Bio 332 L                              Plant Collection & Notebook                          2007

 

The assignment is worth 150 points, about 38% of your course grade.  Both the

collection and notebook are due on December 7.  Late collections will be assessed

 a 10% penalty per day.

Notebook. (20 points) All field notes must be transferred from a temporary field

notebook to a permanent one as soon as possible. Doing this promptly will enable you to add information while it is still fresh in your mind. Secondly, this will protect your data should your field notebook become ruined or lost in the field. 

 

Obtain an English composition notebook and a pen with black, acid free ink . (Zebra brand is available at K-mart and  Staples. Use only this pen for recording information.

 

Notebooks will be checked periodically during the term.  Points will be deducted if they are not kept current with your collecting and if you do not have it with notebook with you at each lab meeting.  Never take your permanent notebook in the field.

 

Obtain a small pocket notebook for taking notes in the field. Keep notes in pencil. Also obtain an indelible marker such as Marks-a-lot. Use this marker to put your collection number on the herbarium sheet. Some basic notes to make in the field should include, but are not limited to the following:

  • collection date as 24 August 2005  or August 25, 2005
  • a rough idea of the locality (odometer readings can be useful here) GPS coordinates are a good idea when possible.  Maps can be used later to give a more precise location including coordinates.  You are required to use UTM coordinates*.  Obtain by pointing your URL to   http://topozone.com/
  • type of habitat, for example roadside, ditch, lake shore, riverbank, bog, edge of woods, cedar swamp, spruce forest , margin of potato field, and many others
  • number of specimen should be the same as number used on newspaper
  • flower color and any other notes on features which may change upon drying
  • size of plant (especially important when whole plant is not collected)
  • if it applies, note whether the stem is cespitose, prostrate, decumbent
  • when digging up your specimen, look for evidence of tubers, corms and rhizomes

All field notes must be transcribed to a permanent notebook at the end of the day.
I keep field notes on the right hand page as shown below.  On the left hand page I
will make my laboratory observations which include measurements and drawings
of flower dissections and other parts. See excerpts from my notebook below for an
example of right hand page entries.   (Underlined example in my excerpts are written on the left hand page; they are not underlined in my notebook though.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpts from my notebook

 

                                                                                                            8 September 2001

 

MAINE: Aroostook Co. : Limestone twp., Sawyer Bog, 0.7 mi west of Grass Corner,    19 584238E,  5196104N.

 

                                                                                                                                    5526

 

Sparganium emersium Rehm.

Solitary in muddy soil at6 edge of swamp.  4 dm tall.   Lowest carpellate spikelet sessile or pedicellate above the lowest bract.   Tepals attached at the base of the stipe.  Achenes greenish, beak straight.

 

                                                                                                                                    5527

Carex pseudocyperus L.

Stem ca. 7 dm tall, cespitose.   Forming elevated tussocks throughout swamp.  Six carpellate spikelets erect to spreading, 8 mm thick.  Perigynia reflexed, green with many nerves, slightly inflated. Carpellate scales with awns longer than body.

 

                                                                                                                        8 September 2001

 

MAINE: Aroostook Co. : Limestone twp., marsh south of Wolverton Brook on West Gate Road,   19 581478E 5201472N

 

                                                                                                                                    5528

Carex vesicaria L.

Cespitose from rhizomes on muddy shore of pond.  Ca 5 dm tall.  Lowest spikelet, drooping, upper one erect.  Perigynia spreading to ascending, inflated, ovate, 4 X 2 mm, teeth short and divergent.  Achene triangular, 1.5 mm long, brownish, finely ornamented.  Style indehiscent and contorted.

 

Eleocharis erythyropoda Steud.

From reddish rhizomes, up to 5 dm tall.  In muddy soil and shallow water of pond.  Achene yellow to orangish brown, 2 mm long, tuberculate with constriction.  Bristles nearly as long as achene, retrosely barbed.  Sheath truncate with a purplish base.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Collection (130 points). The collection must meet the following requirements.

 

1. Thirty specimens must be identified to species.

  • 10 of your specimens must be mounted on (herbarium paper 16.5 x 11.5 inches) with a label
  • 20 other identified specimens must be turned in as per described below.

