This article was originally published in March of 2009, and with spring and summer workshops as well as an upcoming open house at the Chico State Herbarium on May 14th, it seemed like a good time to run this again. Enjoy!

Do you know what an herbarium is?

We have at least two here in the North State. Did you know that?

I did not know either of these things – at least not precisely or with complete confidence, and nor did most of my gardening friends when asked this question.

An herbarium is to plants, what a library is to books. If you love plants (and if you’re reading this essay, you’ve already raised your hand) AND you love the idea of preserving and expanding knowledge about them – then you will love the idea of an herbarium. An herbarium is a catalogue, a collection, a record, a repository and a protectorate of plant life and knowledge about plant life. Photo: A new plant specimen is carefully examined before it is accessioned into the collections at the CSU Chico Herbarium.
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Like gardening itself, the field of Botanical Illustration dates back to ancient times and is a combination of both art and science. Surviving examples of ancient botanical drawings include detailed sketches of plants dating to 1500 BCE found on Egyptian temple walls. Until the advent of the camera, microscope and other instruments used for copying and storing information, botanical drawings served all manner of purpose for the fields of Botany, Medicine, Pathology and Geography among others. Early botanical drawings served as teaching tools for students of these fields and drawings were often compiled into “herbals” or collections cataloguing the medicinal uses of plants. Today, Botanical Illustration continues as marriage between art and science and is becoming increasingly interesting to gardeners. Classes in Botanical Illustration specifically for gardeners are offered at display and botanic gardens, nurseries, and herbaria around the region. Photo: Susan Bazell in her studio.

Susan Bazell is a Botanical Illustrator who lives and works in Paradise. While she says she is not a “professional botanical artist,” Susan’s work can be seen in several books, including the newly released Cacti, Agaves and Yuccas of California and Nevada (Stephen Ingram, Cachuma Press, 2008), Conifers of California (Ronald M. Lanner, Cachuma Press, 2002), and The Life of an Oak (Glenn Keator, Heyday Books, 1998), among others. Photo: Books in which the work of Susan Bazell appears.
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Do you know what an herbarium is?

We have at least two here in the North State. Did you know that?

I did not know either of these things – at least not precisely or with complete confidence, and nor did most of my gardening friends when asked this question.

An herbarium is to plants, what a library is to books. If you love plants (and if you’re reading this essay, you’ve already raised your hand) AND you love the idea of preserving and expanding knowledge about them – then you will love the idea of an herbarium. An herbarium is a catalogue, a collection, a record, a repository and a protectorate of plant life and knowledge about plant life. Photo: A new plant specimen is carefully examined before it is accessioned into the collections at the CSU Chico Herbarium.
(more…)