University Herbarium
The University and Jepson Herbaria
University of California, Berkeley
Jepson Herbarium
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University Herbarium
The University and Jepson Herbaria
University of California, Berkeley
Jepson Herbarium
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Herbaria Policies
General Policies General Policies for In-House Researchers Welcome to the University and Jepson Herbaria! As a graduate student, post-doc, or visiting researcher, you are probably already familiar with general herbarium procedures. Nevertheless, because each herbarium tends to have unique aspects, we ask that you please schedule an orientation session with the appropriate curatorial staff before you begin using the herbaria. This will familiarize you with the herbarium lay-out and alert you to any UC/JEPS-specific policies for handling specimens. In addition, please note the following: — No dried plant material is allowed into the herbaria until it has been treated to destroy potential pests (e.g., herbarium beetles). Specimens removed from the herbarium premises (which include contiguous offices) are likewise treated upon return. Because we no longer depend on chemical controls (PDB), it is absolutely essential that this step be taken to prevent the entry of pests. [Exceptions for some plant groups.] The primary treatment is freezing for several days. Specimens to be frozen can be left in the herbarium cabinet in the quarantine/field room (1001EA). After freezing, specimens can be retrieved from the routing ("F") cabinet (see below); expect about a week's turn-around time. — Unless arranged otherwise, all incoming shipments of dried plants are frozen and processed by collections management staff prior to being routed to designated recipient. Please do not take incoming shipments of dried plants from the mailing area, even if they are addressed to you, until they have been frozen and processed. Notify collections management staff if you are expecting a shipment that should NOT be frozen or that otherwise requires special processing. — Also as a vital component of infestation prevention, specimens are kept in cabinets when not in use. Any specimens left out overnight are frozen before being refiled (give to Collections Management staff). See Collections Manager for herbarium cabinet availability beyond what might be in your assigned space. — If specimens are removed from the main collection to be kept with study material from other sources, leave a tag behind indicating where the specimens are located. — The 'F" or routing case is used as a holding case when specimens are being routed to someone (e.g., after freezing), so that specimens need not be left sitting out if the person is not available. The person is notified by a card left in his/her mailbox. When retrieving specimens, please remember to return the card to the pocket inside the door of the routing case. Please do not leave specimens sitting in the routing case for extended periods of time. — Materials for class use or display is placed in protective plastic covers for protection and logged out as a short-term loan. Frequently used specimens are kept in covers and maintained separately. For further instructions, check with collections management staff. — A limited number of herbarium plant presses is available to be checked out for a defined period of time (see Collections Manager; avoid last-minute requests). For extended use, you are encouraged to purchase or construct a personal plant press. Loans from Other Institutions: Material is borrowed from other herbaria as a loan between institutions, not between individuals. Loan request letters are from a designated representative of the institution (e.g., Director of the Herbarium), and the institution accepts responsibility for the proper care and timely return of borrowed specimens. Unless agreed to in advance, all loans are expected to be fully annotated prior to return. Removal of material for destructive sampling (e.g., molecular analysis) also requires prior approval from the lending institution. When you are ready to begin borrowing specimens, check with Collections Manager (or appropriate cryptogamic curator) for further details and instructions. The University and Jepson Herbaria are constantly growing collections, reflecting the on-going growth in our knowledge of plant diversity and distribution. New acquisitions result primarily from 1) in-house staff and student collections, 2) standing exchange programs with other herbaria world-wide, 3) specimens sent as gift-for-identification to in-house researchers, and 4) gifts from a diversity of sources, especially non-academic professionals and native plant enthusiasts. The latter often serve as our most valued source of new records from under collected areas in the western United States. In general, the Jepson Herbarium (JEPS) accessions only vascular plants from California, whereas the University Herbarium (UC) covers all plant groups world-wide. Gifts of California plants will be deposited in the Jepson Herbarium unless the donor specifies otherwise. All exchange is through the University Herbarium. At present we are not soliciting new exchange programs, due to limitations in our capacity to generate and process outgoing material, consisting primarily of specimens from the western United States. To minimize redundancy of specimens in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have a non-duplication policy with the California Academy of Sciences (CAS/DS). Exceptions are made for types and other particularly significant collections. Because of limited specimen processing resources and storage capacity, specimens submitted for accessioning in the University of California at Berkeley herbaria should generally meet the criteria detailed as follows:
