In March, a collection of rare flowering plants sent by the Museum of Natural History in Paris to Queensland’s herbarium in Brisbane was incinerated. Michelle Waycott, who chairs the Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, said the pressed plant specimens dated back to the mid-1800s. “They were the first type specimens collected of a species,” she said. “That would be the equivalent of material collected in the Flinders expedition, going and then destroying those. So, literally irreplaceable collections and of high historic and scientific value.”
Ms Waycott said it was the second similar incident in a matter of weeks. It is understood a collection of lichen specimens from New Zealand’s Allan Herbarium destined for the Australian National Herbarium in Canberra was also recently destroyed by biosecurity officers. “The New Zealand herbaria have now banned sending any specimens to Australia,” Ms Waycott said.
In a written response, a spokesperson from the Federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, which controls Australian biosecurity, said the material from France which arrived in January was destroyed because the documents it came with did not comply with Australia’s import conditions.
 In an effort to disclose required information – such as a listing of the specimens, botanical nomenclature, whether the goods were preserved or not – the Queensland Herbarium provided further documentation, but it was not received until early March after a mix-up over email addresses. When it did arrive, the additional paperwork also failed to meet Australian biosecurity import requirements and the department said it requested more information. It was during this period that the collection was incinerated.
While the department said it held the goods for 46 days longer than required, it also said the plants should not have been destroyed when the matter was not resolved.
A review of the incident has since been carried out by senior staff, with the department implementing several changes to its procedures to improve communication and safeguard items where negotiations are ongoing. “Herbarium specimens are not without biosecurity risk,” the department’s spokesperson said. “They can include soil and other items that present a pest and disease risk to Australia.”
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Source reference: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-08/irreplaceable-plant-specimens-destroyed-by-biosecurity-officers/8504944?sf76984296=1
