Landcare Research - Manaaki Whenua

Landcare-Research -Manaaki Whenua

Regulations for the Loan of Botanical Material

1. Purpose of loans

  1. Loans are made to other registered Herbaria for scientific research.
  2. Loans are made for research that does not impinge on the safety and integrity of the specimens as archival objects.
  3. Loan of specimens for projects of a commercial nature require separate and specific permission from the Allan Herbarium Director.

2.  Loan requests

  1. Requests for loans are only accepted from the Head of a recognised botanical establishment who will be expected to accept sole responsibility for the safe custody and return of specimens.
  2. Students and other persons not permanently employed will receive loans only in the name of a supervisor specified by the Head of the borrowing institute.
  3. Loans are made at the discretion of the Allan Herbarium Manager for use by a specified researcher or research project.
  4. Permission for destructive sampling should be sought when the loan is requested.
  5. For overseas loans, any specific import requirements should be identified when the loan is requested.
  6. The loan may only be treated by freezing, unless otherwise specified (e.g., ethanol preserved specimens). The Allan Herbarium Manager must be consulted prior to the loan being sent if the loan may be treated by any other method.
  7. Overseas loans will not be made if the taxon is being actively studied by New Zealand researchers, unless the Allan Herbarium has the prior agreement with the New Zealand researcher.
  8. For each taxon only half of the specimens held in the herbarium will be sent on loan at any one time; if necessary the remainder can be sent when an agreed proportion of the principal loan has been returned.
  9. Type specimens, historic collections, material preserved in ethanol, separate fruits and wood, and other ancillary material will not be sent on loan unless specifically requested.
  10. Overseas loans of any taxon listed in the CITES schedules are only made to CITES-registered institutions.

3.  Responsibility and security for Loan

  1. The safe-keeping, adherences to the conditions of the loan, and ultimate return of a loan is entirely the responsibility of the Head of the borrowing institute.
  2. The Head of the borrowing institute, or their delegated representative, must sign the receipt accepting these regulations.
  3. Loans must be stored under protective conditions, and may not be removed from the Herbarium environment.
  4. All specimens remain the responsibility of the borrower, and must not be transferred to another worker or be removed from the institution specified on the loan form without prior permission.
  5. The borrowing institute shall meet all costs associated with the return of the loan.

4.  Period of loan

  1. The period of the loan will be specified in the accompanying documentation and specimens should be returned within this period.
  2. The normal period of a loan is 12 months, but an extension may be granted upon written request.
  3. Partial returns of loans are acceptable and should be negotiated with the Herbarium Manager
  4. Type specimens loaned overseas are subject to the strict provisions of New Zealand’s Protected Objects Act 1975 and must be returned by the specified date.
  5. The Allan Herbarium Manager reserves the right to request the immediate return of the loan.

5.  Liability and suitability for purpose

  1. Some specimens at the Allan Herbarium have historically been treated with Mercuric chloride and Para-phenylenediamine (if you require more information please contact the Allan Herbarium Manager). The Head of borrowing institute accepts responsibility for ensuring that appropriate health and safety requirements are followed.
  2. Specimens and data supplied on loan are provided in good faith for research purposes. No warranties or assurances of reliability, suitability or fitness for a particular purpose of specimens or data are offered. Assessment of suitability of such material and data for intended use is the responsibility of receiving institutions or researchers.
  3. No responsibility or liability is accepted for accuracy or validity of the identity, locality or other data associated with these specimens.

6.  Removal of material and destructive sampling

 6.1 Type specimens

  1. Temporary removal of parts, or dissection, of Type specimens for examination requires the prior written permission of the Allan Herbarium Manager.
  2. Destructive sampling of Type specimens is not permitted under any circumstances.

6.2 Non-Type specimens

  1. Temporary removal of parts of non-type specimens for examination is permitted, provided there is sufficient quantity of the material to permit the temporary removal without reducing the future value of the specimen.
  2. Portions temporarily removed from dried specimens may be rehydrated but must then be thoroughly air-dried.
  3. Parts that are temporarily removed must be placed in an archival packet with a slip bearing the accession number, and reattached to the sheet or placed in the specimen packet or box.
  4. If parts are used to create permanent preparations (e.g., pollen slides), duplicates should be adequately prepared, labelled, and returned with the loan.
  5. Any destructive sampling of specimens, including for DNA or other chemical analysis requires permission from the Allan Herbarium Manager.
  6. Destructive sampling will only be permitted if there is a sufficient quantity of material to permit this without reducing the future value of the specimen.
  7. Approval to use herbarium samples as sources of DNA for experiments involving genetic modification, as interpreted by ERMA NZ under the HSNO Act, will not be given unless documentation is provided to demonstrate that iwi, hapu or whanau exercising manawhenua over the collecting locality do not oppose the activity.
  8. No portion of a specimen is to be retained unless express permission has been given in writing by the Allan Herbarium Manager.

