Amanda spent much of Friday in the Herbarium reviewing the Asian Maples

It was maybe not a bad place to spend a windy day; alone with ~half a million dead plants. Sustained winds of 30+ mph were occasionally accented by gusts up to 50mph. Amanda was reviewing the vouchered material related to recent collections and the plants they have produced.

Normally, if at all possible, when seeds are collected to be grown into plants that will be planted here at the Arboretum, a dried specimen is collected at the same time. We then receive the seeds, germinate them, plant the plant in a collection and monitor it. At some point it flowers and fruits. Our goal is to have vouchers, one with flowers, another with fruit for all of our plants. After Amanda's work today, we know where we stand in regard to our collected Chinese Maples.