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Darchula District Far West Nepal 2012

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Brian Ellis:
Goodness, Arisaema utile really is lovely Alan.  Beautiful markings on it too.

Pauli:
Beautiful photos!

I think the slipper in the first series is C. himalaiacum

ranunculus:
Superb report ... can't wait for more please!

alanelliott:
Today I’m going to say a little about the collecting practices from the expedition. At the start of the trip each of us was assigned a set of families or groups of plants to collect. Each collection ideally had seven duplicates made at the same time, unless as I said earlier it was CITES listed and in the case there were only two duplicated made to say in Nepal. The idea being that it reduces duplication of collection. If everyone sees the same nice Primula, everyone collected the same nice Primula and at the end of the day there are 70 sheets of the plant.

The Japanese numbering system is fairly unusual. For example my first collection was given the number 1217001. Breaking down the number: 12 is the year of collection, 1 is first collection trip of the Society of Himalayan Botany this year, 7 is my personal number and the one that identifies the collection as mine and 001 is the first of my sequential numbers.


Everyone strung out collecting.

Each time we made a collection we recorded basic information in our personal field books. We’d note down the collection number, a name (if you knew it), the date, altitude and GPS coordinates, locality information, and basic habitat information. Finally, a description of any features of the plant that might be lost when pressed and dried: things like overall height of the plant, largest and smallest leaf and/or leaflet, flower colour, colour of anthers, filaments and stigma etc. It is amazing what’s lost on a herbarium sheet and how plants change once dry and crispy. The plant was also photographed in as much detail as you could manage so that there are associated field images to allow future researchers to see things that might be lost in the taking of the specimen.


Anemone polyanthes

My images field images are not always the greatest. Taking picture in the pouring rain under an umbrella in dense forest doesn’t always lend itself to artistic quality images. Also my aging DSLR is not great at macro shots and with hindsight I wish I’d taken a small compact camera to do those, but hey-ho.


Collecting Loranthaceae was interesting you can't press it normally because they just fall to bits. The trick is to put the plant in a sealed plastic bag with alcohol for 20min. The alcohol kills it and the plant and it stays together.

We each had a Sherpa field assistance and without their help the trip would not have been anywhere near as successful. My assistant was a guy called Myce, very funny, intelligent and genuinely interested the work. Myce and the others had the eyes of a hawk. When we’d come across a plant we’d want to collected one quick look at it and they’d be off scouting about nearby to find enough material for the seven duplicates. While looking for the material for the duplicates they’d often reappear with another species as well or at times see something we’d missed.

The specimens would be put into folded newspaper with the collection number written on the bottom right of the sheet, and then placed inside a field press. The Japanese field press is just two rigid bits of plastic with a belt with a plastic clip to keep it tightly shut.
Once we got to camp we’d process the specimens before drying. This meant tidying up the plants from the field press making things like the front and back of leaves were visible and that the flowers were open so the fertile parts were visible. As we processed the specimens we’d take a little bit of leaf material, about the size of a penny, from each collection and place it in a “teabag” and it looks exactly like one. All of the teabags were placed into boxes full of silica gel with a good sealable lid to dry.

The processed specimens would then be given to the some of the crew responsible for drying the specimens. They’d make large bundles and then put them over kerosene stoves and dry them for three hours. Next morning at 6 am, with a cup of tea, we’d check to make sure that each and every specimen was dry before they’d be bundled up and stored. If they were still damp they’d be put back in.




Most evenings Dr Colin Pendry and I would enter our field data straight into Padme the Flora of Nepal database, which we brought with us on a laptop, and Colin helped the Nepalese botanists input their data. The Japanese compiled their own spreadsheets and their data will be imported into the Flora of Nepal database at some point in the near future once its error checked. The laptop was also useful for having somewhere to back up images. We were able to take a laptop because the expedition had a generator, this let us have a few hours of light in the mess tent each evening, work on the laptop and charge cameras. It also allowed the trek crew to keep their mobile phones charged.


Specimen sorting

Once back in Kathmandu we took over the top floor of the Tibet Guest House and spent three days dividing the c.8000 sheets from the 1178 collections. The seven duplicate sets are for Tokyo University Herbarium (TI), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (E), The Nepalese National Herbarium at Godovari (DPR), Tribhuvan University Herbarium (TU), one set was to be divided up so specialists on specific groups would get a set of a specific genera, for example Corydalis for Magnus Lidén at Uppsala (U). The other two sets the Japanese were deciding who would get them.


Nice view though

alanelliott:

--- Quote from: Pauli on September 04, 2012, 05:46:32 PM ---Beautiful photos!

I think the slipper in the first series is C. himalaiacum

--- End quote ---

I took the ident from the Nepalese botanist collecting them. I am happy to "crowd source" identifications.
Thanks!

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