University and Jepson Herbaria facts for kids
The University and Jepson Herbaria are two special collections of dried plants at the University of California, Berkeley. Think of them as plant museums! They are located in the Valley Life Sciences Building in Berkeley, California. These herbaria also have other collections, like a collection of fruits and cones, a garden plant collection, and a "spirit collection" (plants preserved in liquid). They keep very important plant samples called holotypes separate. The Charterhouse School Herbarium from England is also kept here. Every year, on CalDay, the Herbaria have an open house with fun activities for everyone.
Contents
What is the University Herbarium?
The University Herbarium started in 1890 with the new Botany Department. Its goal is to collect plants from all over the world. This includes vascular plants (like trees and flowers), bryophytes (like mosses), algae (like seaweed), and fungi (like mushrooms).
It began in a building called South Hall and quickly grew. Now, it holds over 2.2 million plant samples!
Who Led the University Herbarium?
Even though he wasn't officially called "Director," William Albert Setchell started the University Herbarium. He was very interested in marine algae (seaweed). After him, other leaders included Herbert L. Mason, Lincoln Constance, and Robert Ornduff.
In 1982, Thomas Duncan began important work to digitize (make digital copies of) the plant samples. Brent D. Mishler, a scientist who studies mosses, continued this work when he became Director in 1993.
The California Plant Database
Under Brent D. Mishler's leadership, the Consortium of California Herbaria was created in 2003. This is an online database that helps people find information about California plants. It includes samples from many herbaria across the state.
Today, the University and Jepson Herbaria have over 375,000 digital plant samples. Together, the whole Consortium has more than 1.3 million digital samples!
What is the Jepson Herbarium?
The Jepson Herbarium focuses specifically on the native plants of California. It was started to "understand and conserve the California flora," which means to learn about and protect California's plants.
Scientists at the Jepson Herbarium work on projects like updating The Jepson Manual. This is a big book and online guide that helps people identify California plants. They also offer workshops for plant lovers, from beginners to experts.
Who Founded the Jepson Herbarium?
The Jepson Herbarium was founded in 1950 by Willis Linn Jepson, and it was named after him. The first curator (person in charge of the collections) was Rimo Bacigalupi. Later, Lawrence R. Heckard took over. The current curator is Bruce Baldwin, who is also a professor.
What Kinds of Plants Are Collected?
The collections are very strong in bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), pteridophytes (ferns), and algae. They also have many samples from plant families like Compositae (daisy family) and Umbelliferae (carrot family).
All the plant samples are kept in a special building with controlled temperature and humidity. The storage cabinets move to save space. The building also has positive air pressure to keep out pests like beetles that could harm the samples.
Most of the California plant samples are from the 1860s onwards. However, some older samples exist, including a few collected by David Douglas in the 1830s. The Herbarium of Charterhouse School is kept separately within the main Herbaria.
Libraries and Old Records
Besides the dried plant samples, the Herbaria also have two libraries and many archives. These archives contain old field notebooks, letters, and images. They help scientists with their research.
Some of the old documents even share stories that go beyond just botany. For example, there are papers about events during the American Civil War. These include the experiences of botanists J.G. Lemmon and Sara Plummer Lemmon. J.G. Lemmon was a prisoner during the war and taught himself about plants. His wife, Sara Plummer Lemmon, also taught herself botany. Together, they identified and recorded many plants from the Southwest and desert areas.
See also
In Spanish: Universidad y herbarium Jepson para niños
