Herbarium specimens of various Nepenthes at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France

In botany, a herbarium (plural: herbaria) – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in alcohol or other preservative. The same term is often used in mycology to describe an equivalent collection of preserved fungi, otherwise known as a fungarium.

The term can also refer to the building where the specimens are stored, or the scientific institute that not only stores but researches these specimens. The specimens in a herbarium are often used as reference material in describing plant taxa; some specimens may be types.

A xylarium is a herbarium specialising in specimens of wood. A hortorium (as in the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium) is one specialising in preserved specimens of cultivated plant.

Specimen preservation[link]

Preparing a plant for mounting

To preserve their form and color, plants collected in the field are spread flat on sheets of newsprint and dried, usually in a plant press, between blotters or absorbent paper. The specimens, which are then mounted on sheets of stiff white paper, are labeled with all essential data, such as date and place found, description of the plant, altitude, and special habitat conditions. The sheet is then placed in a protective case. As a precaution against insect attack, the pressed plant is frozen or poisoned and the case disinfected.

Certain groups of plants are soft, bulky, or otherwise not amenable to drying and mounting on sheets. For these plants, other methods of preparation and storage may be used. For example, conifer cones and palm fronds may be stored in labeled boxes. Representative flowers or fruits may be pickled in formaldehyde to preserve their three-dimensional structure. Small specimens, such as mosses and lichens, are often air-dried and packaged in small paper envelopes.

No matter the method of preservation, detailed information on where and when the plant was collected, habitat, color (since it may fade over time), and the name of collector is usually included.

Collections management[link]

A large herbarium may have hundreds of cases filled with specimens.

Most herbaria utilize a standard system of organizing their specimens into herbarium cases. Specimen sheets are stacked in groups by the species to which they belong and placed into a large lightweight folder that is labelled on the bottom edge. Groups of species folders are then placed together into larger, heavier folders by genus. The genus folders are then sorted by taxonomic family according to the standard system selected for use by the herbarium and placed into pigeonholes in herbarium cabinets.

Locating a specimen filed in the herbarium requires knowing the nomenclature and classification used by the herbarium. It also requires familiarity with possible name changes that have occurred since the specimen was collected, since the specimen may be filed under an older name.

Modern herbaria often maintain electronic databases of their collections. Many herbaria have initiatives to digitize specimens to produce a virtual herbarium. These records and images are made publicly accessible via the Internet when possible.

Uses[link]

Herbaria are essential for the study of plant taxonomy, the study of geographic distributions, and the stabilizing of nomenclature. Thus it is desirable to include in a specimen as much of the plant as possible (e.g., flowers, stems, leaves, seed, and fruit). Linnaeus' herbarium now belongs to the Linnean Society in England.

Specimens housed in herbaria may be used to catalogue or identify the flora of an area. A large collection from a single area is used in writing a field guide or manual to aid in the identification of plants that grow there. With more specimens available, the author of the guide will better understand the variability of form in the plants and the natural distribution over which the plants grow.

Herbaria also preserve a historical record of change in vegetation over time. In some cases, plants become extinct in one area, or may become extinct altogether. In such cases, specimens preserved in an herbarium can represent the only record of the plant's original distribution. Environmental scientists make use of such data to track changes in climate and human impact.

Many kinds of scientists use herbaria to preserve voucher specimens; representative samples of plants used in a particular study to demonstrate precisely the source of their data.

They may also be a repository of viable seeds for rare species.^[1]

Largest herbaria[link]

The Swedish Museum of Natural History (S).

Many universities, museums, and botanical gardens maintain herbaria. Herbaria have also proven very useful as sources of plant DNA for use in taxonomy and molecular systematics. The largest herbaria in the world, in approximate order of decreasing size, are:

• Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (P) (Paris, France)
• New York Botanical Garden (NY) (Bronx, New York, USA)
• Komarov Botanical Institute (LE) (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Royal Botanic Gardens (K) (Kew, England, UK)
• Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève (G) (Geneva, Switzerland)
• Missouri Botanical Garden (MO) (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
• British Museum of Natural History (BM) (London, England, UK)
• Harvard University (HUH) (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)
• Swedish Museum of Natural History (S) (Stockholm, Sweden)
• United States National Herbarium (Smithsonian Institution) (US) (Washington, DC, USA)
• Nationaal Herbarium Nederland (L) (Leiden, the Netherlands)
• Université Montpellier (MPU) (Montpellier, France)
• Université Claude Bernard (LY) (Villeurbane Cedex, France)
• Herbarium Universitatis Florentinae (FI) (Florence, Italy)
• National Botanic Garden of Belgium (BR) (Meise, Belgium)
• University of Helsinki (H) (Helsinki, Finland)
• Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Zentraleinrichtung der Freien Universität Berlin (B) (Berlin, Germany)
• The Field Museum (F) (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
• University of Copenhagen (C) (Copenhagen, Denmark)
• Chinese National Herbarium, (Chinese Academy of Sciences) (PE) (Beijing, People's Republic of China)
• University and Jepson Herbaria (UC/JEPS) (Berkeley, California, USA)
• Herbarium Bogoriense (BO) (Bogor, West Java, Indonesia)
• Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (E) (Edinburgh, Scotland, UK)

See also[link]

• Herbal
• List of herbaria
• Plant collecting
• Plant taxonomy
• Systematics
• Virtual herbarium

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Herbarium

• For links to a specific herbarium or institution, see the List of herbaria
• Index Herbariorum
• Linnean Herbarium
• Lamarck's Herbarium (online database with 20.000 sheets in HD)
• French Herbaria Network
• Montpellier Herbarium

References[link]

v t e Botany Subdisciplines of botany Ethnobotany Paleobotany Plant anatomy Plant ecology Plant evo-devo Plant morphology Plant physiology Plants Evolutionary history of plants Algae Bryophyte Pteridophyte Gymnosperm Angiosperm Plant parts Flower Fruit Leaf Meristem Root Stem Stoma Vascular tissue Wood Plant cells Cell wall Chlorophyll Chloroplast Photosynthesis Plant hormone Plastid Transpiration Plant reproduction Alternation of generations Gametophyte Plant sexuality Pollen Pollination Seed Spore Sporophyte Plant taxonomy Botanical name Botanical nomenclature Herbarium IAPT ICN Species Plantarum Glossaries Glossary of botanical terms Glossary of plant morphology terms Category Portal

For people of a similar name see John Shaw.

Jon Steven Shaw (born 10 November 1983) is an English footballer who plays for Gateshead as a striker.

Club career[link]

Sheffield Wednesday[link]

Born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Shaw is a product of the Sheffield Wednesday youth system and was a prolific goalscorer for the second string. He made his first team debut as a 75th minute substitute coming on for Gerald Sibon in the FA Cup third round against Gillingham at the Priestfield Stadium during a 3–1 defeat on 7 January 2003. His first league appearance came on the final game of the 2002–03 season, coming on as a 90th minute substitute at Hillsborough for a 2–1 victory over Walsall.

The following season he joined Third Division team York City on a month's loan for first team experience,^[4] making an encouraging debut in a 1–0 victory over Doncaster Rovers.^[5][6] The loan was extended for a further two months in December.^[7] He made eight appearances but failed to score before he was recalled by Wednesday in January 2004 due to an injury crisis at the club.^[8] He made his first appearance since returning in a 4–0 victory over Scunthorpe United in the Football League Trophy.^[9] Shaw made eight starts that season for Wednesday and scored his first two senior goals, with a header against Luton Town and a long range effort against Queens Park Rangers in front of 29,313 fans at Hillsborough. Both goals came on the second last and last games of the season respectively.^[10][11]

Chris Turner rewarded the youngster for his performances with a new contract at the end of the 2003–04 season.^[12] Darlington were looking to sign him on a season-long loan in July 2004, although he eventually did not join the club.^[13] After being told by new manager Paul Sturrock he had no future with Wednesday, York manager Chris Brass expressed an interest in signing him.^[14] He did not start a single match under Turner's replacement Paul Sturrock and was released by the club.

Burton Albion[link]

He joined Conference National team Burton Albion in November 2004 on non-contract terms,^[15] where he was reunited with former strike partner Mark Robins. After scoring in his first two games he signed an extended deal until the end of the season with Burton in late November.^[16] His next goal came in a 2–1 victory for The Brewer's against former team York City at Bootham Crescent. He would score against York again a month later in the FA Trophy at the Pirelli Stadium in a 3–0 win. Shaw scored 12 goals in his first season at Burton, making him the club's leading goalscorer for the season. He signed a new two-year contract with Burton during March 2005.^[17] He was not as prolific in the 2005–06 season, where he scored 11 goals, but still managed to top the goal scoring charts. He also played in the lucrative FA Cup tie against Manchester United on 8 January 2006 where he helped secure a 0–0 draw.^[18] However, in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford, Shaw was forced to leave the field of play due to an injury sustained to the mouth.

