The Straith Herbarium
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The first collection of actual plant specimens
from Morayshire - a herbarium - may be that attributed to James Straith.
He was born in Kingussie in 1765, the son of a schoolmaster who later
moved to Nairn. He later worked as a doctor in Forres, where he died in
1815. The date of collection of his specimens is not absolutely clear, as
they carry little information.
A
paper sheet, and specimen of Ononis arvensis (Ononis repens -
Restharrow) from the Straith herbarium. To the right, a contemporary
photograph of the plant taken near Duffus, Moray, in 1996. Most of
Straith's specimens are unmounted, but still contained within a double
folded paper sheet. Some of the purple paper bears a watermark with the
date 1802. Since the staining on the paper matches the shape of the plant,
it seems reasonable to suppose that the paper and plant have always been
together. Thus, the plants were probably collected sometime after 1802,
and they are quite possibly almost 200 years old.
Although it appears that a number of his
specimens were more garden Flowers than wild ones, the herbarium is
nonetheless a good starting point. Straith may have been collecting around
the same time as James Brodie of Brodie.
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