Botanical collecting in Yukon, Canada (1826 – 2025)

Abstract

The territory of Yukon has a 200-year history of botanical collecting that began with the British Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin in 1826. Over time there have been fluctuations in annual collection numbers, discoveries of new taxa, and a procession of transient collectors. Coinciding events that may have influenced the growth in collection numbers included the discovery of gold in 1896, construction of the Alaska Highway and Canol Road in 1942, and a decline in the number of individuals involved in collecting after 2011. Included on the herbarium labels of Yukon-based plant specimens are the names of prominent 20th century North American botanists, including women as early as 1914. But just as importantly or more so, many lesser known and Yukon-based collectors also made substantial contributions. The worldwide number of Yukon plant specimens in publicly accessible databases is modest (82,372) compared to the total number of specimens held by many Canadian herbaria. Most (83%) Yukon specimens reside in herbaria outside the territory, often where the collector had a professional affiliation, whether in Canada or, more often, elsewhere. The far-away location of these herbaria from Yukon and the lack of a large centralized territorial collection is a limitation to Yukon-based botanical and ecological research. The recent establishment of a territorial herbarium could re-energize plant collecting activities and serve as a focus for future research revolving around the territory’s amphi-Beringian and unique endemic flora. Successful development of a territorial herbarium would represent a new phase of botanical collecting and research in Yukon.