Vouchers etc

[Ted Oliver]

Taxacomers

Yes, good vouchers (well documented and adequately prepared) are
a valuable addition to any institution, thus to our knowledge of
biodiversity and at the same time allowing for future reference and
checking.

But what usually happens here is that EIA's are often carried out in
a hurry in what we call 'smash-and-grab' raids at a time when the
plants are not flowering or are in very poor condition -- not due to
any fault of the consultant, or the consultant often has so much on
his/her hands that the production of good collections is just not a
feasible priority.

We are thus not at all happy about the filling up of our valuable
herbarium space with useless material and generally reject
'compost'.  We charge for IDs and the consultants are quite willing
to pay even if they only get a family name -- sometimes not even
that!

Ted Oliver

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Dr. E.G.H. (Ted) OLIVER
Compton Herbarium (NBG)
National Botanical Institute, Kirstenbosch
CAPE TOWN
olivert at nbict.nbi.ac.za   fax: +27 21 761 4151
http://www.nbi.ac.za/systematics.htm