Laurie and I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with John Clark and Steve Ginzbarg about plant life at Hurricane Creek on Friday. What began as a discussion about a bioblitz extended into a chat about education, orchids, exotic Colombian plants, and a little trip to the fascinating UA Herbarium.
The first room included a coffee pot, tables, references, and stations for mounting various plants onto special paper. It looked as if a few aged samples were being re-mounted or salvaged.
A possible salvage operation at the herbarium.
Then we passed through another heavy door into a room filled with freezers of various shapes and sizes. Plant samples are placed in the freezer for two weeks to kill any damaging bugs, bacteria, or prey that can destroy the plants. There was also a special freezer with -82 degree temperature which is used to store plant DNA.
Steve Ginzbarg opens a freezer in the freezer room.
Then Steve took out a special key and opened the door to the mammoth room where all the plant samples reside.
Shelves and shelves lined with jars containing snakes, amphibians, and various reptiles.
One turtle among many.
The plants are stored in files on movable shelves. Can you imagine how many plants must be housed here?
The collections include extremely rare and endangered plant species. The orchids are especially interesting due to their status as a source of international crime rings and theft.
This orchid was collected by John Mohr long ago.
