: For Students, Faculty, and Staff 
By Erik Moore
In the September/October (2017) issue of the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer, the young naturalists’ article on “weird and wonderful” plants provides an array of fantastic images of lesser known native plant species.
In the magazine’s editorial note, Keith Goetzman asks “How often do you discover something surprising, something fascinating, in nature and wonder, Why didn’t I notice that before?” The same can be said of the many wonderful and fascinating items and collections found in archives.
What follows are several images held in the University of Minnesota Archives that depict the “weird and wonderful” plants featured in this issue. Some of these photographs may be the oldest known images of these plants in Minnesota.
Monotropa uniflora (Indian Pipe)
Monotropa uniflora (Indian Pipe), 1899. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/170018.
Monotropa uniflora (Indian Pipe), 1937. Handpainted glass lantern slide. Ned L. Huff, photographer. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/175816.
Monotropa uniflora (Indian Pipe), 1940s. Kodachrome slide. Junior F. Hayden, photographer. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/140583.
Impatiens capensis (Jewelweed)
Impatiens capensis/Impatiens biflora (Jewelweed), 1899. C.J. Hibbard, photographer. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/168714.
Impatiens capensis (Jewelweed), 1940s. Kodachrome slide. Junior F. Hayden, photographer. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/140803.
Opuntia fragilis (Brittle Prickly Pear)
Opuntia fragilis (Brittle Prickly Pear), 1901. C.J. Hibbard, photographer. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/169534.
Opuntia fragilis (Brittle Prickly Pear), 1922. Walter J. Breckenridge, photographer. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/187702.
Opuntia fragilis (Brittle Prickly Pear), 1936. Handpainted glass lantern slide. Ned L. Huff, photographer. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/175559.
Sarracenia purpurea (Pitcher Plant)
Sarracenia purpurea (Pitcher Plant), 1901. C.J. Hibbard, photographer. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/168406.
Sarracenia purpurea (Pitcher Plant), 1940s. Kodachrome slide. Junior F. Hayden, photographer. Available at http://purl.umn.edu/140448.
—Erik Moore is the University Archivist and Co-Director of the University Digital Conservancy. To learn more about the University of Minnesota Archives, please visit www.lib.umn.edu/uarchives.
