Despite the weather becoming colder as we get closer to winter and much of the flowering plants having been and gone, I was pleasantly surprised at my haul from an afternoon of foraging. Just like the thousands of dried specimens housed within the KEW gardens herbarium for scientific study, I cannot wait to see how my own plants turn out having been dried and pressed into my very own 'Herbarium' of Leeds plant specimens.
Once dried, I plan on working directly from each of the specimens, taking a closer look at the plants from the perspective of a scientist / botanist and with the eye of an illustrator - putting into practice a range of techniques including dissection, observation, colour theory annotations and thoughts towards composition - just as I have been learning about in my research. Studying and considering each specimen in depth like this, I then hope to have a better understanding of the plant and its keys morphological parts (for ease of binomial identification) which I will then attempt to accurately replicate - visually communicating the specimen illustratively, bringing it back to life via drawing, painting, printing etc. I really hope they don't all go mouldy!
Dried Herbarium Process:
• Cut specimens from locations around Leeds:
- Burley Park
- Cardigan Road
- Woodsley Road
- Hyde Park
• Notations and observations collected, covering:
- Location conditions
- Date / Time / Time of year
- Binomial name of plant
- Surrounding habitat
• Each plant / leaf cutting placed between sheets of paper and card
• Card slotted into plant press and pressure applied to press the flowers
• Pressing duration: At least 1 month
KEW Herbarium
The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London has one of the largest collections of preserved dried flora specimens in the world and these plants are what have underpinned most of the botanical studies and our current understanding of our natural world to date. Along with collecting seeds in seed banks all over the world, countries collect various examples (specimens) of plants species at various stages of a plants life, in order to document its life span and scientific / medical / agricultural / environmental potential.
Botanical and scientific illustrators work with these preserved specimens under the guidance of a botanist who is well versed in the plants anatomical parts and who can guide the botanical illustrator to the key areas of the plant which require closer study for specific detailed visual communication. Having a dried record of the plant enables scientists and artists to have access to a wide variety of plants from all over the world at any time of the year. The herbarium dried specimen however is not enough for a full picture of what the plant looks like in 'life' for accurate identification and for inclusion in academic journals. Dried specimens lose much of their natural shape and colour during the drying out process, therefore it is the artists responsibility to bring the plant back to life via study, observation and referring to the scientific annotations, so that the plant can be accurately illustrated and recreated for the correct application within botany and scientific circles.
"A collection like this is a vital reference when you need to identify a plant and also serves to fix for ever the identity of thousands of plant names."
"A herbarium...acts as a source of information about plants - where they are found, what chemicals they have in them, when they flower, what they look like."
"Herbaria that organise their specimens systematically, by family, genus and species, serve as a working hypothesis of a classification of all plants."
"A herbarium is therefore of immense practical use and of fundamental importance to science."
- Royal Botanic Gardens, KEW
Royal Botanic Gardens KEW,
2017. What is a Herbarium?. [Online]
Available at: http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/gotoWhatIsHerbarium.do
[Accessed 20 10 2017]
Available at: http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/gotoWhatIsHerbarium.do
[Accessed 20 10 2017]