Herbarium
History and Affiliation
The Scientific Herbarium of the USAMV Cluj-Napoca was established in 1904, being associated from its beginnings to the activity of the botany department that operated within the institution and to the Agro-Botanical Garden of USAMV Cluj-Napoca (MOLDOVAN et SZABO, 1979; PAZMANY 1981; NYARADY 1982; SZABO 1983; STANA, 2004).
Currently, the USAMV Cluj-Napoca Scientific Herbarium has over 30 000 specimens and herbarium sheets registered, this herbarium being listed in the international index of scientific herbaria (Index Herbariorum), under the acronym CLA, http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science /uh/.
Current Importance
The scientific herbarium still holds importance in the modern era, representing the material evidence for the botanical specimens that are part of the scientific studies and research, remaining available for consultation.
How to obtain an herbarium specimen?
An herbarium specimen is a plant material preserved by drying and pressing and is presented in the form of an herbarium sheet. The specimen must present the botanical characters that allow the identification of the taxon (mainly the species); therefore, it must consist at least of the stem with leaves and flowers. Herbarium specimens must be preserved properly so as to retain their morphology (crumpled, torn, rolled, moldy specimens etc. are not acceptable). If the specimen is a gymnosperm, fern, moss, fungus or protist, the specimen must be preserved alongside their specific reproductive formations: cones, sporophylls, sporophytes, fruiting bodies etc. If other plant organs are additionally available then these can also be pressed and added to the herbarium sheet but they cannot replace the existence of the mandatory parts explicitly mentioned above, in order to qualify it as a herbarium specimen. Only in special cases are such additional organs absolutely necessary or they can substitute the flowers when these are not available at the time of collection on the itinerary in natural habitats, but they must be representative for the identification of the species, requiring special knowledge from the collector.
Criteria for registering an herbarium sheet
For the registration of a specimen in the scientific herbarium, the specimen must be preserved in the form of an herbarium sheet and comply with the requirements presented above.
Once with the submission of the herbarium sheet, it is absolutely necessary to provide the information that will appear on the label and without which the herbarium sheet has no scientific value.
The collector who is mentioned on the label remains responsible for the accuracy of the information. However, the information will also be carefully checked by the Herbarium staff.
What information does the label of a herbarium sheet contain?
The information below must accompany the herbarium specimen and will be found on the herbarium sheet label.
Species: scientific name (with its authors)
Coll.: the name of the person/persons who collected and preserved the specimen
Date: date of the specimen collection
Det.: the name of the person/persons who identified/determined the taxon (mainly the species) Loc.: the actual location where the herbarium specimen was collected, mentioning the nearest town or village, country, the exact GPS coordinates of the location where specimen was collected and verifiable via google maps: https://www.google.com/maps (exact GPS coordinates will remain in the herbarium’s databases and will not be made public on the Internet), habitat type (forest, meadow, arable land, private or public garden, park, lawn etc.).
When the specimen is a cultivated one and there is information about the provenance of that specimen (from natural habitat, nurseries, market, botanic gardens etc.), then this second additional location needs to be added below (next):
Known origin: for the known provenance, once again mention what is known about the: nearest town or village, country, the exact GPS coordinates of the location where the sample came from and verifiable via google maps: https://www.google.com/maps (exact GPS coordinates will remain in the herbarium’s databases and will not be made public on the Internet), habitat type (forest, meadow, arable land, private or public garden, park, lawn etc.).
Any other additional information useful for the scientific study of the herbarium specimen is to be added bellow (next):
Observations: informative mentions such as: the color of the flowers if this will no longer be visible after conservation; scent; the height and thickness of the tree; the presence of organs that cannot be pressed, such as tubers, fleshy fruits, caudex etc.
Supplementary the IPEN code must be mentioned in the case of specimens from botanical gardens that are part of the IPEN network. The IPEN code is an international code that identifies specimens grown in botanical gardens (https://www.bgci.org/our-work/inspiring-and-leading-people/policy-and-advocacy/access-and-benefit-sharing /the-international-plant-exchange-network/).
Below there is the standard form where information can be filled in directly. (docx)
It shall be sent after completion, to be checked, listed and attached to the herbarium sheet.
How do you mention herbarium specimens in scientific papers?
After the authors receive from the herbarium staff the unique registration codes assigned to each specimen submitted to the Scientific Herbarium of USAMV Cluj-Napoca, applicants can use them in scientific publications. In the published manuscript/paper shall be indicated the place where the herbarium specimens were deposited for preservation, which must be preserved in the form of a herbarium sheet respecting the requirements presented above and must be representative for the biological material that was used in that research. Example for citation: “herbarium specimens were submitted to the Scientific Herbarium of USAMV Cluj-Napoca (CLA): Lactuca sativa var. capitata with voucher codes 1000-1004, ….”, meaning that at the USAMV Cluj-Napoca Scientific Herbarium were deposited 4 herbarium sheets with specimens of Lactuca sativa var. capitata used in that research publication. Thus, readers who wish to consult the botanical material that was the basis of the respective research can contact the USAMV Cluj-Napoca Scientific Herbarium. We encourage applicants to carefully review the requirements of the publications to which they are applying for publication, as the authors solely are responsible for following the scientific ethics and correctly using the codes provided. In this sense, USAMV Cluj-Napoca Scientific Herbarium is not directly responsible for how authors subsequently use the voucher codes, but the staff is available to the authors for any questions and concerns.
Contact
Associate professor dr. Stoie Andrei
plantrecords.agrobot@usamvcluj.ro
References
STANA, D. (2004). Herbarium collections and genetic resource documentation at the University of Agricultural Science and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Bulletin USAMV-CN, 60, 197-198.
SZABO, A. T. (1983). Herbarium collections and genetic resource documentation at the Agronomy Institute Cluj-Napoca. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 13(1), 67–70. https://doi.org/10.15835/nbha131174
NYARADY, A. (1982). Contributors to the Agrobotanical Garden. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 12(1), 55–58. https://doi.org/10.15835/nbha121153
PAZMANY, D. (1981). Retired contributors of the agrobotanical garden. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 11(1), 95–98. https://doi.org/10.15835/nbha11151
MOLDOVAN, I., & SZABO, A. T. (1979). The agrobotanical garden of the Agronomy Institute “Dr. Petru Groza”. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 10(1), 45–52. https://doi.org/10.15835/nbha101120
https://www.bgci.org/our-work/inspiring-and-leading-people/policy-and-advocacy/access-and-benefit-sharing/the-international-plant-exchange-network/
https://www.google.com/maps