Field Collecting Living Material in Papua, Indonesia

This paper sets out ‘best practice’ methods for field collecting wild material, based on experience gained during a two-month expedition to the Indonesian province of Papua. The horticultural team involved in the trip sought to keep cuttings, rhizomes, seedlings, whole plants, seeds and spores intact and healthy while in the field. With several obstacles including climate and lengthy delays in transportation to deal with, the high success rate of collected material is testament to the careful techniques employed in the processing of living plant material in the field.