 

2.  Mounted specimens must have the following:

  • Labels (3.66 x 4.25 inches) glued on the bottom right hand corner—there is no exception to this. 
  • A fragment envelope placed in the top left corner (when possible). Note that paper and glue will be provided in lab---do not attempt to do this on your own.
  • Depending on needs of the individual specimens, each must be properly reinforced with strapping with darning thread and or acid-free strapping tape.

 

3.      The following taxa (mounted or unmounted) must be included among your 30 specimens:

q      6 specimens consisting of two each of members of the Poaceae, Juncaceae or Cyperaceae.

q      2 specimens consisting of any pteridophyte.

q      2 specimens of any family of gymnosperm

 

Criteria for evaluation of the collection.

 

This is collection represents your work and efforts on which your grade is based.  Do not accept, give or trade your specimens to other students in the course.   Any such activity is considered a form of cheating and will be dealt with accordingly. 

 

I cannot stress enough the importance maintaining your permanent notebook up-to-date as you collect and identify your specimens.  Please note that all data in your plant labels and supporting your identifications (mounted and unmounted) must be in your notebook.  Lack of documentation in your notebook will result in a corresponding loss of points.  

 

The following are the criteria used to evaluate each mounted specimens in your collection. 

Quality of the Label Be sure to include a complete set of notes for the information below. (2 points)

  • Collection number --a student assigned number for each specimen.
  • Date of collection. 5 August 1999 or August 5, 1999. (Not 5/8/99 or 5/8/1999--both of these can be misinterpreted, the first two both are ambiguous on the month, and the first is not clear on the century.
  • Locality including county, township and state. Also include country if not collected in the U.S.

Examples:
1) MAINE: Aroostook Co.: East central portion of Presque Isle Twp.
2) CANADA: New Brunswick: Carlton Co.: Good’s Corner Twp.,

Part of the locality must include reference to a permanent landmark to help pinpoint the collection  site as accurately as possible. Some of this information can be taken form a map.

Examples:
1) North bank of the Aroostook River, 0.2 miles from Junc. US 1 along Hwy 161.
2) Cedar forest 200 meters from northeast shore of Arnold Brook

3) UTM coordinates obtained from a GPS receiver or from webs sites such as http://topozone.com/   In both cases you will have to set these to UTM NAD27.

  • Altitude. Specimens collected in montane regions should include approximate elevation of the collection site obtained from a topography map or an altimeter or a GPS unit.
  • Habitat: A description of the general surroundings and a short list of dominate vegetations.   Examples: 1) Edge of open pasture among goldenrods and Canada bluejoint. 2) Bog under black spruce among sedges, 3) Roadside ditch among reed grass.
  • Specimen notes. Any information about the specimen that might be important in identification particularly those which may not be preserved after processing or may change during processing. For example, habit of growth such as a vine or shrub, flower color and shape, nature of the root system, color and nature of the bark or trees. Partial specimens should include an estimate of height and other notes about the plant, shrub or tree which you were unable to collect.

Identification. (3 points per specimen) The name of the species and authority is generally all that professional taxonomists indicate on a label. Leave out the common name and family. Use italics for the scientific name. Points will be deducted for misspelling of the scientific name. Be sure to indicate the authority after the name. This part is not italicized. 3 points

Quality of Specimen (2 points for each specimen) will be graded with regard to condition of the material as collected well as the quality of pressing and mounting. Points are frequently deducted for the following reasons:

  • absence of flowers or fruit in herbaceous flowering plants
  • too much insect damage
  • parts broken instead of cut
  • crinkled leaves due improper drying--pad specimen so that leaves dry flat
  • specimen or label overlaps the edge of sheet
  • leaves overlap each other excessively
  • improperly strapped parts
  • excess glue on herbarium sheet
  • dirt in roots


Unmounted specimens (3 points each) An additional 20 specimens worth 60 points shall complete your collection.  This group of specimens will be graded on identification only.

·        These specimens may be mounted or unmounted.  

o       Unmounted specimens will be cleaned, and left in their newspapers. 

o       Write the scientific name on the outside, bottom right corner of the newspaper sheet next to your collection number.    

·        Extra mounted specimens may also be included in this group.  If there is no label, lightly write the scientific name in pencil, in the space where the label should be.

 

*What is UTM?   UTM stands for Universal Transverse Mercator –see http://www.dmap.co.uk/utmworld.htm that shows how the world is divided by this system. 

 

Many web sites are available to explain how this works; here’s a couple of sites.

http://www.dbartlett.com/

http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/factsheets/fs07701.html