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Questions and Answers: 2015

Question: Hi GoBotanist! I'm wondering about starting my own plant collection. Are there any species you'd recommend I start with to …

• Question

  Hi GoBotanist! I'm wondering about starting my own plant collection. Are there any species you'd recommend I start with to establish a standard/representational assemblage of New England plants? I'm primarily interested in plants bearing flowers/fruit and woody plants, but any suggestions are welcome!

  Answer

  Dear rainbowbagels, building a personal herbarium collection is a very good way to learn plants and have reference collections for identification. What species you collect is completely up to you and your goals for the collection. Some people collect to document the presence of a plant or the spread of a non-native. Others collect certain species for taxonomic study. Still others gather species that they are drawn to for aesthetic reasons. Determine what the goals of your herbarium will be and use those as guidelines for collection. If you want to discuss further, feel free to correspond with me at ahaines[at]newenglandwild.org.