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Overview
A container for collecting plants
A vasculum was used by botanists in the field to collect plant specimens in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. This example is made of tin and is in the shape of a compressed cylinder. It has a handle at one end and also a leather shoulder strap. The lid is held in place by two small hinges and a metal shaft latch. Vascula were often lined with damp paper to keep the plants fresh, and also to prevent them from being crushed.
Professor Hugh Gordon
This vasculum belonged to Hugh D. Gordon (1912-1978), an Edinburgh-trained botanist. In 1937, following the completion of his doctorate on mycorrhiza in rhododendron, he became the University of Tasmania's first botanist. He used this vasculum extensively in Tasmania to collect local flora, and potentially while studying in Manchester and Edinburgh. In 1947 Gordon took up the position of Chair of Botany at Victoria University,Wellington where he continued to work until his retirement in 1977.
In New Zealand he was known to have gone on long collecting trips with his wife Josephine, and their two daughters, both of whom also went on to study botany.
The HD Gordon Herbarium
In 2011, Victoria University of Wellington donated approximately 15000 specimens from the HD Gordon Herbarium (WELTU), to the Te Papa Herbarium (WELT).