Collecting Samples for Research

Use of the living collections for research is an integral part of the Arnold Arboretum. Every year, the curation department accepts research proposals and welcomes scholars from around the world to study our plants, both in the landscape and our Herbarium of Cultivated Plants. If researchers are unable to visit the collections in person, staff will collect and process samples on their behalf.

Two projects are on the docket this spring, both requiring catkins, leaves, and herbarium specimens from our Populus collection. First, we must decide which plants best fit the needs of each research project, assessing the health and viability of each plant to support the requested collections. Next, we prepare Ziploc bags with silica gel (to ensure proper drying) and label them with scientific names, accession numbers and qualifiers, and collection dates. We use pole- and hand-pruners to gather catkins and leaves, cleaning our tools with alcohol between each collection to prevent contamination. Back inside, the specimens dry while we generate research summaries, including detailed information about each plant sampled, and create shipment records in our database. Finally, all materials are shipped out, to both domestic and international destinations.

Kathryn Richardson is a curatorial assistant at the Arnold Arboretum.