Collecting and Preparing Herbarium Specimens
Samples for the majority of the plants mentioned within the ethnobotanical investigation in Tihosuco were collected and prepared for the 'Alfredo Barrera MarÌn' herbarium, located in the Faculty of Animal and Veterinary Sciences (FMVZ) of the Autonomous University of Yucatan (UADY). These samples were important for two reasons. The first reason was so that the plant could be identified scientifically back at the ethnobotanical department at the FMVZ. This would serve to establish the botanical garden in Tihosuco and also to compile the book. The second reason was to include the samples within the herbarium of the UADY to further their 'Programa Etnoflora Yucatanense', which investigates the location and incidence of the flora in the Yucatan peninsula.
An example of each plant mentioned by the informants was collected where possible and necessary. Some plants were immediately recognisable, such as coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L.) and papaya (Carica papaya L.) therefore examples of these were not collected for identification. Some plants were identified from photographs I took of the plant, therefore examples were also not collected for these.
When a plant example was collected, I attempted to obtain as many parts of the plant that were available, such as the flower, leaf, stem, seed, root, etc. A sample about 30 cm in length was an optimum size. At times it was not possible to collect a plant sample, such as when coming across small single specimens in gardens or in the wild. In these cases, a detailed written description of the plant was taken for consultation, and/or a photograph of the plant was made. It was still possible to determine the identification of the plant from this secondary information.
It is often necessary to collect flowers to correctly identify the plant. Some plants were very similar in their vegetative state, and only by collecting the flowers was it possible to determine the identity of the plant. However, most plants only flowered at certain times of the year, which meant that either I had to wait until later in the year for the plant to flower, or I was not able to collect a flower sample at all.
The collected samples were labelled and placed within a plastic bag to prevent them from wilting too fast during the interview, which was a problem, especially during the dry hot first few months of the year. The details given about the plants were recorded on a questionnaire used by the ethnobotanical department of the Yucatan University.
After the interview, I returned to the house where I was staying whilst in Tihosuco to press the plants, using a press obtained from the ethnobotanical department. The press simply consisted of two wooden lattices, between which were arranged the plant samples. These were lain between two sheets of newspaper, which were in turn where lain between two sheets of corrugated cardboard. Each sample in the press was labelled with its name, date and interview reference.
