Herbarium Overview
The specimens in WIN provide a reference source for floristic and vegetation studies within the province and have played an important role in the development of such publications as Budd’s Flora of the Canadian Prairie Provinces, Flora of Manitoba, and Flora of Canada. The collections have also been used for documenting the distribution and ecology of Manitoba’s rare and endangered plant species and for providing distributional and taxonomic information for the Flora of North America. In addition, WIN has served as a rich repository of genetic material for molecular studies, especially those on the systematics of Carex and the identification of vascular plants using DNA barcodes. Most recently, WIN has focused its efforts on databasing and imaging its collection. Over 26,000 specimen records, most of which are georeferenced and linked to high-resolution images, are accessible through Canadensys and GBIF.
Collection History
The
vascular plant collections in WIN date from the mid 19th century to the present
with most originating from the province of Manitoba. Much of our knowledge of
the vascular flora of the province and publications relating to it has relied
upon these specimens.
Significant collections made in the late 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries by resident Manitobans include those of A. H. R. Buller, W. M. Burman, V. W. Jackson, C. W. Lowe, M. G. Dudley, E. J. MacMillan, H. Macdonald, G. DeRuyck, A. Simpson and D. B. Sparling. Checklists of Manitoba plants, reflecting mainly the southern half of the province, were prepared by Burman (1909), Jackson et al. (1922), and Lowe (1943).
In 1948, H. J. Scoggan, from the National Museum of Canada, commenced a five-year botanical investigation of Manitoba by road, rail, canoe and plane. W. K. W. Baldwin (1953) accompanied Scoggan and carried out botanical exploration in the Reindeer-Nueltin Lakes area of northwestern Manitoba in 1951. Together, these studies led to the publication of the Flora of Manitoba (Scoggan 1957). The specimens upon which this flora is based are housed in the Canadian Museum of Nature (CAN) with many duplicates at WIN.
Botanical surveys conducted by B. Boivin between 1949 and 1960 formed the basis for his Flora of the Prairie Provinces (Boivin 1967-81) with many of his collections from southern Manitoba found in WIN. D. and A. Löve, faculty members in the Department of Botany (now part of the Department of Biological Sciences), University of Manitoba from 1951 to 1955, collected primarily in southern Manitoba. While some of their specimens are housed in WIN, as well as the University of Montreal (MT) and University of Colorado (COLO), many of their collections, including vouchers for chromosome counts, appear to have been lost. D. Löve and J. P. Bernard (1959) compiled a flora of the Otterburne area (40 km S of Winnipeg on the east side of the Red River) based on their fieldwork between 1950 and 1958. J. C. Ritchie, a faculty member in the Department of Botany from 1955 to 1961, conducted investigations into the flora and vegetation of northern Manitoba. Some of his specimens are in WIN, but the majority are at the University of Toronto (TRT). A set of historical air photographs from northern Manitoba, and dating from this time period, is archived in WIN.
Significant collections made in the late 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries by resident Manitobans include those of A. H. R. Buller, W. M. Burman, V. W. Jackson, C. W. Lowe, M. G. Dudley, E. J. MacMillan, H. Macdonald, G. DeRuyck, A. Simpson and D. B. Sparling. Checklists of Manitoba plants, reflecting mainly the southern half of the province, were prepared by Burman (1909), Jackson et al. (1922), and Lowe (1943).
In 1948, H. J. Scoggan, from the National Museum of Canada, commenced a five-year botanical investigation of Manitoba by road, rail, canoe and plane. W. K. W. Baldwin (1953) accompanied Scoggan and carried out botanical exploration in the Reindeer-Nueltin Lakes area of northwestern Manitoba in 1951. Together, these studies led to the publication of the Flora of Manitoba (Scoggan 1957). The specimens upon which this flora is based are housed in the Canadian Museum of Nature (CAN) with many duplicates at WIN.
Botanical surveys conducted by B. Boivin between 1949 and 1960 formed the basis for his Flora of the Prairie Provinces (Boivin 1967-81) with many of his collections from southern Manitoba found in WIN. D. and A. Löve, faculty members in the Department of Botany (now part of the Department of Biological Sciences), University of Manitoba from 1951 to 1955, collected primarily in southern Manitoba. While some of their specimens are housed in WIN, as well as the University of Montreal (MT) and University of Colorado (COLO), many of their collections, including vouchers for chromosome counts, appear to have been lost. D. Löve and J. P. Bernard (1959) compiled a flora of the Otterburne area (40 km S of Winnipeg on the east side of the Red River) based on their fieldwork between 1950 and 1958. J. C. Ritchie, a faculty member in the Department of Botany from 1955 to 1961, conducted investigations into the flora and vegetation of northern Manitoba. Some of his specimens are in WIN, but the majority are at the University of Toronto (TRT). A set of historical air photographs from northern Manitoba, and dating from this time period, is archived in WIN.
