Distributing duplicate specimens on exchange

See warnings about CITES-listed taxa and Brazilian collections below.

 

Quality of specimens

The duplicates that we send out on exchange to other institutions contribute to the impression that people at these institutions have of our operation here at NY. Therefore, it is important to consider the specimens that we send out. The last check on quality of the specimens can be done by you when you are distributing them.

 

Do your best to make sure that each sheet is adequate for scientific purposes. Select the best sheet for NY. Be sure that each sheet is at least fertile; if possible, that it has more than a single flower or fruit (especially if these are small and have to be dissected for identification); and that a sheet is a full, good-looking one (not skimpy). To accomplish this it is sometimes necessary to combine sheets. If you have any questions or qualms about combining duplicates, ask your supervisor for advice.

 

Exchange priority lists

Some collections, because of agreements previously made by the collector, must be distributed to a special set of herbaria.  Any duplicates beyond those owed by such agreements and any collections without such restrictions should be distributed according to the current general priority list.

Exchange pritority lists can be found here. 

On the general priority list, herbaria are arranged by balance.  A negative balance means that we owe them.  On the right, is an indication of their taxonomic or geographic preferences for the material they want as exchange.  To the extent appropriate, it would be helpful to send duplicates to places to which we owe specimens, but this does not mean that everybody should send dups to the top five herbaria on the list or that you have to send duplicates to the same place every time you distribute specimens!  

Use the list or combination of lists that pertain to your collections.

 

Distributing the duplicates

WARNINGS:

• DO NOT distribute duplicates of any taxa on the CITES Appendices to any foreign herbaria.  (See CITES List).
• DO NOT distribute duplicates of any collections made by Wayt Thomas and CEPEC collaborators or by Doug Daly and Acre collaborators to any herbarium that has not signed a Material Transfer Agreement with CEPEC or Acre.  Herbaria with signed agreements are marked as"'OK to send CEPEC and Acre dups" on the exchange lists or "Brazil OK" on the droptag for the herbarium's exchange cubby.

 

1. Keep the best sheet of each collection for NY.

2. If you have many collections of the same species from the same geographic area, it is undesirable to send a duplicate of each of these to any one institution.  Therefore, you can treat all these collections as one or a few collections with many duplicates and, thus, distribute specimens of a species to a greater number of herbaria.

3. Do not send a duplicate to an institution to which a gift for det has already been sent.   Note, too, that in some cases, the NY sheet may have been pulled and mounted. Verify this before pulling a NY sheet.  Such information is usually indicated on the droptag or newspaper (e.g., "-NY").

 

4. For each TYPE collection, make sure to record on the processing list (in EMu) the acronyms of the herbaria to which duplicates were sent.  

 

5. Remember, if you haven't done so already, to check for separate fruits and/or wood specimens which are usually in separate boxes in the cold room.

1. Put wood specimen with a label in an envelope or bag and put this into the box on the exchange shelves in the cold room. The box will be sent to WIS (Madison) when full. Do not send wood to the mounting room with the specimens.
2. Put separate fruit with a label in an envelop or bag, depending on its size, either place it in the newspaper with the specimen or tie it on the outside of the bundle of specimens for that institution. Make sure to mark on the outside of this envelop the acronym of the institution to which it is to be sent.

 

6. Place loose fruits or flowers that may fall out of the newspaper in a packet of some kind. Mark these with the collector's name and number. 

 

7. Make sure each specimen has a label.  If you need more, make photocopies.

 

Dealing with the sorted specimens and extra labels

1. NY set:

Place together in one bundle. Add droptag indicating that they are staff collections and that they must be returned to you for barcoding after mounting. When the specimens are returned to you, make sure that you also barcode any separate fruits. Bring barcoded specimens to the mounting room to be frozen and filed.

2.  Exchange specimens:

a. If you have more than one cubbyhole's worth of specimens, please bundle them, attach a tag annotated with the acronym and the word "exchange," and place the bundle with the other exchange to be frozen.  These exchange bundles will be stored in the cold room until being shipped out, and are in alphabetic order by acronym.

b. Small numbers of specimens should not be bundled, but should instead be put in the appropriate cubbyhole in the sorting room. If this cubbyhole is full, bundle all of the specimens as described above.

c. Please do not send a specimen to a herbarium that isn't on the exchange list without first checking with Matthew.

 

[Optional: 3.  Extra labels:  Save in file boxes no more than two extra labels for a collection, sorted by collection number. Save for two years and discard.]