COLLECTING A PLANT SPECIMEN
Note: Use the same procedure for collecting any plant specimen for identification by the Queensland Herbarium.
• Collect 2-3 representative samples of the plant that you are interested in
• Try to avoid collecting a plant that has been grazed or shows signs of insect damage
• Collect flowers, leaves, stems and any fruits if present
• For small herbs, it is best to collect the entire plant including roots
• It is best to use secateurs to collect plants, avoiding damage to the plant
• Make sure that the specimen collected can fit within a press or sheets of newspaper. Ideally its best to keep the specimens to less than 30cm
• Place the specimen within a wad of newspaper and place within a plant press. If a press is not available place the newspaper under a few phone books or under a piece of plywood with a few bricks on top.
• Make sure that the specimen is kept dry. The paper should be changed every few days to avoid the specimen going mouldy.
• Contact the Weed Watch Coordinator at Conservation Volunteers to arrange the specimen to be picked up or sent to Cairns, or you can send it direct to the Queensland Herbarium (see below).
Information to be recorded
• When a plant specimen is collected it is essential to also record information about where the plant was found, what environment it was found in and any distinguishing features of the plant.
• This information is recorded on a Herbarium collection record sheet. This sheet is sent off to the Herbarium in Brisbane along with the specimen. Information recorded on this sheet is useful in identifying the plant specimen.
• Do not be alarmed if you cannot fill out all of the criteria on the herbarium record sheet.
The following criteria are essential fields that the herbarium requires:
o Locality information (e.g. Smith Creek, Smithville, 2km north of the Smith Bridge)
road name/creek name
suburb/town
written description to describe the location from a known point
A GPS point of the location is excellent if possible to obtain
o Description of the environment the plant was found in
Soil type (rocky, sandy, heavy clays)
Situation (river bank, floodplain, hill slope, forest, cane farm, sand dune etc)
o Description of the plant
Kind of plant (vine, shrub, herb, tree)
Any distinguishing feature (thorns, long stems, purple flowers, red leaves)
Abundance, the number of individual plants in the area, or the area covered by the plant. (e.g. 20 plants identified or an area 20m x 50m covered by the plant species)
Complete the form (one for each specimen) and send with specimen/s to:
Botanical Information and Advisory Service, Queensland Herbarium, EPA
Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, Mt Coot-tha Road,
TOOWONG QLD 4066,
