Bamboo Identification

Herbarium collections

Dried plant specimens are stored as a reference for plant identification in collections known as herbaria. Well-labelled and kept in controlled conditions of low humidity, they can be kept for reference indefinitely, while living plants are much more susceptible and their survival as a point of reference cannot be guaranteed. When a plant is named the new name is linked to a stored herbarium specimen, the ‘type’ for that name, which is given special protection. Databases of collections are currently being developed, and images of many collections, especially the types, are becoming available. More...

Herbaria

Index Herbariorum searchable database of herbaria around the world
Background on herbaria from University of Florida

Databases of details and images of type collections in herbaria

Bamboo specimen images

Virtual Herbarium high resolution bamboo scans at Fairchild & ISC

More...

Herbaria are found in botanical institutions throughout the world. A network of cooperating herbaria permits the exchange of collections on loan for direct comparison. Herbarium collections are most useful as a specialist resource for those who revise and describe plants and their names. They are very important, not least because this is where the ultimate reference material for bamboo names is located. Good comprehensive collections are critical for good nomenclature in other ways as well. Collecting a large number of specimens from throughout the range of a species gives a better idea of the variation to be found within that species, and helps to define the boundaries between species.

Some of the difficulties associated with identification of living plants from comparison with herbarium specimens

Herbarium sheet

Herbarium material is pressed flat and completely desiccated, which makes it rather different in appearance from fresh material

Unless a specimen is the actual type specimen for that species, there may be several different names attached to it

Different herbaria arrange their plants following different classification systems, often out of date for bamboos, making species hard to find

Knowledge of which parts of bamboos are important for identification used to be poor, and older herbarium collections often lack more important parts, such as culm sheaths, or even leaves

Different herbaria specialize in different plant groups and plants from different areas, and those that have comprehensive bamboo collections are few and far between

As long-term sterile preservation of the specimens is of paramount importance, fresh material is not allowed in the herbarium for direct comparison, because it could harbour pests

Herbarium material is fragile, and staff are cautious about allowing too much handling, as it has to be stored indefinitely

Increasingly, herbarium collections are being digitized, catalogued, and made available on-line, especially for type specimens. This protects

the material as it does not always need to be physically handled or shipped, and it also becomes much more widely available. However, there are reservations concerning non-specialist identification by picture that also apply to such digitized images. Many of the finer details of bamboo plants require a much closer inspection, usually using a microscope. Higher resolution scans are becoming available, their use being somewhat restricted by the large file sizes involved, but they still do not have the resolution of a good microscope or macro camera lens. Herbarium specimens were usually not collected, mounted, or scanned in order to provide the best images of critical parts for identification. Herbarium collections were made for close personal inspection, and images of herbarium specimens should be seen primarily as a screening tool to determine which ones should be requested on loan for a closer inspection.

Several examples of herbarium specimens can be found by searching the on-line databases of large herbaria, but not all have yet started to database or to include bamboos.

Older herbarium specimens are often very problematic, even for specialists, and they can be very hard to identify. Many might be discarded if sent in to a

herbarium today. However, they are often of historic importance, not least because they may be the definitive reference ‘type’ for a name. In older bamboo collections, because of a misconception that only flowers would provide a sound indication of a plant’s affinities, there are frequently no culm sheaths, and often no leaves either. This makes it very difficult to relate the older collections to living bamboos, or to more recent collections. This is especially problematic when competing names are tied to older, flowering material, and also to newer, solely vegetative collections. A further problem with bamboo herbarium material is that hairs and appendages may have long since departed, but these are often critical for species identification in the bamboos. Only by closely inspecting with a microscope is it possible to see remnants and traces indicating where they were once attached. Colours also fade with time, especially if the collections have been exposed to strong light.

Newer herbarium collections are usually more comprehensive and in better condition. Collectors today are often photographing plants in the field as they make collections to get the best images of fresh material possible. Linking of such new images to the older images of the collections will also be possible in the future. When digitizing herbarium collections it is to be hoped that close up photos of the more critical parts of collections will also be undertaken. Currently huge amounts of memory are used up recording the blank mounting sheets, while important parts of the plant are not recorded in sufficient detail.


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