Since the 1960s, collections in WIN have been contributed by W. Krivda (The Pas), G. M. Keleher (southern Manitoba and Churchill), J. M. Walker Shay (Delta Marsh), D. Punter (throughout Manitoba, especially York Factory), and J. L. Parker (Gilbert Plains and Duck Mountain). W. J. Cody collected extensively in Riding Mountain National Park in 1979 and 1983. The specimens collected during those summers, housed in WIN and the Department of Agriculture in Ottawa (DAO), form the basis for his flora on the Park (Cody 1988). Specimens associated with H. H. Marshall’s Pembina Hills Flora (Marshall 1989), originally housed in the Fossil Discovery Centre, Morden, were gifted to WIN in 2013.
Other recent collections include those of C. T. Bryson (Cyperaceae), B. A. Ford (Carex), G. Jones (southern Manitoba), C. E. Punter (Birds Hill Provincial Park, the east side of Lake Winnipeg, northern Manitoba, and vouchers for rare plant surveys associated with environmental assessments), and D. Brunton (primarily southern Ontario and eastern U.S.A.). Specimens collected by M. Piercey-Normore, B. A. Ford, C. E. Punter and D. Punter between 2002-2010 as part of a botanical inventory of Wapusk National Park are also housed in WIN.
Baldwin, W. K. W. 1953. Botanical investigations in the Reindeer-Nueltin lakes area, Manitoba. National Museum of Canada, Bull. 128:110-142.
Boivin, B. 1967-1981. Flora of the Prairie Provinces. Provancheria 2, 3, 4, 5, 12.
Burman, W. A. 1909. The flora of Manitoba. In British Association for the Advancement of Sciences. A handbook to Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba, pp. 156-182.
Cody, W. J. 1988. Plants of Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba. Agriculture Canada, Research Branch, Publication 1818/E.
Jackson, V. W., J. F. Higham, H. Groh, and C.W. Lowe. 1922. Checklist of the Manitoba flora. Nat. Hist. Soc. of Manitoba.
Löve, D. and J-P. Bernard. 1959. Flora and vegetation of the Otterburne area, Manitoba, Canada. Sven. Bot. Tidsk. 53:335-461.
Lowe, C. A. 1943. List of flowering plants, ferns, club mosses, mosses and liverworts of Manitoba. Nat. Hist. Soc. of Manitoba.
Marshall, H. H. 1989. Pembina Hills Flora. Morden and District Museum, Morden, Manitoba
Scoggan, H. J. 1957. Flora of Manitoba. Bulletin No. 140, Biological Series No. 47. National Museum of Canada, Ottawa.
Other recent collections include those of C. T. Bryson (Cyperaceae), B. A. Ford (Carex), G. Jones (southern Manitoba), C. E. Punter (Birds Hill Provincial Park, the east side of Lake Winnipeg, northern Manitoba, and vouchers for rare plant surveys associated with environmental assessments), and D. Brunton (primarily southern Ontario and eastern U.S.A.). Specimens collected by M. Piercey-Normore, B. A. Ford, C. E. Punter and D. Punter between 2002-2010 as part of a botanical inventory of Wapusk National Park are also housed in WIN.
Baldwin, W. K. W. 1953. Botanical investigations in the Reindeer-Nueltin lakes area, Manitoba. National Museum of Canada, Bull. 128:110-142.
Boivin, B. 1967-1981. Flora of the Prairie Provinces. Provancheria 2, 3, 4, 5, 12.
Burman, W. A. 1909. The flora of Manitoba. In British Association for the Advancement of Sciences. A handbook to Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba, pp. 156-182.
Cody, W. J. 1988. Plants of Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba. Agriculture Canada, Research Branch, Publication 1818/E.
Jackson, V. W., J. F. Higham, H. Groh, and C.W. Lowe. 1922. Checklist of the Manitoba flora. Nat. Hist. Soc. of Manitoba.
Löve, D. and J-P. Bernard. 1959. Flora and vegetation of the Otterburne area, Manitoba, Canada. Sven. Bot. Tidsk. 53:335-461.
Lowe, C. A. 1943. List of flowering plants, ferns, club mosses, mosses and liverworts of Manitoba. Nat. Hist. Soc. of Manitoba.
Marshall, H. H. 1989. Pembina Hills Flora. Morden and District Museum, Morden, Manitoba
Scoggan, H. J. 1957. Flora of Manitoba. Bulletin No. 140, Biological Series No. 47. National Museum of Canada, Ottawa.
