Are you interested in how to collect plants, press them, and make herbarium specimens? Plant collections can be used to document what plants are found in an area, help provide information on plant distribution and examples of diversity. It is a very enjoyable pastime, but is also an essential tool used by various botanists and researchers. When such specimens are required as part of professional and/or scientific documentation for surveys or research they are called “vouchers.”
Learn about where to go to collect, how to obtain collection permits, proper collection practices & methods, including what types of data are needed while collecting in order to make specimen labels. Learn how to press, dry, and prepare an herbarium specimen, during which participants will learn hands-on mounting and label making techniques. The class will include a tour of the herbarium to see what becomes of specimens when submitted to herbaria.
Linnea Hanson is a retired botanist from the Plumas National Forest, who is now on the board of the Friends of the Chico State Herbarium and President of Northern California Botanists. She taught General Botany and Horticultural Plant ID at Shasta College recently.
Emily Meigs Doe has recently taught Ornamental Plant ID at Butte College, and has worked as a field botanist of the Forest Service on the Plumas and Mendocino National Forests. She is currently Herbarium Curatorial Assistant at the Chico State Herbarium.