Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed .. All Things Blue

Carol Ann McCormick Curatrix, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium ORCID: 0000-0003-3785-8433

In advance of the merger of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium (NCU) with the Duke Herbarium (DUKE) in late August, 2026, Dr. Damon Waitt, director of the North Carolina Botanical Garden, was working with UNC-CH Media Relations to craft a press release about that merger. One question he asked both me and Dr. Blanka Aguero, a Curator with the Duke Herbarium, was, “What is the oldest specimen in each herbarium?” Because I was accessioning new specimens when I received Dr. Waitt’s inquiry, and the merger of the two herbaria is akin to a marriage, my mind drifted to the old wedding rhyme Something old, something new / Something borrowed, something blue. While I’d certainly heard the verse many times, I had no idea of its origin. A bit of digging revealed that though it probably existed as an oral tradition for generations, the verse was first written down in 1876.1,18 It seemed to me that each phrase was a perfect metaphor for the daily activities in my herbarium world.

I decided to tackle the verse in reverse, as “blue” certainly stands out when contemplating anything Carolina and Duke! I knew my daughters were true denizens of The Old North State when even as young children they referred to colors as “Carolina Blue” or “Duke Blue”. I was surprised to learn that “Duke Blue ” is actually two blues. To my eye, I associate “Duke Navy Blue / Academic Blue” with all things Blue Devil, but “Duke Royal Blue” — not so much.2 Likewise, it was news to me that in addition to “Carolina Blue”, a navy blue is also part of the official color palette for Tar Heels, along with such melodious hues as “Bolin Creek”, “Franklin Fog”, and “Fordham Fountain.”3 When our son-in-law went to Fitch Lumber in Carrboro to purchase paint for our new front door, he was assured that he was purchasing the same color mix that is used on Ramses horns for sporting events.4

What of “something borrowed”? In addition to hosting researchers who wish to examine our specimens, herbaria also lend and borrow specimens. NCU Loans Manager Shanna Oberreiter carefully bundles and boxes specimens, then mails them to other herbaria for researchers to use. In anticipation of moving the Duke specimens to Chapel Hill, Dr. Aguero has been working for the past two years to return all specimens lent to Duke. If researchers have not yet finished studying material, Dr. Aguero, Shanna Oberreiter, and I will work with the lending institutions to transfer the specimens to Chapel Hill. Also, in anticipation of the move to Chapel Hill, we will be instituting a temporary moratorium on researchers borrowing physical specimens from the Duke collection. Specimen information will continue to be available via the various Symbiota data portals (mycoportal.org , lichenportal.org , macroalgae.org , bryophyteportal.org , pteridophyteportal.org , and sernecportal.org ). We anticipate that all the UNC-Chapel Hill herbarium specimens will continue to be available for study to researchers by visiting in person, by receiving specimens by post, and by our various data portals.

Identifying “the newest” specimens in our collections is difficult. I could say that the newest vascular specimens are still in my plant press awaiting inclusion. On a recent excursion to the Caswell Game Lands on the north side of the Dan River, just west of the quaint village of Milton, my husband and I collected Oenothera gaura (“biennial gaura”) and Cardiospermum halicacabum (“balloon vine”). Both are county records, though the balloon vine is unfortunately a weed. The most recently collected specimen which is truly accessioned into NCU is Cymbalaria muralis (“ivy-leaf toadflax”) collected on 4 July, 2026 by Dr. Mark Peifer from a rock wall in the monastery compound of the Ely Cathedral in the United Kingdom (NCU Accession # 703735). The most recently collected specimens in the Duke vascular plant collection include several blueberries (Vaccinium elliottii, V. tenellum, and V. corymbosum) collected by Dr. Paul Manos on 8 October, 2022 in the Ev-Henwood Nature Preserve in Brunswick County, North Carolina. On July 10, 2026 lichenologist Jason P. Hollinger collected Squamulea subsoluta from Belle Island Dry Rocks in Richmond, Virginia. NCU lichen curator Gary Perlmutter accessioned that and several other specimens Hollinger had collected at that location into NCU’s lichen collection a few weeks later. As Perlmutter spends almost every Sunday in the Herbarium, I predict that NCU’s “newest” lichen accessioned will have changed by the time this article is published!

