(Zot Sem ) ——— De: FARoo6, a iy Gey yy a one Chapter’ 4 Botanical Collection 4.1 Parpose Generally speaking, any process. for gathering plants can be: | called botanieapeollectiony: Butythe nature of this collection varie: with purposes The various purposes of botanical collections car be summarised as below. For buildingy tip! of newer herbaria, or for enriching ola vA herbaria, % b. For collecting plant material for writing a flora. 76. Por collecting materjal for musea or glass Work. | 4d. For collecting live material for introduction in, gardens or i for hybridigatiom work.’ | J/e. For collecting material of particular genus/species for re- search work or for analysis | /i. For collecting large quantities of a particular species or part 1 of that plant as‘erude drug for trade. / s. Forethnobotanical studies i.e. study of relationship of local inhabitants with plants of the area, noting the uses, avoid- ances or {aboos about plants as stated by lucal inkabitants. For collecting specimens for sale/trade to educational insti- s aa Pagid 402 Kinds o! work i Depending upon the purpose of plant collections, fiekl work ean a | be broadly’classified into three types. : dane by students s is not a detailP AoTANICAL COLLECTION af : Tug Pee cites artioul and fora of the at some of the vegetation iti in fickd_ work, or for gollections a spectanens | Tints work, or museum or trade or for subuTss!® the college/university herbaria. chore collection. Sometimes foreign scientists are also.-taken CM 8 1 sauce apy trips, usually to-show-theni the Tndian vere tiny Ae me fr sgmerparticular plant of their interest ia natural habitat ANDES 92.2) Exploration . ; 2 7 f) Cesplgrutions _alsrtislisae asap oF econgmic, plants © 1 gad Joe building up heck) some region. . ely studied ane. . Complete, seis, Genevll: purpose, the area or locality is ctions are.made regularly if diferent s plants from that area ure collected, und tions are for four ig six weeks "dura! aces uding uper nd facihities, Adequate camping equi r a duired UP -Betuils nk eqitipaienr ace onde it for inier exploration should be a Jig conducted by the Botanical Survey of Inc institutions interested in fora or economia ants “Some university botany departments have : én flora nature districts or towns and ti Tal Theses ed i ies and Where, scge- and other re ef any © 423 Expedi Expeditions are undertaken to_remote_a c fare usually of of several months durati on. As Of pro: provisi ons, transport, labour, an oe involve -heavy capenditure, expeditions are Resales orgay _ gelluboration with more than one institution or organisation.) Not adventure em working As ‘the expedition: very Tiequen rethei.HERBARIUM SANDROOK OF HITED AND RELRAIUM METHODS, Vy Collections are made very jnt ensively und car y /) cannot be visited frequently and also because such materials likely ta yleld nam Undeseribed species ar new records. ) Expeditions necessitate careful planning and coordination with uhorities. As more than one department participate in: the Fedition, Wis necessary to disetss ans decide the respective role of participants, particularly on subjects supplies, publicity, security remote a Vv ¢ Funds, communicatien, leadership, distribution of responsibi- THES anTTuties and exigencies like airdropping and air-evacua- tion. ete, 4.3. Preparation ot oath usontle , Se Theeplanning and all related arrangerents and Preparation for field work depend on the nature of field ‘sork, purpose, duration, size of the party and areaof work, ‘ The followinegsuggestions are prit intended for botanical explorations, but they stould be useful for ¢ as for expeditions, eer 1 collection trips as well With some experience, the leaders af the ties can easily decide what is useful « vad applicable in cultr situation, The prepa work fall undey a parti- ations {10 proceeding on field the provisional itierary. Colicagies Specific botanical material is emi e consulted “if “any brought fram the area, oe As to be aa) Arrangments of journey and stay \ Write to loca | authorities i Sin area of ork for r_co-op V] ficld work andre i, wee Work Ser vition o. ees n. rite for these nce ie thle phvces oF slay ure? Stay are TpCireuit’ House, Ins; Jfngpection Sonat rH 4 lat i Forest Forest Rest House, Forest baritone Orest_Beat House, Vent a Vail Tes ~ & ness in Hotels nd hax TENE. erangemnent magic et hotels masala. Ordi clnanly tele pad Dharig, i ri ctlin advance.press