I have a fantasy that one day at a flea market I'll uncover a beautiful antique herbarium that's been sitting in the bottom of a box for 150 years or so filled with page upon page of perfectly documented pressed and dried plant specimens. Alas, this has yet to happen, but I did recently find a seller with a nice bunch of them all by a N.N. Jones, and I just went back to her for a few more.
This one is Brassica campestris, also known as Wild Turnip. Interestingly, the species name no longer exists, as it was determined in the 20th century that B. rapa and B. campestris were of the same species, and the rapa species name won out (which also includes Bok Choy, wild mustard, and more--making this all the more a document of another era.
Both the plant and the paper are in very good shape, with a little age toning around the edges of the paper, which makes it feel all the more romantic. It has been backed with a bright white heavy weight sheet of rag paper just to protect it and which is easily removed. It alone measures 16" x 11 1/8". Shipped flat packed in glassine between sheets of cardboard.
