Collecting Genetic Samples from Herbarium Plant Vouchers and Plant Populations

Storyboard Contributed by: Dr. Jennifer Ramp Neale, Denver Botanic Gardens

Field biologists can make enormous contributions to the scientific community by taking small steps to ensure genetic material from the rare plants in their care are available for future study. This video outlines methods for sampling and storing plant tissue for future genetic analysis from both herbarium vouchers and from multiple individuals from a wild rare plant population. This sampling method may not be sufficient to answer all genetic questions, but can provide raw material that can help answer important questions especially if a plant population is declining or severely threatened.