AGNR6 NATIVE PLANT ID
Shasta College, Spring 2015
Julie Kierstead Nelson, instructor
Dried Pressed Plant Specimen Collection (Herbarium)
1. You will make a personal herbarium of 25 different native or naturalized species with enough
parts (pressed leaves, stems, flowers, fruits, roots) to identify them accurately. Include a minimum of 5
conifers and 10 flowering trees and shrubs. The remaining ten collections are of your choice. Don’t
collect all your specimens from one or two places.
2.
Map showing where you collected your specimens.
3.
List of the plants you collected—show scientific name, common name, family name.
4.
Plants must be correctly identified and labeled with the following information (see example at
bottom of page):
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
Scientific name, written & spelled correctly, including the author(s) names
Common name
Specific location where collected, including county, state, directions & distance to nearest
landmark; legal location (Township, Range, Section) or coordinates in lat/long or UTM
format
Growth habit, if the whole plant is not collected (if you just collected a branch, tell me how
tall it was); flower color or any other feature that may change during drying
Habitat and associated species—what other plants was it growing with?
elevation
Collector's full name (give credit to your buddies!)
Date collected
Label example:
Plants of Trinity County, California
Clarkia gracilis (Piper) A. Nelson & J.F. Macbr.
SLENDER CLARKIA
Bramlet Road (Forest Rd. 30N29) 100m north of Rattlesnake Creek crossing, ca. 1.5 miles
south of Highway 36W; 11 miles south of Hayfork. Locally common on gravelly road berms.
Dubakella Mountain West 7.5 minute Quad, 1992. Elev. 1120m; T29N, R12W, SW ¼, Sec.
2. Petals uniformly pink; buds nodding. Growing with Harmonia doris-nilesiae.
Julie Kierstead Nelson 2011-13
With Christy Wagner
June 21, 2011
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AGNR6 NATIVE PLANT ID
Shasta College, Spring 2015
Julie Kierstead Nelson, instructor
Some points to remember:
 Use good collecting ethics. You may collect one plant for every 20 of that species that is
present; if there are fewer than 20, don’t collect that species. Don’t take more than you need
to make your mounted specimen.
 Don't limit your collecting to a small area. You may have to go on several trips to find all the
samples you need.
 On trees and shrubs, collect and press the leaves and branches, on herbs you need the whole
plant, including flowers or fruits. For herbaceous plants, collect one individual with roots, as
that may be important for ID.
 When pressing plants, be sure that all distinguishing marks (leaf arrangement, color of leaf or
flower, etc) are present and recognizable. On broadleaf plants, shrubs, and trees show both the
upper and under surfaces of the leaf.
 Give yourself enough time for plants to dry properly. You will lose points for mildew.
 Please make sure your small children, brothers, parents, and other predators know how
important it is for you to turn in your plant collection on time.
 Remember to get permission from landowners. No collecting in State/Nat’l Parks, including
Whiskeytown, without a permit!
 Watch out for poison oak! This is one plant you need to be able to identify quickly.
 Extra credit can be given for up to 10 additional plants that are properly pressed, mounted, and
identified. The additional ten can be any plants you choose.
PLANT COLLECTION DUE MAY 12, 2015
You may pick up your graded plant collection during finals week.
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