Finding the plants

 

Collecting Mimetes hirtus, Republic of South Africa (Photo: Carly Cowell)

In many instances we can rely substantially on our partners' knowledge; not only of what species should be collected as a priority, but also where they might be growing and when they would be dispersing seed. Partner institutes would themselves rely on a network of more local sources in-country, to augment and update their own knowledge.

In other instances, often in less-developed countries, botanical infrastructure and information is not so well developed. However, the pressed specimens collected in herbaria (e.g. Kew) over the last couple of centuries frequently have a wealth of information on locality and flowering or fruiting time associated with them. These are valuable sources of this information when it is not easily available in-country.

The genus Eucalyptus displays a myriad of forms and colours throughout the state of Western Australia.

Once it is available digitally (in a database), we are able to analyse this specimen information and compile it to produce collection guides for species and regions of priority.

Next: Identify the target plant