Sit back with a cup of tea, gardeners, and let's chat about an interesting gardening experience that happened to me recently. The story starts a while back when a very dear friend of ours told us about a story that was on CBC French. Even though I can't speak French, he thought that I would still find the visuals of the story interesting. So we tuned in, and thanks to lettering on the screen during the story, I was able to go on line to find out more.
The story was about the Marie Victorin Herbarium in Montreal. This wonderful collection was started in 1903 by Brother Marie-Victorin, who gathered hundreds of thousands of plant specimens, and dried and pressed them. In fact, more than 90% of the plant varieties in Quebec are included in this amazing collection. In 2011, the Centre for Biodiversity was opened at the University of Montreal, and all the plant specimens collected by Brother Marie-Victorin were given an entire floor. These collections are a valuable tool for education and research.
During the story, the curator of the Herbarium was mentioned. His name is Luc Brouillet; thanks to the miracle of e-mail, I contacted him and asked if he could tell me about the Herbarium, so that I could tell you! He said, why not do some research about the Herbarium you have right in your own province? So he gave me another name, Dr. J. Hugo Cota-Sanchez, who is an associate professor and curator of the W.P. Fraser Herbarium at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon! Imagine that! So I contacted Dr. Cota-Sanchez, and he very kindly shared some information with me about the W.P. Fraser Herbarium.
The Herbarium is "devoted to the study of the Saskatchewan flora" and to "provide an accurate taxonomical, geographical, and historical representation of all native and naturalized plants occurring in Saskatchewan. The wealth of information stored in our biological collection is available to the general public (amateur and professional)."
Why is the collection important? Just think, the collection has approximately 181,000 specimens. Dr. Cota-Sanchez writes that "this collection has an ample historical coverage, and represents 125 years of Saskatchewan's past and present flora. Hence, our facility acts as a primary source of information on the diversity and distribution of the Saskatchewan flora. Our institution combines the application of both traditional and new technologies to make the specimens information available worldwide." He also says that the primary activity of the Herbarium is "the administration, management and preservation of the province's natural heritage." The collection includes a rare plant database, which includes "provincially rare (presumed extinct, endangered, threatened, and most "species of concern") species."
Doesn't this all sound fascinating? If you would like to find out more, visit www.herbarium.usask.ca. This site also lists several new books published by Nature Saskatchewan and the Flora of Saskatchewan Association of Regina. I would like to thank Dr. Cota-Sanchez for his help and information about this amazing place, right in our own province!
Gardeners, please mark Thursday, April 18 on your calendars: that's the date of the next Yorkton and District Horticultural Society meeting. Our special guest will be Frank Woloschuk speaking about "Planning A Perennial Bed". Frank is an avid and enthusiastic gardener, and his knowledge of perennials will have us jotting down notes and coming away with wonderful ideas! I know that he will have much to share about planning, designing, and planting a perennial bed. That's Thursday, April 18, 7:00 p.m. at the SIGN Building on North Street.
Keep the faith that spring is coming and have a good week!
