MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fire protection needed for Falklands Plant collection.

Falklands plants collected in recent years could survive for a hundred years if carefully maintained in the correct conditions in the newly created National Herbarium in Stanley. Further funding is needed for fireproof cabinets to provided adequate protection for the plants.

The herbarium is a dream come true for amateur botanist and ornithologist, Robin Woods. The story of how the herbarium came about is outlined in the latest Falkland Islands Association Newsletter and in Robin Woods' report to the Shackleton Scholarship Fund, which gave him financial backing for the project. Falklands Conservation has taken a leading part in the initiative, with help from the Agriculture Department.

After two- and- a-half centuries of interest in Falklands plant life, the herbarium opened tot he public earlier this year. It already houses more than 130 species out of a possible 350, of which 171 are native and 13 are found nowhere else in the world.

Working in the Falklands from 1956 to 1963, Robin Woods found there were no comprehensive guide books to birds and plants. Many flowers lacked common names, even though Falklands plants have been studied by about sixty enthusiasts since at least 1764, including Charles Darwin in 1833 and 1834. Many species were brought back to Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, the Natural History Museum, and universities in Britain and Uppsala, in Sweden.

These have proved of immense scientific value but lack of access has hampered development of local Falklands knowledge. Conservation Officer Becky Ingham says: "Many of these plants may have potential economic and commercial values as yet unknown.....The Herbarium will be of great educational value, vital for conservation and management of flora".

The Herbarium now makes them accessible to Islanders for their interest and for study. Mr Woods has donated plant specimens he has collected from about 50 islands, which a botanist on a Darwin Initiative Project, David Broughton, has helped identify while compiling an Atlas of Falkland Plants. The Development Corporation have donated their seaweed collection.

In his book "Flowering Plants of the Falklands" published by Falklands Conservation, Robin Wood says it is important that endemic, interesting or potentially useful plants are discovered and recovered especially in view of changes in the flora. Much natural vegetation, including original tussac grass, has been damaged by sheep grazing, burning and erosion, and faces added pressures from agricultural development