Halifax Town[link]

Shaw joined Halifax Town for an undisclosed fee on 31 August 2007.^[19] He made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Oxford United,^[20] before scoring two goals in the following game, a 3–2 victory over Stafford Rangers.^[21] He scored against former club Burton on 2 November, in a game that finished a 2–2 stalemate at The Shay.^[22] He had a fine first season at the club, scoring 20 goals in 37 league appearances, making him the club's top scorer,^[23] plus he also scored a goal in one of his three FA Cup matches for the club.^[24] His goals and performances on the pitch earned him many awards at the end of season awards including the supporters club player of the year.^[25]

Rochdale[link]

Shaw signed a two-year contract with League Two side Rochdale for an undisclosed fee on 4 July 2008.^[26] He made his debut in a League Cup match at Spotland Stadium against Oldham Athletic, which finished 0–0 in regular time and was won by Oldham 4–1 on a penalty shootout on 12 August.^[27] His debut in the league came later in the week against Barnet at Spotland on 16 August, and he wrapped up a 3–1 victory with the final goal of the game, with a shot into the corner in the 72nd minute.^[28] He suffered from an injury, and soon after recovering joined Conference side Crawley Town on loan for the rest of the 2008–09 season on 6 January 2009.^[29] He featured as a substitute on 24 January in a 1–0 loss to Oxford United and came off the bench three days later at Ebbsfleet United to score a 92nd minute equaliser with a goal from 18 yards in a 4–4 draw.^[30][31] After failing to gain a place back in the Rochdale side for the start of the 2009–10 season, Shaw went back to the Conference, joining Barrow on a month's loan.^[32] He made his debut in a 6–1 defeat to Rushden & Diamonds at Holker Street, and later went on to score 5 goals in 12 games.^[33] Shaw joined Gateshead on a one-month loan on 26 November 2009,^[34] making his debut in the FA Trophy First Round replay away at Harrogate Town on 15 December 2009.^[35] Shaw only made 2 appearances for Gateshead during the loan spell, the other being a league game against Barrow on Boxing Day.^[36]

Mansfield Town[link]

On 14 January 2010, Shaw left Rochdale by mutual consent to pursue a contract with Conference National side Mansfield Town. ^[37] He made his debut for the club two days later in a 2–0 defeat to AFC Wimbledon.^[38] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 defeat away at eventual champions Stevenage Borough. He went on to score 3 in his 6 starts for the Stags. On Wednesday 26 May 2010, Mansfield Town announced that Shaw would be leaving Field Mill by mutual consent.

Gateshead[link]

On 29 May 2010, Shaw rejoined fellow Conference National side Gateshead on a 2 year deal.^[39] He made his first appearance of the season against Cambridge United on 4 September 2010.^[40] Shaw scored his first goal for Gateshead on 11 September 2010 in a 2–0 home victory over Altrincham.^[41] On 15 January 2011, Shaw scored a hat-trick in Gateshead's 6–0 victory at home to Hampton & Richmond Borough.^[42] On 19 February 2011, Shaw scored his second hat-trick for Gateshead in a 7–2 victory against Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground.^[43] He was named Blue Square Bet Premier Player of the Month for February 2011, after scoring six goals in five league games that month.^[44] He was also named Blue Square Bet Premier Player of the Month for August 2011, after scoring in each of the six league games during the opening month of the 2011–12 season.^[45] Shaw scored back-to-back hat-tricks, his third and fourth hat-tricks for Gateshead, on 24 September 2011 against Hayes & Yeading United and the following game on 27 September against York City, both games ending as 3–2 victories for Gateshead.^[46][47] On 28 January 2012, Shaw scored his 50th Gateshead goal in only his 80th appearance, his 40th league goal in 67 league games for the club.

International career[link]

He was named in the England National Game XI team in February 2006 for their game against Italy,^[48] who Shaw made his debut against in a 3–1 victory for England.^[49] He returned to the England C squad in May 2008 for the Four Nation Tournament and friendlies against Grenada and Barbados.^[50] He featured all five of the available fixtures, which included a goal in the 2–0 win against Barbados.^{[51][52][53][54][55]}

Career statistics[link]

As of 28 April 2012

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jon Shaw career stats at Soccerbase