Seed Herbarium Image Project - SHIP Mission

SHIP Mission

The Seed Herbarium Image Project (SHIP) began in 2003 and has completed photography for the Arboretum’s six national collections within the North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC): Acer (Maples), Carya (Hickory), Fagus (Beech), Stewartia, Syringa (Lilacs), and Tsuga (Hemlock). Acer, Stewartia, and Syringa were a focus in 2007. Using new protocols and equipment developed for micro-photography, SHIP is presently documenting species within the Ericaceae (Heath Family). The Arnold Arboretums’ introductions of Ericaceae include Rhododendron schlippenbachii, R. vaseyi, and R. mucronulatum, all plants of importance to ornamental horticulture. The Arnold collection also includes rare and endangered plants such as Leiophyllum buxifolium and Elliottia racemosa. Even early introductions of agricultural crops, such as Vaccinium angustifolium and V. corymbosum are well represented. SHIP is also working to document seed from our collection of Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) plants. All records for the image initiative are catalogued in the arboretum's collections management database, BG-BASE. Search functionality is hosted by the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

• The Arnold Arboretum's Seed Herbarium collections can be viewed in the online herbarium database and can be searched by entering the scientific name, family name, or Arboretum accession number. To date, seeds of the following genera are available through this resource: Abies, Acacia, Acer, Actinidia, Albizia, Alnus, Amorpha, Andromeda, Aralia, Arctostaphylos, Aronia, Berberis, Betula, Broussonetia, Buddleia, Callicarpa, Calycanthus, Carpinus, Carya, Cedrus, Celastrus, Celtis, Cephalanthus, Cercidiphyllum, Ceonothus, Elliottia, Enkianthus, Erica, Fagus, Ilex, Rhododendron, Stewartia, Syringa, Tsuga, Zabelia. The SHIP team has also compiled a gallery of closely allied species. The digital format and online availability allows for specimens to be used for study and comparison in new ways by online users all around the world.