Open a cabinet inside the National Herbarium at The UWI and you are greeted not by a burst of colour, but by quiet order. Carefully mounted leaves, flowers and stems rest on archival sheets, each labelled with a name, a place and a moment in time. Some of these specimens were collected nearly 200 years ago. Together, they form a remarkable archive of Trinidad and Tobago’s flora and a window into the ecological past of the Caribbean.
The National Herbarium is one of the oldest botanical collections in the Americas. For generations it has served as a centre for plant research, conservation and education. Scientists, students and environmental researchers visit its shelves to study plant diversity, trace environmental changes, and better understand the natural heritage of the islands.
The atmosphere inside the herbarium is unhurried and focused. Cabinets line the walls while worktables hold stacks of specimens awaiting cataloguing or research. The scent of dried plant material lingers in the air. It is a space built for patience and observation where even the smallest leaf or seed can reveal something new.
Since 2021, the herbarium has been under the stewardship of curator Dr J Francisco Morales, a botanist with 36 years of experience whose work has focused on strengthening and modernising the collection. Though he was expected to begin the role in 2020, the pandemic delayed his arrival at The UWI. When he eventually stepped into the position, he brought with him a deep appreciation for the discipline of plant taxonomy.
“Botany and taxonomy require a lot of passion and more importantly consistency,” he said. “If we are not passionate or consistent, why do it at all?”
The herbarium houses thousands of preserved plant specimens from Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean. Each sheet represents a plant collected in the field, carefully pressed, dried and preserved so its characteristics can be studied long after the living plant has disappeared.
Many of the oldest samples date back to the early nineteenth century. According to Dr Morales, the origins of collections like this are closely tied to exploration and colonial expansion when plants were seen as valuable commodities.
“In the early days, colonial conquest began with a search for exotic plants, flora and fauna,” he explained. “A pineapple which originates in Central America was not the fruit we see it as today. It was reserved for kings and aristocrats and used as a display of wealth rather than nourishment. Plants became a way to assert your status. Back then, a pineapple would have cost the equivalent of about 5,000 US dollars in today’s world.”
These early expeditions led to the documentation and preservation of countless plant species. Today, those specimens provide an invaluable record of what the region’s vegetation looked like centuries ago.
The collection includes plants that are familiar to many people in Trinidad and Tobago. Local trees and flowering plants appear frequently among the sheets, from species found in lowland forests to those native to mountain ranges and coastal ecosystems. For researchers, these preserved plants provide clues about how species vary across environments and how ecosystems change over time.
Dr Morales often explains the importance of collecting multiple specimens of the same plant species. While it may seem repetitive, the practice is essential to understanding biodiversity.
“If we were to take one sample from a human in today’s world as a representation of that entire population, the science would be flawed,” he said. “Plants, like people, have different origins and thrive differently depending on the conditions around them. We need variety in our sample size.”
Collecting and preparing specimens is a meticulous process. Botanists travel into forests, wetlands and savannahs to gather plants. Once collected, the samples are pressed, dried and mounted so their structures remain visible for study. Labels include details about where the plant was found, when it was collected and who documented it.
“We have to be very careful with everything we do when drying our samples and preparing them for testing,” Dr Morales said. “It is easy for contamination to happen and sometimes we only know a sample is unusable after the time and money have already been spent and the results come back.”
To protect the collection from insects and parasites, the herbarium is fumigated annually during periods when the campus is closed. Beyond preservation, the herbarium continues to evolve as a research facility. Since taking on the role of curator, Dr Morales has undertaken a major reorganisation of the specimen library. Traditional tracking numbers have been replaced with barcodes, and cabinets are now arranged alphabetically.
Colour-coded labels indicate where specimens were collected, while storage conditions are carefully monitored to protect the delicate samples.
These changes are part of a broader effort to make the collection more accessible. Dr Morales is also developing an online database that will allow users to search the herbarium’s holdings digitally. The goal is to have the system updated with current specimens within the next two years.“The library is now organised in such a way that the average person can come and find what they are looking for without needing to know scientific names or genotypes,” he said. “The incorporation of a map is also a great addition because people can now see exactly where the specimen came from.”
Despite the herbarium’s importance, the field of botany faces a growing challenge. There are fewer trained botanists today than in previous generations.
“There are not many botanists,” Dr Morales said. “Many of us have died and so there have been several gaps when one leaves or passes. Being consistent is important.”
Part of his work involves encouraging interest in plant science and exposing more people to the work taking place inside the herbarium. He balances research, writing scientific papers and outreach that introduces students and the public to the world of botany.
One project he considers particularly meaningful is a publication documenting local medicinal plants.
“Often people know what something is good for, but they never know what the actual plant looks like,” he said.
For Dr Morales, the project reflects a personal philosophy that has guided his career from dentistry to botany.
“I became a dentist because I wanted to help people,” he said. “Through botany, I am also helping people.”
Inside the quiet rooms of the National Herbarium, that sense of purpose is tangible. Each cabinet contains fragments of forests, savannahs and mountain slopes preserved on paper.
Together, they form a living archive of Trinidad and Tobago’s plant life.
As climate change, development and habitat loss reshape landscapes across the Caribbean, collections like the one housed at The UWI are becoming even more important. They preserve knowledge of the plants that have existed here, and provide the scientific foundation needed to protect them in the future.
Within the orderly drawers of the herbarium, history and science meet. What may appear to be a collection of dried plants is in fact something far richer: a record of biodiversity, a tool for research, and a reminder of how deeply the natural world shapes our lives.
