium site.
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Freshly mounted
specimens are covered with wax paper, foam, a ventilator and
weights while they dry |
Herbaria
and other web links of interest:
UW Herbarium at the Burke Museum
Electronic
Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia
Electronic
Floras Homepage
Missouri Botanical Garden Herbarium webpage
Washington
State Noxious Weed Control Board