7.  Return of Loan

New Zealand has strict regulations governing the movement of specimens- please follow these conditions carefully.

  1. Loans must be returned by insured or registered post and carefully packed in accordance with NZNHN Standard for Packaging Specimens pdf icon. 
  2. A copy of the import permit is available upon request from the Loans Officer.
  3. Loans should be returned at the earliest opportunity and preferably in their entirety.
  4. Loans of specimens must conform to CITES, Biosecurity and HSNO regulations, and the loan of Type material must conform to the Protected Objects Act 1975.

8.  Care and handling of specimens

  1. Existing labels, sheets, and annotations must not be altered, removed, obscured or defaced in any way.
  2. All specimens must be stored in protective cabinets when not in use.
  3. Sheets must not be bent or laid face downwards. (Information is not written on the reverse side of mounting sheets at the Allan Herbarium.)
  4. Except during actual examination, specimens should remain in their original folders or packets. The original folders and packets must be returned with specimens.
  5. Material preserved in liquid must not be allowed to dry out.
  6. In the event of damage to a specimen, a signed slip must be attached providing details of the damage (see annotation requirements below).
  7. Manuscript names, provisional names or name-formulae on specimens may be provisional, or may represent work in progress or in press. It is strongly advised that such names are not used.

9.  Annotation of specimens

  1. Annotation of all specimens used for revisionary or Flora studies is encouraged. However, no alterations, erasures, strikethrough, removal or obscuring of pre-existing data may be made.
  2. Annotations must not be written directly on to the sheets, packets or existing labels. Annotations are only to be written on supplementary labels, which are then attached to the specimen.
  3. Annotations must be made using material of archival quality (paper, glue and ink).
  4. All annotations should include a signature, date and any relevant comments. Determinavit and Confirmavit slips should also include the full taxonomic name (including authorities), and preferably cite the taxonomic concept applied by providing a literature citation.
  5. Under no circumstances should self-adhesive labels be used.
  6. Determinavit or Confirmavit slips for specimens mounted on sheets should be attached to the right hand side of the specimen, above any existing labels. They should be attached with the minimum quantity of archival quality glue that is applied as a thin strip on the right hand edge only of the annotation slip.
  7. Determinavit or Confirmavit slips for specimens mounted in packets or specimen boxes should be placed loosely within the packet or box. They should not be glued to the outside of the packet or box.
  8. Annotations (other than Determinavit or Confirmavit slips) that reliably clarify or enhance the available data on a specimen are appreciated (e.g., latitude and longitude). These annotations should be attached at the bottom of the sheet, to the left of the main label using the minimum quantity of archival glue applied only to the top edge of the annotation label.
  9. Where a specimen is found to represent two or more collections or taxa, each element should be indicated with a separate Determinavit slip. Do not cut up sheets or try to separate the material.

10.  Photography

  1. Photography is not permitted without the prior express permission of the Allan Herbarium Manager.
  2. Permission will only be granted on receipt of a binding agreement transferring all copyright to the Allan Herbarium.
  3. Photographs are available for all Type specimens of vascular taxa upon request.

11.  Citing specimens

  1. Herbarium specimens should be cited using the herbarium acronym and registration number, e.g. CHR 12345.
  2. When a specimen is mounted on more than two sheets, the parts are indicated with a single letter suffix (e.g., CHR 12345A). This suffix should be included when it is necessary to exactly specify what material has been examined.
  3. For “sensitive” taxa such as those likely to be subject to heavy amateur or commercial collection, conservation authorities may prefer that precise localities not be cited and consideration should be given to generalising a locality.

12.  Acknowledgement

  1. The Allan Herbarium must be acknowledged in an appropriate form in any publications or other material that present results in whole or part derived from the use of the loan specimens.
  2. A copy should be sent to the Allan Herbarium of any publication resulting from study of loan material