It’s my last week in the Herbarium for a while. Next week I’ll be moving to the Entomology department. Very excited. I’ve started drawing during my lunch breaks. I love keeping visual records of specimens- and while I can take photos, there’s just something much more enjoyable about drawing the specimen.
- Ormosia coccinea seed pod
This particular specimen is from Cosmo Melville’s collection. Ormosia is part of the legume family, which includes beans and peanuts, but unlike its edible counterparts, the seeds of Ormosia are highly poisonous.
Wikipedia notes: the seeds are known as huayruro in Peru, where villagers believe them to be powerful good luck charms, and Nene (seed) or Chumico in Costa Rica.
Lunch break is over, so I’m back to curating mosses and getting specimens ready for a Science education session.