AL COLLECTION B calas hye cromded and _areunsuitable for botanical work. Sort, § numbering, pressing, changing and drying of blotters aswell King arrangements require enough space vurbed by visitors, In some places tents are the only prefe arrange private © ment for stay 44 Materials or equipments GmeNance, places of stay, purpose of collect factors and decide what and how much is necessary- List of equipments : ‘ ww Vasculum ~~ Pencils ~~ Cutter ~ WZ Rubber fe Knife ¥ = Ink [ ZRhurpr/ V7 Scale = ' Aree pruner~ LePocket lens ~~ : AREY ‘Old newspapers ~~ | Zelee axe Zarying Sheets/Blotting sheets + Polythene bags Presses A Rain coat o AAtiadd presses Tf Field book 4 Straps 7 “Z Field shoes 7 Y Ropes. ‘Clothes * <7 Soap : _~ Contingency voushers Seal and Rubber stamp Identity cards ‘Torch with batteries ©& Binoculars 7 Altimeter Petromax = Service stamps ~ ae + Letter-heads 77 Tents ~ 7 Camera, 4NOLANICAL COLLECTION wded.and are-wmsnitab ical_work. Sorting, c SSINBY changing and drying of -Motters ak well as private cooking arrangements require enough space preferably undisturbed by visitors, In some places tents are the only arrange- ment for stay, Jol Materials or equipments The following list of equipment is:rather general, and must vary jn different situations, The leader of the party has fo consider the weather, duration, of trip, size of the’ party, area of work, mode of conveyance, places of ‘stay, purpose of collection and such other factors and decide what and how much is necessary. List of equipments r I LY Vasculum 7 Pencils ~ Cutter % ~ Rubber / SY Knife % Ink Y Khurpor/ 7 Seale a Tree pruner Pocket lens ~~ Old newspapers ~— Drying Sheets/Blotting sheets A Presses ~~ f Aield presses’ “ °. Straps a ec oSoap, Seal and Rubber stamp Service stamps. ° Identity cards + Letter-heads ‘Torch with batteries VTents ~ Binoculars Camera / Altimeter v Stove Petromax Kerosene % J Candles JS Bags of Shoulder bags 2 Urea Mateh box ait vrional xecounts, ways: catenins made to accnmmnodale iy, particular system about stay, movements ete, Nothing shoul lone to pe eat local Mail guides, intorr and A i and help in future visits. © - 8 4.7 Collection work. ESET / oa thingsshould be kept in mind before starting collection wor Serlips of phunts ire not wanted, b Good material of a small nvall_number of s caret and intelligently vollected, properly “annotated.” and well pressed is preferable — to a large amount” of matesial Quality vis much “more importsat sollected ind iscriminately, much of which may have te oe ‘34 A HANDBOOK OF FIELD AND HERBARIUM METHODS both. Sterile twigs.or plants are of little value, Incase of gra: nd other herbs, the whole:plant including the underground Collection of a number’ of plants from id, on,.‘mass. collections” or cul iaily valuable that, if possible, both flowering and | fruiting twigs are taken, from the same plant.” Ti precocious flower- ! “mespeues- Gaels Towers only one sex-are-present at a time. {Cure should be taken to search and collect flowers of both sexes, : sometimes from separate plants, : Grasses, sedges und grass-like weeds form a valuable constituent € of g id cc ver and must. be collected. These plants are the easiest tC Heet, press and dry, but curiously enough, > ‘they are often avsided by plant collectors, All groups. ofplants must be taken toomake the collections: complete or representative. eo ae Gialeieot oy y whi e specimens will dally be Wyand this limits the size of © oe to. various considerations, at, leas€esix specimens of” each oe are Collected; this is.doneparticulurly>to fucilitate» distribu- wo en SrCOLLECTION Les: are" Usety natomy, “e. OTANICAL ge. Also, unmounted suplicas tailed studies. such asin. palynolog: plicates. ae uid be deposited in_as many herbagia asp postin Be they they can be “maintained safely. If enough —duplicates ave available, it is advisable to distribute collectieis to different parts Sarthe country such as Kanjilal Herbsiriwm at Shillong or Central National Herbarium al Cateutta i Madras Herbarium at Coimbatore in-south and herbaria of Botanical Survey of India or Forest Research Institute at Debra Dun in north: cm: record. Eyen UE most valuable Sp 9) are referred to by Some o tors give their own individual serial numbers and maintain their sequence ev n ifthey change Ue MstiTations. On ihe o1 other hand, some ins and sequence main "For each species the number should be entered in