On Not Collecting

The founding sheets of this collection were gathered in an era with looser attitudes toward taking plants from the wild. We do not add to the collection that way anymore.

Most new accessions now come from cultivated stock, from salvage ahead of development, or under strict permit for species where a voucher genuinely serves research. A herbarium’s restraint is now part of its record — the note reading not collected is as much a data point as any sheet.