[Nhcoll-l] HERBARIA: Associated Large Materials (i.e., fruit, twigs, bark)

[Yatskievych, George A]

Hi Megan,

At TEX/LL we do not have rigid protocols for storage of three-dimensional objects, which include basically anything thicker than about 1.0-1.5 inches.  Ultimately, nearly all of such materials fit into cardboard trays sized to fit the cubbyholes in our herbarium cabinets. The individual specimens are either bagged or boxed, depending on how fragile they are.  We mount the labels on cut-down herbarium sheets. Where specimens have mounted counterparts there is either a hand-written note or a tag reciprocally indicating the existing of the other portion . However, we treat each of them as separate specimens (as we do multi-sheet collections) and the boxed/bagged material gets its own barcode.  I do not think that there is a right or wrong approach to record-keeping. Having separate barcodes makes data entry into our database easier, as the two objects usually are not entered at the same time. It also solves the headache of having to reproduce identical barcodes.

As for imaging, we have not tackled this yet for the majority of our three-dimensional objects. The boxed/bagged materials are mostly too thick to be entirely in focus, so we have discussed taking the extra time and effort to upscale our imaging protocols to include focus-stacking. However, so far we have been too busy trying to get sheets covered by one grant or another into the system that we have not explored stacking yet (beyond doing some basic research into the hardware and thinking about how we would train students to complete the process).  There are a lot of variables!

Be well,

GY

George Yatskievych, Ph.D.
Botanist, Curator: Billie L. Turner Plant Resources Center, University of Texas at Austin
Main Bldg Rm 127, 110 Inner Campus Dr, Stop F0404, Austin, TX 78712-1711 U.S.A.
Tel. 512-471-5904; george.yatskievych at austin.utexas.edu<mailto:george.yatskievych at austin.utexas.edu>

From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Megan King
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2025 11:44 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] HERBARIA: Associated Large Materials (i.e., fruit, twigs, bark)

Hello all,

I was wondering if any other herbaria have established methods for dealing with large material that isn't mounted on a standard herbarium sheet, such as pinecones, bark samples, large fruits, etc.?

I am looking for different ways that collections may do this and pros and cons of each if you have them. I noticed NY stamps their mounted sheets with "SEE FRUIT COLLECTION" and also barcodes the fruits separately. What way does your collection indicate that there is additional material stored separately and do you use the same barcode, do you image the material and if you do how do you link the two together.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Megan





Help a Herbarium! Chrysler Herbarium Giving Link<https://give.rutgersfoundation.org/chrysler-herbarium/7045.html>

Megan R. King | Assistant Curator Education and Outreach | Collections Manager, Chrysler Herbarium (CHRB) | Graduate Student | Rutgers University, New Brunswick | Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources | Ecology & Evolution Graduate Program | 14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 | Email: megan.king at rutgers.edu<mailto:megan.king at rutgers.edu> | Office: 848-932-4158 | Cell: 201-446-9815
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