A herbarium label is a crucial part of any scientific
plant
collection. The accuracy of information recorded on a herbarium
label directly determines a specimens overall quality and usefulness in
botanical research. Without good location documentation collected
plants are of very little use to a herbarium. Obtaining accurate
label information is even more important than being able to correctly identify
a plant, because a plant can always be correctly identified later but some
label information must be gathered at the place and time of collection
or often it is forgotten or remembered incorrectly.
The following is a guide for what information should
be included on a label, the order it should appear, and how labels are
formatted at the Freeman Herbarium (AUA) at Auburn University.
1. Type 'PLANTS OF' then insert the State (or country), in bold, where
plant was collected, all-caps.
2. Generic name, capitalize, underline.
3. Specific epithet, underline.
4. Authority, obtained from flora.
5. County (or province), all-caps.
6. Location description using road miles (driving directions).
7. Location description from major landmarks, try to use geographical
landmarks (rivers, lakes, mountains, valleys, etc., avoid using buildings,
street addresses, etc.).
8. Township, Range, Section.
9. Map name and scale used to get Township, Range, & Section.
10. Give latitude and longitude (in degrees, minutes, seconds), obtained
from topographical maps or GPS unit.
11. Habitat description, what kind of habitat and soil type was the
plant found in? (roadside, pine woods, hard woods, bogs, beach, riparian,
montane, etc.)
12. Statement of surrounding plant community, include some other common
associated species. Be sure to italicize or underline other scientific
species names.
13. Give the elevation of the location, again obtained from topographical
maps or GPS unit . Be sure to indicate feet or meters.
14. Collector name and number. Numbering system can be of your own
creation.
15. Must include date of collection in the format shown, (dd month
yyyy)
16. List the correct family to which the genus and species belongs.
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