Traditional fern collections
In this activity, students collect, press, mount and label ferns to develop a traditional herbarium. You may wish to do the activity ‘Alternative fern collections’ concurrently.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
understand the processes used for collecting, pressing, drying and mounting fern fronds
know what information to include on an identification label
understand why the documentation is important.
The value of early collections
Te Papa holds the plant collections of Sir Joseph Banks, Daniel Solander and William Colenso, 3 of New Zealand’s earliest botanists. Dr Patrick Brownsey explains the significance and value of these collections.
Point of interest: The process Banks and Solander used of pressing, drying, mounting and labelling ferns is nearly identical to the one botanists still use today.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
instructions on what you need and what to do
student instructions for creating a fern herbarium
extension ideas.
Related Content
In What is a fern? learn about this ancient group of plants and use this Slideshow to find out about the ferns of Aotearoa.
Botanists have played an important role in our New Zealand history. The plant specimens collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander on Captain Cook’s 1769 Endeavour voyage created the first physical record of New Zealand’s natural history.
Visit the herbarium at Te Papa where over 260,000 plant specimens, including 19,000 fern specimens, are stored. Find out about the value of plant collections in museums
