Your instructor would be very pleased if every student received an A in this
class. Below is a list of common do's and don'ts I have compiled, based on the
most common mistakes students seem to make. Following them will significantly
enhance your chances of getting an A in this class. Failure to follow them will
adversely affect your grade, particularly on the plant collection.
1. Do pay attention to where you are collecting. Exact locality
information is required for each specimen label. Assume that in 100 years
someone will have to rely on your label information to find that population.
Maps are provided. It is your responsibility to use them. Your instructor will
discuss how to use them in lecture. Do not use locality information from
previous years' collections.
2. Do collect complete specimens. An incomplete specimen is worthless.
See the collecting notes for further
information. The most common mistake is a failure to include underground
parts.
3. Do record author abbreviations, exactly as they appear in Jepson,
for species names as soon as you ID the specimen. Do not assume you
will go back and redo them at the end of the semester.
4. Do keep you specimens in their original flimsy, with your initials and
collection number in the upper right hand corner of the page.
5. Do collect and submit several specimens if the plants are very small.
6. Do not renumber your collections.
7. Do take advantage of your instructors offer to proof read your labels,
but only after several other students have proofed them.
8. Do use a paper cutter to cut your labels. Do not attempt to cut them
with scissors.
9. Do follow the procedures outlined for preparing
your labels.
10. Do attend every lecture and pay attention to when exam dates and other
announcements are given. Not all lectures are on our web site.
11. Do attend every lab, and work on your collection during lab time.
Your instructor will help you identify your collections in the lab so you will
be assured they are correctly identified. Do not assume you can work by
yourself at home. In the past most students who have tried working at home
have received very poor grades, and even failed the class.
12. Do attend every field trip. It is illegal
to collect any plant in California. We have permission to collect in the areas
we visit. Therefore, it is to your advantage to attend the field trips.
13. Do collect more than 50 specimens. Some may get lost, damaged, be
incomplete, and/or unusable.
14. Do take advantage of the materials posted on our website. They are for
your benefit.
15. Do not ask your instructor where you collected a specimen. That
information should be in your field notes. Each time you ask one point (1 pt.)
will be deducted from your collection because you did not take complete field
notes.