Specimens submitted by mail for accession should be addressed to:
University and Jepson Herbaria Fee Schedule All archive services, data maintenance, GIS services, and data queries of University and Jepson Herbaria resources are funded in a large part by donations and grants. These service fees help offset the rising costs of server maintenance, computer equipment, and staff time. The 2019 University and Jepson Herbaria Fee Schedule is as follows: Specimen Data and Label Templates To help expedite processing of incoming accessions, the University and Jepson Herbaria provide a Microsoft Excel data entry template matching our specimen database format. We also provide a matching MS Word Mail Merge document to generate herbarium labels from the spreadsheet. Instructions are also included. Download the label generating files here A separate data/label template geared specifically toward collecting California rare plants is provided in collaboration between the California Plant Phylodiversity Project (CPPP) and the CNPS Rare Plant Treasure Hunt. Files are available through the CPPP Workshop Page. Please send questions/comments about the templates to Jason Alexander, jason_alexander@berkeley.edu In order that the herbarium central collections area be maintained as a (hopefully) pest-free environment without relying on paradichlorobenzene or other toxic chemicals, NO PLANTS ARE TO BE BROUGHT INTO THE CENTRAL COLLECTIONS AREA until or unless they meet the following guidelines: a. All incoming dried meterial MUST be frozen for a week (if a shorter time period is essential, microwaving is an option). This is particularly critical for specimens shipped from other institutions, including returned UC/JEPS specimens. Even specimens that are not prone to infestation (e.g., algae, bryophytes) should be frozen in order to eliminate potential paper-destroying pests. b. As an exception rather than the rule, a limited quantity of recently collected specimens that 1) have not been housed where infestations are likely and 2) are needed in the collections area for only a brief period of time (e.g., for comparison with UC/JEPS collections) may be given clearance after a visual inspection by an authorized staff member. This is a pragmatic alternative to microwaving, based on the fact that even if eggs are present they are unlikely to hatch and cause an infestation within a few hours. As a corollary, the specimens should subsequently be frozen if they are to be left in the herbarium. c. Living material is generally okay, following the logic that the pests that attack live plants are not the same as those that attack dried plant material (also, living plants do not hold up well to freezing or microwaving). However, pollen-bearing structures and dead portions should be inspected and/or removed. d. Specimens left out overnight should be frozen prior to refiling (evening is the period of greatest adult herbarium beetle activity). It is also recommended that material that has been housed outside of the main collection area (e.g., research offices) be frozen prior to refiling, just to be on the safe side. Specimens that have been outside of the contiguous herbarium area (e.g., offices elsewhere in VLSB) must be frozen prior to reentry. e. Fluid-preserved material does not need to be frozen. Remember, however, that formalin-preserved material should be examined only under an operating hood. Destructive Sampling of Specimens Two important missions of herbaria are: 1) to preserve the botanical specimens entrusted to their keeping; and 2) to make the specimens available for study by researchers. By and large, the primary uses of herbarium specimens, such as examining morphology or recording distributional data, are non-destructive. Destructive uses of herbarium specimens (such as anatomical preparations or removal of pieces for DNA extraction) are generally strongly discouraged. The University and Jepson Herbaria (UC/JEPS) nevertheless acknowledges that there are instances in which the removal of a limited amount of material for destructive sampling does not seriously compromise the value of the specimen for other purposes; if done properly, the value of the specimen may even be enhanced in that it has acquired additional status as a voucher. Our policy on destructive sampling is therefore as follows:
Thank you for your cooperation with this policy. Please contact us before proceeding with any destructive sampling that has not been approved in writing. |