Field Collecting

Permits

Decide in advance where you will be collecting. Regulations about collecting plants vary. You may need to obtain or be in the company of a person who has Collecting Permits from public land agencies (ie. San Bernardino National Forest) or written permission from private property owners (ie. San Manuel Tribal Council) PRIOR to collecting any plant(s). Always know collecting protocols for your collecting site; and be aware of locally rare or threatened plant species.

Supplies

Make a checklist of what you need to take in the field:

  • some method of taking notes like a journal or field notebook.
  • measuring tool (to obtain height and spread of plant).
  • plastic bags
  • clippers
  • optional camera and/or GPS unit (or a smart phone that has both capabilities).

It is difficult to carry a press into the field, so put your specimen in a plastic bag along with a number tag matching the collection number in your field notebook. It is best to put one specimen per bag. For small and medium plant specimens, plastic bags with a zipper lock are good.

What to collect

For annual plants, collect the entire plant including the root. For perennials, shrubs or trees, each specimen should have all or part of a stem with attached leaves, and, if possible, flowers, and/or fruits.

If there are many plants of the same species as yours, try to select a plant that best represents the full range of flowering (bud, open and wilted flower) and fruit if any. If the plants are small and plentiful, collect 2 or 3 for mounting to show the range of flowering/fruiting. If there is only one or very few of the plants, and especially if it is an unknown species to you, it is best NOT to collect it, unless that is your assignment for research purposes and you have the proper permit.

While collecting, get an extra plant (if small and numerous) or flowers to use in identifying the plant especially if you are unable to do so in the field. When placing in the press, make certain your specimen fits well into the press. You do not want parts poking out because they will not dry properly. Tall annuals can be folded in half or a "Z" pattern and woody specimens can be cut into two parts to accommodate the press size. Be very careful how the plant is arranged in the press. After the plant has dried, there is no flexibility to "arrange" the plant so it shows the best characteristics.

Notes to take

Data for each plant collected must be recorded in the field and kept with the collected and numbered plant. Do not trust your memory regarding field details. Always record data at the time of collection. Notes to take include:

  • the plant's location
  • the plant's habitat (e.g., the plant community, slope and aspect, substrate, dominant species at the site, etc.)
  • the date
  • anything potentially important about the plant that is not on the plant material you have collected (e.g., tree height, bark characteristics, how common the species is at that site, etc.)

The collection number is a unique number the collector assigns to a collected plant. Some collectors just number the plants they collect sequentially (#1 through ... however many they have collected in their life). Others use some type of code that combines the date of collection with the number of the plant collected that day (e.g., 2020-5-15-42 might be the 42nd plant this person collected on May 15, 2020).

For the following questions, I am going to assume you have permission to collect wherever you are collecting.