How We Collect Plant Specimens in Brevard County

- what parts of the plant to collect

• Include fertile parts: flowers, fruits--or preferably both--fertile fronds and leaves all attached to the stems
• Include a range of the leaf sizes and forms available on the individual plant

- size of specimens

• trees, shrubs, and large herbs: 12-20 inches, cut off the end of a stem or branch
• small herbs: the whole plant, including the upper roots
• very small herbs: several whole plants
• vines: a length of stem that will fit on an 9 x 18 sheet of paper, whether coiled or bent

- number of specimens to collect

• one for the Brevard County Herbarium
• one for the University of South Florida, Tampa
• one for Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami

- special concerns

• never collect more than 10% of a population
• obtain permission from landowner before you collect specimens
• never collect a State-listed protected plant species without a permit from Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Rules of the FDACS-Division of Plant Industry-Chapter 5b-40

Note:  sterile specimens (those without flowers, fruits, cones or fertile fern fronds) are normally useless unless the specimen is infertile or extremely rare and collecting flowers and fruits would negatively impact the species’ conservation

 

- document the specimen by writing down the following data in a notebook or on a sheet of paper

• collector's name(s)
• collection number
• date
• genus & species
• flower color
• height of tallest specimen in vicinity
• description of other features that will be lost after pressing and drying
• location
  • city or nearest city
  • county
  • nearest intersection or other durable landmark
  • distance and direction from the landmark to the plant
  • latitude & longitude from a GPS if available (WGS 84)
• habitat (name of plant community)
• description of soil
• abundance: abundant, frequent, infrequent, rare

- identify the plant as best as you can

 

- press the plant in a plant press or in the pages of a large book

 

- dry the plant in a warm, dry location

• attic
• warm car
• near a heater or fan

- dry quickly to preserve flower & leaf color

 

- submit the dried plant and collection data to the herbarium

- process a specimen

• enter the data from the data sheet into the database
• print a label from the database on acid-free paper
• mount the specimen on a 12 by 18 inch sheet of light acid-free card stock using glue or self-adhesive linen strips
• glue the following along the lower edge of the card stock
  • the label in the lower right corner
  • a paper envelope in the lower left corner for storing seeds and other fragments
  • the accession number in the lower center
• file the specimen in the herbarium cabinet in a folder with the family name alphabetically by genus & species
• scan and update online collection
• send duplicate specimens to
  • University of South Florida
  • Fairchild Tropical Garden

How the University of South Florida uses the specimens we send to them

• checks that specimens have been correctly identified
• informs us of any that have been identified incorrectly or of any with new names
• enters our specimens into a database that maps the counties where each species has been found
• for a sample distribution map, see http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/ and enter the name Dicerandra thinicola
• to see all species vouchered for Brevard County, see http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/search_by_county.asp
• mounts the specimens with data labels
• stores the mounted specimens for future consultation
• biogeography: where plants are found geographically and ecologically
• taxonomy: studies often resulting in the modification of plant classification or nomenclature
• history: establishment of species new to the area; how historic distributions are changing
• education: training of students and professionals
• museum: comparative materials for identification of unknown plants

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