From the Field: Paola Pedraza-Peñalosa in the Colombian Andes
Posted in From the Field, Paola Pedraza-Peñalosa, Science on March 9th, 2011 by Plant Talk – Be the first to commentEd. Note: NYBG Scientist and Assistant Curator, Institute of Systematic Botany, Paola, Pedraza-Peñalosa recently returned from an expedition to the Colombian Andes where she was without electricity and the Internet. Upon returning to New York, she filed these briefs about her time in the field. Follow her journey on Plant Talk.
January 31, 2011; A typical day botanizing in Las Orquídeas National Park; Antioquia, Colombia
So what exactly does a botanist do in the field? In the field we look for plants that are in reproductive state, those bearing flowers or/and fruits. Reproductive structures are necessary to differentiate between closely looking species. For each species, we collect flowers, fruits, and leaves; these samples are processed and later dried for future study. The dried and mounted plant samples are called herbarium specimens and they are known to last for hundreds of years.
Looking for flowers in the forest canopy.
