COLLECTING ECONOMIC PLANT DATA 17 



range in size, it is best to collect average-sized plants and to record the 

 total range of size in the notes. If all the plants are quite small, that is, 

 ranging from 1 to 6 inches high, the collector can include plants of all 

 the sizes in his specimens (also see fig. 16). 



Care should be taken to keep the specimens clean; usually collecting- 

 should not be done during, or immediately after, a rain, because the 

 plants are apt to become stained with mud, which is difficult to remove 

 once the plants have dried. When possible, the entire plant is collected, 

 including the roots (figs. 12, 14). The roots must be dug carefully, 

 because often they have special characters which are lost or damaged if 

 the plant is pulled out of the ground. Soil and gravel must be removed 

 by shaking or knocking against a rock or a tree trunk. Sometimes it 

 becomes necessary to resort to washing, but some types of plants grow- 

 ing in wet clays or having densely matted roots cannot be cleansed of 

 dirt even by washing. In collecting such plants as grasses, the clumps 

 and the tangled roots will have to be cut or pried apart. A few stubborn 

 examples will need to wait until the drying is completed, when the dirt 

 can easily be broken loose. A convenient tool can be made from a small 

 varnish brush by inserting a sharp spike in the end of the handle. The 

 spike is used to gouge out dirt and gravel from the roots, and the brush, 

 to clean dust and dirt from the leaves. Many collectors are inclined to 

 be too rushed to bother about the sand and gravel in their specimens, 

 but invariably such debris damages the dry specimens. Furthermore, 

 there is the added weight which must be carried or shipped. 



In identifying plants, botanists depend chiefly upon the structure of 

 the flower or the fruit. Sometimes both are needed. Consequently, a 

 sterile specimen (one without either flowers or fruits) is rarely worth 

 the trouble of collecting. The only exception would be in the case of 

 some plant of unusual importance when only a sterile, or poor, specimen 

 was available (see fig. 13). Even so, the collector should make every 

 effort later on to secure adequate specimens for identification. The ideal 

 specimen bears both flowers and mature fruits, or seed, on the same 

 branch, but these do not always occur together, or at the same time of 

 year. In woody plants the flowers and fruits may be borne on different 

 branches and may then be collected together as a single specimen, but 

 this must not be done unless both come from the same plant. It is never 

 safe to mix collections from different trees or shrubs under one collec- 

 tion number, unless the fact is clearly stated in the notes. It should not 

 be done in any case, unless the collector has good reason for believing 

 that the different plants belong to the same species. 



When old fruits are collected from the ground where they have fallen 

 from the tree, the fact should be stated in the notes. Old fruits can have 

 considerable value, but one must be fairly certain that they belong to 

 the tree in question. This can be judged by conditions and by the loca- 

 tion of the tree. In some groups of plants (especially in the legume or 

 bean family) the fruits are usually essential for accurate determination 

 of the species. 



In dense jungle growths the tops of the trees can rarely be seen, and 

 for this reason the collecting of tree material is somewhat difficult. Ex- 

 perienced collectors in such regions watch the forest floor for fallen 

 flowers or fruits. Sometimes the buzzing of bees or the odor from the 

 flowers will serve as a clue that a certain tree is in bloom. Dr. Adolf o 

 Ducke, the well-known authority on Amazon trees, carries a pair of field 

 glasses as an aid in spotting flowers and fruits in exceedingly tall or dis- 



