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factsheet Weed management: c o l l e c t i n g a n d p r e s e r v i n g p l a n t s collecting and preserving plants for identification Herbarium: a collection of preserved plant specimens. Inflorescence: flowering shoot with more than one Forb: herbaceous plant that contains little woody plant flower. tissue (excluding grasses). Can be annual or perennial. Propagule: method of multiplication or spread used by a Shrub: woody plant with well developed side shoots and plant to reproduce eg seeds, corms, vegetative plant part. no trunk. VET sector resource: RTD2004A Collect, prepare and Tree: tall woody perennial with trunk and few or no preserve plant specimens; RTC2016A Recognise plants; branches from base. Importance of collecting good specimens The key to accurate identification of plants is to supply the agronomist or botanist with good quality specimens and sufficient information about the RTC2401A Treat weeds; RTC3401A Control weeds; RTC5011A Collect and identify plants. removing small branches from trees • flower colour (if present); and and shrubs; • bark colour/texture. • plastic bags, rubber bands and plants and collection details can be gloss newspaper and a portable plant found in the Weeds CRC Factsheet, press; Weed management: describing weeds plant and the conditions in which it • a pencil or permanent marker; was collected (photos of the plant in its • jewellers tags (or similar) to tie to habitat can be useful). Supplying inadequate or poorly preserved and presented specimens will often lead to rejection of the specimens for identification. Always collect several sets of the same specimen so that you can keep a specimen for later reference following correct identification. Further information on describing "Esky" if weather is hot OR non- individual specimens; for identification. What to collect • a notebook for recording details; Many plants have similar characteristics • a camera for recording plants in situ and it is not possible to identify them and habitat; and • a GPS or map for accurate location of specimen source. Collection details from leaves alone. Therefore it is important to supply representative portions of the plant for correct identification, particularly flowering parts and seed pods. Supplying sufficient information about Perennial plants the plant helps with its identification. Identification of perennial plants will Record details such as: often require the inclusion of some To collect suitable plant specimens for • name and contact details of enquirer; underground parts (rhizomes or corms) identification, it is advisable to take: • date of collection and locality; • a digging implement (mattock or • habitat and occurrence; Materials required for plant collecting spade) to ease plant specimens from the soil so that roots and other underground organs remain intact (never pull plants from the soil); • secateurs and/or small saw for • habit (annual or perennial forb; shrub; tree) and height; • abundance and area covered; • soil type; or pieces of bark with the specimen. Flowers Record flower colour, as this may change when the specimens are dried. Some plants have separate male and female flowers so collect both sets of flowers. Co o p e r a t i v e R e s e a rch Ce n t re f o r A u s t r a l i a n We e d M a n a g e m e n t • F a c t S h e e t p l a n t s Grasses, sedges and small plants Include roots, basal leaves, flowers and fruits. An example of basal leaves are then placed between rigid boards away for identification or for storage in with weights such as bricks or books a collection). supplying pressure to flatten the Short term rhizomes, corms, tubers, and bulbs if • Put plants and/or plant parts in a flowers and fruits. If flowers and fruits c o l l e c t i n g p r e s e r v i n g be laid upon each other. These are a few days) or long term (to be sent include underground parts such as present. plastic bag with a few millilitres of Larger plants such as shrubs and trees Collect a portion of stem that shows the branching pattern, preferably with water (roots toward the bottom of the bag). • Have plants tagged with specimen number, date, collector and locality. • If the specimen is in sections give are not present on the same stems, each sample the same number. collect several samples. Eucalypts Writing on bags with waterproof pen require collection of buds, fruits, often rubs off, so a pencil written juvenile and mature leaves, plus a label inside the bag is preferable. description of the bark. Record the • Tie-off the top of the bag. This will dimensions of the plant and for trees, maintain humidity and help keep the note the trunk diameter at 1.2 m. specimens fresh. Specimen preparation Before preserving a plant specimen, it is important to make sure that: • all specimens are free of soil. • roots are gently washed to remove wet soil. Hard-setting soil may need to be soaked off to prevent damage to the roots. • large plants such as tussock grasses • Multiple samples in newspaper can short term (local identification within a n d the rosette leaves of brassicas. Always There are two methods of preparation, • Keep the specimens out of the sun. Most specimens can be kept in a refrigerator for a few days. The main exception would be specimens with large, soft flowers. Long term • Place the specimens between several specimens. • Change the newspaper daily for the first few days then weekly until the specimens are dry. Fleshy or succulent specimens Plants such as cacti may need to be frozen for a few days before pressing. This ruptures the plant cells and helps drying. If the specimens are individually tagged, it makes keeping track of the correct identification during drying a lot easier. Sending specimens to the herbarium Keep the specimens between sheets of newspaper. Insert a sheet with all the collection details and place between two pieces of firm cardboard. Attach a covering letter outlining your request for identification. Specimens sent to a herbarium for identification won't be returned. Good quality specimens may sheets of A3 newspaper, or folded be kept for herbaria reference broadsheet. collections. • Arrange the samples so that See Weeds CRC Factsheet, Weed and sedges are carefully pried apart leaflets/leaves and flowers can be management: describing weeds for and a few tillers with seed heads clearly seen. Larger specimens can be identification, for a list of Australian kept for identification. bent into a zigzag to fit the sheet. herbaria and their contact details. For further information visit the Weeds CRC’s website: www.weeds.crc.org.au CRC for Australian Weed Management Waite Road, Urrbrae PMB 1, Waite Campus Glen Osmond, SA 5064 Written by: Andrew Storrie, Senior Research Agronomist, (NSW DPI Tamworth, NSW), Weeds CRC and Annabel Bowcher, Education Officer, Weeds CRC, (NSW DPI Wagga Wagga, NSW). T 08 8303 6590 References: definitions obtained from ‘The Wordsworth Dictionary of Botany’ by George Usher F 08 8303 7311 E [email protected] Established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program Ref: 33/2005/fs Disclaimer: This publication is provided for the purpose of disseminating information relating to scientific and technical matters. Participating organisations of the Weeds CRC do not accept liability for any loss and/or damage, including financial loss, resulting from the reliance upon any information, advice or recommendations contained in this publication. The contents of this publication should not necessarily be taken to represent the views of the participating organisations. Co o p e r a t i v e R e s e a rch Ce n t re f o r A u s t r a l i a n We e d M a n a g e m e n t • F a c t S h e e t