BERAU HERBARIUM

ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT
The Berau Herbarium is as an extension of Herbarium Wanariset in Samboja (WAN),
which is registered in the international catalogue of the herbaria of the world, Index
Herbariorum. For the specimen collection it has its own series code “BERAU”. This
follows international herbarium standards and the collection is thus linked to the National
Herbarium of The Netherlands, Leiden branch (L). The Berau Herbarium therefore connects
to other herbaria with significant Asian collections, particularly A, BO, E and K via
Wanariset and Leiden.
PT. Inhutani I and BPK Samarinda jointly manage the herbarium. Two trained staff
members from each organisation are permanently involved and responsible for professional
management activities including material collection, preparation, labelling, storage, file
update and other general operations. BFMP, Wanariset Samboja and the L presently support
them.
Herbarium specimen
PLANT MATERIAL COLLECTION AND PREPARATION
SOME DEFINITIONS
A herbarium specimen is a whole plant or plants, or part of a plant of such a size that when
pressed flat and dried will fit on a sheet of stiff paper or card. The specimens are pressed
flat and dried. The Berau herbarium uses 26 x 42 cm sheets, the same size adopted by BO
and WAN. Specimens are selected to show essential features of branches, leaves, flowers,
and fruits. A number tag relating to a numbered note in a field notebook accompanies each
specimen.
Number tag
A numbered tag connects the specimen to field notes made when the specimen was
collected. Each number is unique, and is prefixed with the herbarium code – in this case,
“B”. Pencil should be used to write on tags, as ink is generally not permanent, washing off
when coming in contact with water, alcohol or sap.
Field notebook
A field notebook records data including:
� The collector and collection number
� Place of collection
� Date of collection
� Features of the plant that will not be available on specimens
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