INSIDE THE NATIONAL MUSEUM'S LIBRARY OF 200,000 PLANT SPECIES

(SPOT.ph) For a day of arts, culture, and science, nothing beats strolling around the storied buildings of the National Museum Complex in Manila. And with its gorgeous architecture and interactive exhibits on the Philippine’s diverse natural wonders, the National Museum of Natural History has been the Instagram-friendly darling of the complex since it opened in 2018. You’ll find many visitors snapping pics of the iconic "Tree of Life" structure right at the center of the museum—some photographing from its base, and others from the distinctive ramps that make navigating floor to floor a breeze.

Hawk-eyed visitors may notice something different about these ramps, however: Each level is situated next to rows of paned windows offering a fascinating view—and no, it’s not one to Luneta Park outside. Take a peek through the windows on the 4th and 5th floors, and you’ll spy rows upon rows of compactor shelves protecting and preserving the country’s largest collection of flora from the Philippines and beyond.

Congratulations: You’ve just found the National Herbarium.

"It’s a library of plants," is how curator Jhaydee Pascual sums it up. Pascual is officer-in-charge of the National Museum’s Botany and National Herbarium Division, leading a team of 11 researchers, technicians, and aides. They not only help educate the public through exhibits for the National Museum network, but also assist researchers on their studies. "These are specimens both native and non-native to the Philippines," adds Pascual about the herbarium's collection, "with all the information that you could possibly need about them."

First established in 1902, the National Herbarium currently holds over 260,000 different dried plant specimens, from flowers and leaves to moss, algae, and mushrooms. At its peak back in the 1930s, the collection was considered one of the largest in Southeast Asia with hundreds of thousands of preserved plants—many of which turned to ash when bombs fell over Manila in World War II.

But much of its collections has since been rebuilt and retrieved from where samples were borrowed by other herbaria. The National Herbarium today still has samples that date back to even the Spanish colonization, with their oldest collection containing specimen from as early as 1878. These remain perfectly preserved alongside the latest discoveries in the field—and you’d be surprised by how often new finds arrive.

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The birth certificate of plants

"The Philippines is a biodiversity hotspot," explains Pascual. "There are so many types of plants, and every now and then, people discover a new species. We actually get them as often as every other month."

Fun fact: When you discover Philippine flora, fauna, rock, and minerals you suspect may be previously-unknown, you are required by law to submit a sample to the National Museum. When a plant you’ve found turns out to be the first documented cutting of the species, this is turned into a holotype.

"It’s like a birth certificate," explains researcher Jomar Hinolan, who was also previously a technician here. Holotypes are the single physical samples of a plant used to describe and establish a species for the first time. "They contain all the information about the plant when it was first discovered, and only a few copies of these exist in herbaria."

He adds, "Each specimen has its own story, the story of who collected it. When you have a little knowledge of history, you know the timeline of that person and discovery until it reaches you. It’s like passing the torch, and in a way, you feel connected with those who came before."

How plants are preserved

That said, preservation is high on this division’s list of priorities. And holotype or not, every specimen that finds its way to the National Herbarium goes through the same meticulous journey to keep it in top shape. Newly collected specimens are pressed flat, and to do so is both an art and a science. Each plant is laid out in a specific, scientific way that shows off any and all of its distinctive features before being sandwiched between cardboard, newspaper, and wooden frames (tied together with a belt, on top of that).

These bundles then go into a dryer turned up to 50-70 degrees Celsius to remove any mold-inducing moisture. Once a specimen is perfectly dry and pest-free, it is gently mounted onto a sheet (fun fact: all herbaria around the world use sheets of the exact same size) using glue and heat-activated adhesive tape. Each is done one by one, and a technician can actually mount 50 in a day!

'These aren't just some dried plants'

For preventive maintenance and conservation of herbarium specimens, the Herbarium’s team of technicians take the samples and place them into specialized freezers set to -40 degrees Celsius for three days to kill off any and all pests that might eat them up. 

Each specimen is given an accession number—a unique ID number within the Herbarium’s database—before making its way up to the very rooms that museum visitors can spy while viewing the Tree of Life. 

The herbarium’s repositories occupy two levels. with higher flora like flowers and cone-bearing plants on the 5th floor, and more primitive lower flora like moss, algae, ferns, and fern allies on the 4th floor. But for a place you could call a library of preserved plants, these aren’t normal rooms:

"We control the humidity and temperature on both floors so no molds grow, and we have regular fumigations for pests," explains researcher Christine Joy Luna. On top of that, each specimen is stored in compactor shelves, with each having its own lock and key.

She adds, "We’re protecting a wealth of information about the diversity of plants that exist here in the Philippines. These aren’t just some dried plants, because the information that you can see here can be used for the conservation of the plants we have in our time."

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Information accessible wherever you are

Before each plant makes its way safe and sound to its respective shelf, each is digitally documented through a high-res camera box that the National Herbarium team improvised itself. The long-term goal, after all, is to digitize information on every single specimen in the collection.

"We want to become a research and learning hub accessible wherever you are," explains Pascual. Education is, after all, the name of the game for the National Herbarium—with researcher aid expanding how much there is to know, and their exhibits in the National Museum making it easy for the public to have a taste of it.

You’ll often find beautiful plant specimens behind glass and in pull-out cases at the Natural History Museum’s immersive exhibits year-round, but it pays to keep an eye out for the National Herbarium’s more out-of-the-box shows. Most recent was Faces and Flora, which featured portraits of models (Iza Calzado and Nadine Lustre being some of them) adorned with Philippine native flora.

Pascual, who was previously a teacher, is aware that museums today play an important role in finding new ways to help people appreciate science and the natural world. She says, "When people look at the Herbarium, many of them will think it’s technical, full of scientific names. What I enjoy about my work is that we laymanize what information you have in the collections for the general public, and we can play around in terms of our creativity."

For conservation reasons, the National Herbarium’s full collection will not likely ever be open for the public to visit and view as they please. But for a sneak preview, just visit the National History Museum again and peep into the paned windows from its distinctive ramps: where you’ll watch teams of researchers at work to bring more knowledge from their tables to the displays you see.

The Botany and National Herbarium Division is located at the 4th floor of the National Museum of Natural History, Agrafina Circle, Rizal Park, Manila. Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For more information and tours, you may send inquiries via email.

Special thanks to Ma. Carissa Balane, Catherine Enriquez, Ren Divien Obeña, and the technician team of the National Museum’s Botany and National Herbarium Division for their assistance in creating this feature.

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