National Herbarium of Trinidad and Tobago

The collection of plant material is an important part of the work of a herbarium.

Collections may be made to fill in gaps in our knowledge of particular families or areas of the country. A recent collection of ferns, from 40 different forest sites in Trinidad, was carried out in order to update our knowledge of this group and as part of a higher degree requirement.

Collections may also be made of particular species or groups as herbarium or live material on request by other institutes, both local and overseas.

In all cases it is important to obtain as representative a sample as possible, showing the range of each species in that environment, and to have good collection data recorded.

Before any collecting is done the species should be studied in its habitat. Decisions can then be made as to how the morphology of the plant may best be represented. All parts of the plant should be collected if possible, with at least duplicates of each part.

Collecting in the field may be done with quite simple equipment.