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Photo by Itrrrrl Hewitt
Herbarium curator and director David Wagner spends much of his time caring for the Univer
sity’s collection of rare plants.
University's herbarium is home
to thousands of plant specimens
By Joseph Menzel
Of (he Emerald
One University library on
campus allows its patrons to
borrow material for years at a
time. They can even withdraw
more than 1,000 items at one
time.
Actually, this library isn’t a
library at all but a repository
where any number of several
thousand plants can be
retrieved.
This pseudo-library is the
University’s herbarium, located
just south of University
Museum of Natural History near
the science library.
Herbarium Director and
Curator David Wagner’s posi
tion is so involved and time
consuming, he could easily hire
three people just to perform his
responsibilities, he says.
Still, Wagner is solely respon
sible for maintaining what
amounts to a room-sized filing
cabinet full of flowering plants,
ferns, moss and other plant life
native to Oregon and the United
States.
The herbarium loans a signifi
cant portion of its specimens to
institutions around the country.
During any given week, as
many as 2,000 to 3.000
specimens may be on loan.
What makes the herbarium
valuable to botanists and other
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scientists is its ability to provide
specimens of plants, both com
mon and rare, that will enable
botanists to make positive iden
tifications of specimens they
have in their possession.
“What makes a specimen
valuable is not its rarity, but
where it fits into our knowledge
of plants,” Wagner says.
“Often, it’s difficult to identify
plants simply by reading
descriptions. A name of a plant
is not a verbal description, so
original collections are really
valuable.”
The herbarium holds the col
lections of Oregon’s pioneer
botanists. The collection in
cludes the plants of Thomas Jef
ferson Howell, who explored
the corners of the state in the
mid-1850s looking for
specimens. Unfortunately,
some of Howell’s specimens
have deteriorated, leaving
nothing more than twigs.
In 1903, Howell gave the
University his collection, which
initiated the creation of the
University’s herbarium that re
mains today. The herbarium has
grown significantly since
Howell made his original
contribution.
"We have about 1,100
primary specimens, 200 of
which are absolutely ir
replaceable," Wagner said. The
herbarium has specimens from
throughout the country, but its
focus is on regional material.
“We have just about every
flowering plant in Oregon. The
herbarium itself is a museum
used to maintain permanent
records of Oregon," Wagner
said.
The herbarium is now housed
in what was once the physical
plant’s plumbing shop. As a
result, the room has no en
vironmental controls, no filter
ing system and no temperature
controls to maintain the condi
tion of the specimens. Still, the
plants have been kept virtually
intact in their metal cabinets.
“For an irreplaceable collec
tion housed in a concrete
garage, we’ve been lucky,”
Wagner said.
Wagner said he looks forward
to spring when the herbarium
will be relocated at the Bio
Social building located across
Franklin Boulevard. Animals
used for scientific experiments
once were housed there, so the
facility is equipped with en
vironmental controls.
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