Canandaigua Botanical Society Herbarium

Celebrate 140 years of the Canandaigua Botanical Society!

 

Canandaigua Botanical Society Herbarium      

Saturday, November 22, 2014 at 10 AM       
Indoor presentation at FLCC - room C 220   

  We’ve seen the extensive species collection of the Rochester Academy of Science Herbarium at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, but did you know that the Canandaigua Botanical Society also has an herbarium?   I've know about the Canandaigua Botanical Society for the past 15 years.  I've heard about the collection of botanical specimens collected long ago by Canandaigua Botanical Society members...but I've yet to see this collection.  Please come to learn about and view the Canandaigua Botanical Society Herbarium with  Dr. Bruce Gilman.
Opening a press
Looking for specimens worth mounting

The Herbarium was established at FLCC in 1976 with plant materials from field botany.  Collections were made for class projects.  The herbarium holds plants indoors for teaching and learning.

The 4th largest herbarium in the world is at the NY Botanical Gardens where cabinets are on tracks.

The Herbarium at FLCC is for teaching and documenting types of plants in this region.  Current holdings include 15,000 individual sheets. 

A vasculum is often used in the field to collect specimens as it prevents wilting before mounting. 

Typically, plants collected in the field are set between blotter paper (newspapers) and corrugated cardboard where they are then pressed for several days before mounting. Tightening plants in a press for three days allows specimens to retain color nicely. The FLCC plant presses were made with recycled boards and are held together with straps.  

Bruce and Thomas gave a demonstration on how to mount specimens onto 12x18 - 100% cotton herbarium sheets (~$.70 each) using gummed linen tape that will hold items for 100 years.  Each mount should then have a label.

            Scientific Name: Class/Order/Family/Genus/Species
            Common Name:
            Family:
            Habitat:
            Locality: where plant was collected
                        City, County, State
            Date: of collection
            Collector: and Number:

The label information can then be entered into a database.

Bruce mentioned that students often use the NY Natural Heritage Program manual to determine habitat: http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/29338.html


Bruce showed us the cabinets where the mounted specimens are kept.  Mounted specimens are in folders according to species and are alphabetized by families.  
We located trout lily of Maya Hobday

Many species ‘unpressable’ and can not be mounted easily but are still valuable specimens in the herbarium collection.  Examples include bark, fruit, seeds, fossils, fungi, and twig samples.  These are kept in cardboard containers, paper bags, and trays. 
 

Ontario Pathways walk

Ontario Pathways Walk – Gifford Road
Photos from our walk:

 
 
 
Do you see the frog?
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks to Pam Webb for leading our walk - another rather wet adventure.

  Please join us on Saturday, October 4, 2014


Ontario Pathways Walk – Gifford Road
Saturday, October 4, 2014 at 10 am  
(carpool leaves from Sly Street parking lot behind Ontario County Court House at 9:20 am)  
 Join us as we enjoy a “less traveled” portion of Ontario Pathways.  Travel NY 488 N to NY 96 towards Phelps.  Turn left onto NY 88N/ N Newark Street.  In just over 1 mile make a right turn onto Rockefeller Road.  Turn left onto Wilbur Road and then right onto Gifford Road.  The trail will be on your left.  

October events:

Douglas Tallamy at FLCC 
Thursday, October 2 
@ 6:00 in Stage 14
 FREE TO ALL
   Doug Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware where he has authored 80 research articles and has taught Insect Taxonomy, Behavioral Ecology, Humans and Nature, Insect ecology and other courses for 32 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His book “Bringing Nature Home; How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens” was published by Timber Press in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 silver medal by the Garden Writer’s Association. "The Living Landscape" coauthored with Rick Darke, was published in 2014. Doug was awarded the Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas Medal for Conservation and the Tom Dodd Jr. Award of Excellence in 2013.

 Great Pumpkin Walk - Sat Oct 18 - 6:30-9:30 PM
It’s that time of the year again! People young and old walk between rows of carved lighted pumpkin, admiring the artistry and creativity of the carvers. Yes! It’s the annual Great Pumpkin Walk on Ontario Pathways.
The event will be held Saturday October 18, 2014 from 6:30 to 9:30 PM, at the Ontario Pathways trail at the Ontario County Fair Grounds, County Road 10, Canandaigua.
Admission is $4.00 per person (children aged 2 and under are free, and strollers are allowed). Donut holes and cider are included. Parking is free.  Feel free to download and share the attached flyer.
This annual non-scary kid-friendly event has been enjoyed for the last fifteen years and is one of the highlights of the fall season. Come join us for a truly memorable experience!

Botanical printing with Judi Cermak

Botanical T-shirt Printing          

Saturday, September 20, 2014 at  10 AM  
Room C220 at FLCC  - Reservations PLEASE!
 Local artist, Judi Cermak, will teach us to print leaves onto T-Shirts using a variety of leaves and inks.  Bring a T-Shirt (or fabric bag) to print on and take home with you.  

THANK YOU JUDI! 
We had a lovely time learning a new craft from Judi.  She taught us to make cards with leaves and ink then graduated us up to fabric with acrylic paints.