the field _note- that number should be -attached_to the Be given to all ¢ Gunlicalesa Tt will be seen that each page of E field note-book provides tags for six specimens (fig. 5,6).A HANDDOOK OF HIELD AND NERUARIUM METHOD: Ger erally, the followin . sing details should be recorded fn the field not Q book . b necir names ardinses > The vernecular names’ shoulc cool arc should be taken tc ss should be very carefully into Reman. ft heips if the name is Lor some Indian sevipt. pealin 2 The name ef cohen. ns beard and trensliterate the place and also the distance and familiar or }.nown place which ‘a map should be given. A note like ‘2 km N.F, ng name of t o pe tts 1c SS ned which the plant thightis, deciduous forest 2 is nov enon! Notes, : iin are not known, their collection 1 umber can be # It-sheuld be brief and should include chiefly not be observed in ed pesspecinas ‘ sri ena can i ‘usyesemrent,> Sketches of sp cial or curios, fargoTANICAL COLLECTION , days of heavy rainfall, or when there is a large amount of opt tions, pressing in the field is difficult ad the work of pressing } done in the camp, Sometimes, for want of time or other exigencies, \ even numbering of duplicates has to be done in thé camp. But, this must be avoided as iL can involve mixing Of collections from different spots, and in case of grasyes and ye of species. es, efe. even mixing. 4.7.3, Pressing and drying of specimens LLibtens, between the _absor- flowers tea 1 we Js consides Lf pationce.) Some Veane sare placed facing up and eth: ng down to show“the characters on both surfaces, “This is specially impor- lant in case of Gein shich have sori on the abaxial side, Tn case _ gamopetalous flowers, if possible, one flower should ‘be é split slyly and pressed with corolla spread out to show androeciun: and Bynoccium, Jf the specimens are Jonger than the size of mounting shcet, they can be folded like ‘V’, or even 'W". (To held the a slit care can be i ring the process of &. laner glucing and stitching, the parts nisill stay in position.) ty © There aie (oo many leaves or branches, a few are removed, so that ‘There is as little, overlapping. as possible and all parts are oa visible, The extra leaves and branches are cut (and not tor awa (ith a secateur or scissors a little above the base, leaving & call fea orp as to show their position of attachment (lig. 9, 10 show he right and wrong way of pressing), While pressing, the specimens,should be placed in such a way that there is almost uniform thickness of the bundle in the middle and on sides. ‘This Will prayide™ uniform pressure in the press. ‘i i e will be a bulge in e. middle, which w ill get, more properly pressed. ) To, avoid this. ryers, i.e. some are placed pia: show right and iat| given to a specimen at the this. | because th® appears t ee of pressing is most. valuable, the final mounted specimen depends 5 _of entirel ieir Moisture =a Tally Become completely The used rand moist blotters: are removed and dried and fed over and over isan: p Sometimes in the tropics, tue to very dry weather, it is necessary to_ press inthe ls piihe light field press; it saves from wilting, £ (the tichd_pr OrtfolioW consists of wo pieces of dboards ted wit Two st Straps. One blotter Can be used for” “ne or more specimens depending on size of plants. With this method a number of specimens can be conveniently brought to. the camp daily in goed condition. After reaching the camp, these sheets are transferred to the heavy plan re sse: The_p' on of drying can be kgs BIE Se acing the press in The moist blotters are also dried in sunor by artificial heat. During rainy weather, it is necessary to dry blotters ever a stove or near an oven or chimney (tig. 13%; en not tp burn or char the paper or specimens. ped that the supnes the press. the quicker the an plied i in ordinary. newspapers. For 0s if the plant does pest Denis of this method ®! - Betartris (para a si a datanniats “ “ aisra nampa boiling waterpor jax thi ‘Of fissties removed by hollowing out thes The tissues’ fan also be Kitied shy treating with alcohol or. stroyg.formaliny’ Dipping in bwiling water’ for few ‘seconds iy amost suitable Yor. killing the tis: Cacti may be handled by splitting the joiats, killing the tissues and then. drying them by artificial hent, , While woording the charatters of succulents, specially the. spiny sucettents, details like shape, size and the arrangement of spines and