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Photographs © copyright Frank Skelton
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Pressed
for Time: By Phil Henderson The herbarium workshop participants drifted slowly through the darkness to the appointed meeting area outside the UBC bookstore. There they skulked in the semi-shadows while the wind picked up and the dreadlocked rastaman stapled posters, advertising an upcoming rastravaganza, to a wooden pole. They eyed one another suspiciously and critically. These skulkers each ruled out the dreadlocked chap as a NPSBC member; but what of the others? How does one distinguish a skulking NPSBC member from a skulking criminal? As if by magic the skulking ceased, and the hesitant skulkers enthusiastically acknowledged one another with smiles when Shona Ellis appeared. More NPSBC members arrived in a small, cheerful group. We waited patiently for a few latecomers but with the wind picking up and temperature dropping, we decided that some of us at least had better seek shelter. Who? Well, the only reasonable choice was to leave the two youngest members of the group to stand and freeze, and direct the stragglers to the lab. So, off we went with Shona leading the way. After a rather confusing journey through various old and not so old “wings” (Were we led on a circuitous route so we could never find the lab again?) we settled into a lab, introduced ourselves, chatted, and helped ourselves to tea and cookies. The latecomers soon arrived and joined us while Olivia Lee, the Keeper (Curatorial Technician) of the UBC Herbarium — our instructor for the evening — began to explain the history, use, and organization of the UBC herbarium. The herbarium houses half a million specimens (the third largest in Canada) in five sections: vascular plants, bryophytes, fungi, lichens, and algae. Most of the collections come from faculty and graduate students but some come from specimen exchanges and a small percentage comes from donations from amateur naturalists. Not all plants are from BC and many are collected internationally by faculty working on projects in other countries. This information was most impressive; but just what is one to do with a collection of dried, dead plants? Olivia noted five primary uses of the herbarium:
Olivia discussed the characteristics of good labels for specimen sheets. Besides having the obvious information such as species, location, date and collector, labels should include a description of habitat and a good description of the fresh specimen including such things as the colour of leaves and stem because the colours may fade over time. The label may contain the collection number assigned by the collector and recorded in his or her collection book. An ascension number is also assigned to specimen that is used when referring to that specimen: this is critical for keeping track of the specimen, especially when they are sometimes loaned to other institutions for study. If the scientific name is annotated, this information is also added and the authority revised. From the lab, somewhere in the centre of the building, we followed Olivia through various hallways, twists and turns, and ascended stairs to a loft that looked like an architectural afterthought. Herbarium cabinets protecting specimens for which there was no longer room inside the herbarium, lined a narrow hallway outside a heavy steel door: the entrance to the herbarium. Inside the herbarium the dozen or so participants snaked their way around the first turn, and stretched out along the long corridor that separates stacks of cabinets, shelves and narrow isles, from the desktops and book shelves that cling to the opposite wall. The space is drab, grey-green and utilitarian; not outwardly cheery or inspiring, which I imagine does not really matter much. The contents are the key. Still, I could not help wonder how it is, with so many new buildings being constructed on campus, that Canada’s third largest herbarium — housing some of the world’s most important collections representing the inestimable value of countless hours of impassioned work — does not attract unbridled support and enthusiasm for new quarters that would at least address the most important issue, the security and safety of the specimens. Olivia showed us samples and explained the intricacies of specimen location and retrieval as we took turns peering down the isles between the cabinets and shuffled single file down the long corridor. About 40% of the records have been entered in a computer database and these are marked with a red stamp: c/c. Red folders or folders with red ribbons along the top and bottom indicate that these are “type” specimens. Type specimens are the original specimens used to describe the species. Holotypes are specimens upon which all descriptions are based, and isotypes are duplicates of holotypes. Rules of herbarium etiquette must be observed to help ensure the safety of the specimens and the maintenance of order. When extracting a folder of a species from the shelf, one must remove the whole pile from the shelf and then remove the individual folder, rather than trying to tease it out individually from the stack on the shelf. When leafing through and removing individual sheets from within the folder, always place the sheets plant-side up. The sheets within the folder are in no particular order, but the folders are arranged alphabetically in the pile and it is important to retain this order so that it may be easily found by the next person. We left the herbarium, the soul of the botany department, and made our way back to the lab where we drank more tea, devoured more cookies and put our new knowledge to the test. We were instructed and encouraged to mount “real” specimens under Olivia’s expert, encouraging and artful guidance. Timidly, we composed our sheets, and the results were splendid. Each masterpiece was placed upon racks to dry. Later, sometime, the sheets will be examined and although the examiner will not know the joy of that evening workshop, it will be there; the herbarium is so much more than a collection of dried, dead plants."
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Workshops
2004
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