The Herbarium is useful to researchers and interested persons as a reference for identifying plant species. This summer Hillary and I traveled to 10 different prairie fen communities and collected over 800 specimens. Collecting was tough work, not without its hardships:
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| Figure 1. Hillary and Rachel stuck in the mud travelling around Ives Road Fen in Lenawee County, Michigan. We also fell in a few streams on our prairie fen journeys. One hole I fell in up to my thigh…. thrice. |
We encountered plant species that were beautiful:
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| Figure 2. Blooming monocots: a showy lady-slipper orchid (Cypripedium reginae). | Figure 3. Blooming monocots: southern blue flag iris (Iris virginica). |
We encountered plant species that were unusual:
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| Figures 4 - 6. A carnivorous round-leafed sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) devours arthropods with its modified leaves in the upper left. We nicknamed purplestem angelica (Angelica atropurpurea; upper right) the “Dr. Seuss Plant,” because it looked like something out of the pages of a Dr. Seuss with purple stem, swollen nodes, and 2 m tall height towered over the sedges in May/June. On the bottom left is common bur-reed (Sparganium eurycarpum) that has separate female (bottom spheres) and male (smaller, top spheres) inflorescence that reminded us of some sort of chemistry molecule model. When Hillary and I first saw the organism on the bottom right, we were sure it was alien in origin. In actuality, it is a fungus called cedar-apple-rush (Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae) on a red cedar tree (Juniperus virginiana). |
And we encountered plant species that were a little dangerous:
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| Figure 7. And let's not forget the daily encounters and repeated breakouts of poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix), the shrub/small tree is related to poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) except with stronger poisonous oils. This shrub is an indicator plant of prairie fens. |
Once out of the field, I needed to verify their identity. Where do I go? The CMC Herbarium. Why? An herbarium isn’t a drab museum of dead, dried plants from hundreds of years ago. It is a tool.
An herbarium can be used for research, education, and outreach. It contains history, biology, and, yes, even climate change information. Herbaria can document plant ranges, historical introductions, house extinct species, contain data for other sciences (e.g. entomology, climatology), teach botany, and provide inspiration to artisans. The CMC blog shows the many ways CMU uses their herbarium. To read about even more uses of herbaria, follow this link: http://www.virtualherbarium.org/vh/100UsesASPT.html
There are many tools at my disposal - books, field guides, online keys, professors, experts - but the CMC Herbarium can provide me with an up-close and personal plant to compare to my specimens. I may be able to determine the identity of my specimen down to a few species with the use of my field guides and keys. There sometimes comes a point where I need to see for myself what these books are describing, so that I can rule out one species in the favor of another.
One case where herbaria samples are extremely helpful is when I am familiar with a feature being described. For example, Symphyotrichum firmum has “stems glabrous or pubescent in lines, green or sometimes purple,” while Symphyotrichum punicium has “stems bristly pubescent, usually purplish (Michigan Flora Online 2011).” After looking at Herbarium samples, I was able to compare them to my specimens and understand the distinction for the future.
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Figure 8 - 10. The pubescent lines on Symphyotrichum firmum are seen in the Herbarium sample on the top left and top right, while the bristly pubescence of Symphyotrichum punicium is shown on the bottom left. |
Another case where herbaria prove their worth is a visual comparison between similar species. This was especially helpful when identifying purely vegetative specimens. Most guides and keys are designed for specimens with fruits or flowers. Without those features a person can be stuck with an unidentifiable plant. After reducing possible species down to a family or genus or two, looking through herbarium samples could give me a taste for any distinctive vegetative qualities and the variability of those features.
 
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| Figures 11 – 13. Although the specimen collected on the left lacked fruits or flowers, a visual comparison of species in the genus Epilobium (center – E. coloratum, right – E. leptophyllum) helped narrow down possible species. The specimen was identified as E. leptophyllum. |
Herbarium samples can also show the variability of characteristics of a species. Below are several specimens of Cornus sericea (red-oiser dogwood). In these photos the variability in leave size, dimensions, and density can be observed.
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The CMC Herbarium was an invaluable resource I used as a researcher to identify over 800 specimens to genus or species. With the additions of my specimens, the CMC Herbarium will have representation of several new species and many purely vegetative samples. This will be useful for future projects and students to aide in their quest for plant knowledge.
- Rachel
MICHIGAN FLORA ONLINE. A. A. Reznicek, E. G. Voss, & B. S. Walters. February 2011. University of Michigan. Web. 2-15-2013. http://michiganflora.net/home.aspx.
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