joints should be noted. b. Collection of mimute plants "Some plants like Lena and Walfia are microscopic and cannot seule and Jolt be_processed_for the herbarium the usual way. These plants should be collected in mass with the gollection number, notes, ete, “sun-dried and put in acket, and the packet pasted on the mount- ing_board. These can also be preserved in any of the liquid preservatives. used for embryological or anatornical studies. ‘The common liquid preservative is : acetic acid Formaldehyde 40% Bean va ee prance peensisiey Ah » Place, date, etc, should_be written on a, fan ink and_put inside the jar or pasted Y Collection Of slender waquaite: pian 2 nn Raeentipner errs,Fig. 14. Spreading of aquatic plant on blotter ; (a) wire press er gauge on which paper or cloth (b) is spread, for taking the plant above it. inuslin cloth is inserted below the specimen (fig. white paper J4) and taken out; the paper or cloth: is lifted slowly _with oa Tee eon be ids and placed between the dryers. Some extra dryers : fed belo The plants should be changed ' > along with the paper or muslin cloth. For the first one or two days, the changing should be more frequent. Plemto a> Aa fes) ' f¢ Some aquatic lithoph: = cannot be detached from th < needs io be. lecting them. “The rock. or_preserved_in—liquid Some plants (like Hibiscus, Dodonaea, etc.) contain mucilage or jin; they stick to the dryers and Gause difficulty while changing. ‘Such specimens should be placed in_a folder of muslin or any. ryers should be changed and s are fully dry. .Sitieht ae i i eT et eek ey AN colton Covontial for correct identi | joakh tn ghd ee fn 1h fodious.: Sometimes whole tubers vast WINNT Geld AVNER HA MREUS lae Motes are taken on their shape andl tials) diged Rah AiNAll segtions are kept with herbarium specimens a Colleceion of very large plants like bamboos, palms and. bananas Due to their large size, bamboos, palms and bananas and some ferns like Cyarhea and Anglapteris require special methods for collection,” There are very ehiforate’ methods and instructions developed by specialists for these groups. The habit of the plant (or pseudo-stem), leaves and and sateen size of the cub inflorescences aceeoRedsiay the fi¢ld note-book. Either the whole plant and its main parts should be photographed (with a scale) or theic sketches must be made on the spot, Effort should be made t0 collect leaves (or por wes) noting the actual ase of bamboos, few ligules must be collected, noting rd Smeal vithast spli uneven in pressing, and if is managed by Finn \ collect, seeds along with the collection of ‘These should be_4i and S—" Wis advisable to specimens, Seedp-should be mature, placed in a packet and, mounted along with herviai etion Bt wats 1 impartat Tor olA TANQNGOR ‘OF PIED Ash aeantuar MErRODS 4 Sometimes they hy Says hcint ARR Wait very divatal Pe ayia feanbdiehe terpholouy ‘pf various groups, 9 2, (Mtdimeea, aceae, etc. » apndaage ey fei j b. They are required for grywlniy in eapeicnental pardens, c. Exchange of seeds'ts tii didportant Teanttion of all botanic gardens, 4.7.5 Summary a. Select a good twig or plant which is free from disease. b. Place a single plant within a single folder of drying paper; if the plants are too small, more than one may be kept in one folder, c. Herbaceous plants longer than 30 cm should be folded in j the form of V, N, M, or W, etc. and then pressed. d. Hf necessary, some pruning is done to- Prevent overlapping of parts, leaving their basal Part to indicate their position. ¢. Some of the leaves should be pressed with their lower side | up; this is particularly required in case of ferns, where the | sori are invariably confined to the fower surface. \ f. Tubers, bulbs and other bulky parts can be pressed after removing extra tissues, ; 48° Suggested Reading fm © Botha, DJ. & J. Coetzee..1976. A portable dryer for herbarium specimens, JS. Afr, Bat. 42: Al oy * 4 in plant collecting, Science 106: 250-251, — 1965, % I for Tropical Herbaria. Reg, Vey, Lot 101 in plant collecting. Rhodora 4% 207-210. Jain, $: K- 1960. The Herbarium—lts muking und uses. For. Lew, (Hindi) 21, ‘New Delhi, os Lawrence, G. H. M:1951, Taxonomy of Vascular Planis, London. MacDaniels, L. H, 1930. A port: ie alryer for, tropical climates An, Je Bot: Storey.:1930, A drying cabine* for the preparation Ws Borhalia 3: 13141, r. 1950. A substitute, for Formaldehyde amd Alcohol in plant 5 es mW ; for i