Herbarium

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The Artist's Herbarium

A traditional herbarium is comprised of a collection of pressed plants that have each been glued to large sheets of herbarium paper. Often times, a plant's seeds and dried fruits are placed into special envelopes and these, too, are glued onto the same sheet of herbarium paper. Herbarium specimens serve as a biologist's link to information about individual plants, specific plant communities, and the botanical history of a given area.

The Artist's Herbarium at ArtPlantae.com is a different kind of herbarium. Instead of being comprised of sheets of dried pressed specimens, the Artist's Herbarium is comprised of detailed color photographs of plants representing several different plant families. Artists will find a collection of whole-plant photographs, as well as close-up photographs of a variety of plant parts. Artists will be able to observe specific details in a way that will enhance their ability to capture these same details in their artwork. Because it is the objective of ArtPlantae.com to assist botanical artists with their learning of botanical terminology, the Herbarium's photographs have been labeled using the terminology artists often encounter in field guides and other plant identification books.

The Plant Families

Each plant family page has been divided into four sections. Below is a description of the type of helpful information artists have at their disposable 24 hours per day.

Family Characteristics (Or, the tell-tale signs that what you are looking at probably belongs in this family). The general characteristics of a given plant family are listed in this section. Artists will be able to find out the number of sepals, petals, and stamens members of a given plant family typically have. They will also be able to learn about the types of leaves and roots common to a given family.

What's Going On? (Details of interest to the botanical artist). This section contains photographs and preliminary sketches which aim to describe plant features that a botanical artist may have to understand in order to create form and detail successfully.

Landscape & Cut Flower Equivalents. Artists often work with cut flowers and with plant material growing in their own yards. This section will help artists associate cut flowers and common garden plants with their respective plant families.

Selected Resources for this Family. This section is comprised of a collection of articles, books, and Web resources containing information specific to a given plant family. It is important to note that this section contains resources that may very well be found on a botanical artist's bookshelf. By focusing on references that are used most commonly by botanical artists, the information in this section remains practical. On occasion, though, less familiar books may also be listed if they contain information that is especially useful.

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