Vol. I · Specimen No. 001 · MossField Archive
The Herbarium
A small, growing archive of plants given the spotlight — pressed, studied, and laid out across the page with the care of a 19th-century curator.
Plate I · Specimen Primus
Rosa acicularis, in preservation
Hortus Siccus
— the dried garden —
§ I. Foreword
Most plants pass through the catalogue with a name, a photograph, a note on care. The Herbarium is for the few we wish to dwell with longer — the ones whose stories run deeper than a single page can hold.
§ II.
What earns a plant the spotlight?
Criterion A.
Deep cultural roots
Indigenous knowledge, folklore, history — a story spanning generations, not just seasons.
Criterion B.
Quiet biology
An unexpected mechanism, a hidden colony, a strangeness most pass without noticing.
Criterion C.
Place
A plant tied to Alberta — to its climate, its land, its identity.
Criterion D.
Beauty enough to dwell with
The kind of plant a curator could write about for hours and still not be done.
§ III.
What lives inside a Herbarium page
01
Indigenous knowledge
02
Ecology & biology
03
History & cultural significance
04
Folklore & mythology
05
Nutrition & medicine
06
Sensory & poetic facts
07
The strange & the unexpected
08
Place in the land
§ IV.
The collection, so far
001
Rosa acicularis
Alberta Wild Rose
okiniy · Plains Cree
Open →
002
Epilobium angustifolium
Fireweed
iskotewask · Plains Cree
To be pressed
003
Anemone patens
Prairie Crocus
To be pressed
004
Amelanchier alnifolia
Saskatoon Berry
To be pressed
005
Rhododendron groenlandicum
Labrador Tea
maskekowask · Plains Cree
To be pressed
The MossField Archive · Edmonton, Alberta
Specimens added quietly, as the curator finds reason. There is no schedule.