FLAS imaged the labels of the bryophytes in the Fairchild Tropical Garden Collection. Kent Perkins picked up the specimens from Miami and brought them to Gainesville. The specimens were wonderfully organized. They were also barcoded and a skeletal spreadsheet accompanied the collection, so basically, we had to image them. Tanaka Dang led this part of the project.

two researchers sitting at a desk with a computer and a light-table and camera
Tiki and Andrew image the Fairchild bryophyte and lichen collection

The collection consists of approximately 500 specimens. Something different from this collection is that the specimens are very diverse in curatorial styles. Some specimens are stored in small boxes, others are stored on envelopes mounted in cards, some are solely on envelopes and some are mounted on folia. This diversity slows the process of imaging because the angle of the camera has to be constantly changed.

four images of cataloged specimens
Diversity in preparation methods of the Fairchild bryophyte and lichen collection

We finished the image capturing portion of this collection on June 7, 2013.