Oddly enough, determining the oldest specimen in each collection is also somewhat of a moving target. First, not all specimens have been cataloged. We are working on it, but there are tens of thousands of specimens yet to be tallied, so we may have oldies yet to be found. Secondly, tomorrow we may receive as a gift or exchange with another herbarium a specimen that is NCU’s “newest oldest specimen” (see “What Goes Around Comes Around“). Next, some collectors neglect to even put a date on their specimen — sometimes based on the collector’s life or the condition of the label, I can guess that it was collected in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. Sure, if I delved into the collector’s life and travels, I may be able to narrow the date of collection down to a decade or two … but that kind of deep dive takes lots of time. Lastly, it depends on which kind of plant / plant collection you are talking about. We curate a range of organisms loosely termed plants. Both NCU and DUKE curate fungi, slime molds, lichens — which are not in the plant kingdom, but have typically been considered within the realm of botany. Of course the most flippant (but true) answer on which specimen in NCU is the oldest would easily be any of Dr. Patricia Gensel’s plant fossils. Dr. Gensel’s specialty is flora of the Devonian (419.2 – 358.9 million years ago), when the first land plants evolved.

So, given those many caveats, what are our current oldest specimens that are not fossils? Dr. Aguero reports that DUKE curates two lichen specimens from 1802. DUKE accession 0399203 Ramalina siliquosa was collected by Ed. Forster (possibly Edward Forster, 1765-18495 ), “on rocks” and “at Tintagel” in Cornwall in the far southwest of England. “It was probably memories of this seat of Cornish kings that inspired the 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth to name it in his History of the Kings of Britain as the place where King Arthur was conceived, with the help of Merlin.”6 While many lichens lack common names, Ramalina siliquosa, is known as “sea ivory,” is “widely found on siliceous rocks and stone walls on coastlands round the British Isles, occasionally slightly inland. It grows well above the high-tide mark but is still very tolerant of salt spray… It forms part of the diet of sheep in Shetland and on the coast of North Wales.”7 DUKE accession 0344607, Straminella varia (or Lecanora varia ), was collected in 1802 by G. Wahlenberg in Kautokeino, Norway. Unlike the branching structure of Ramalina, “variable rim lichen” forms a crust-like growth on wood.8 The oldest bryophyte specimen curated by DUKE is Accession 0097830, Sphagnum cuspidatum var. plumosum, collected by F. Hegelmaier in September, 1811 from “Rothsee, in paludibus turfosis [peat bog]” in Germany.

The oldest vascular specimen found thus far curated by DUKE was collected much closer to home. Accession 01860, Diamorpha smallii, was collected by Christian Frederick Denke in “Friedberg Bottoms” in 1823. The small, unincorporated community of Friedberg is located on the Davidson County / Forsyth County line in the Piedmont of North Carolina. “Friedburg was settled in the 1750s by Moravian colonists expanding from nearby Wachovia settlements such as Salem. In 1773, Friedberg Moravian Church was organized as one of the southernmost congregations of the period.”15

In researching the source of the “marriage rhyme,” I encountered a line tagged on at the end that I’d never heard: Something old, something new / Something borrowed, something blue / And a silver sixpence in her shoe.18 Since the merger of the two herbarium collections has, by necessity, involved money (on a college campus space = $$) I wondered about the value of a sixpence. What would the value of an 1876 sixpence coin be today? “One of the richest hunting grounds for collectors is the long and storied reign of Queen Victoria. Her “Young Head” sixpences, struck between 1838 and 1887, are especially popular. It’s easy to see why—their age, high silver content, and direct link to a transformative period in British history make them a classic favourite. While these coins aren’t exceptionally rare for most years, the real challenge is finding one in top condition. Think about it: these coins passed through countless hands for decades, so most are heavily worn. A well-preserved Victorian sixpence, however, can easily command £20 to £75 [$27 to $101].”12

If I wanted to put the equivalent of an very fine condition 1876 Queen Victoria coin into a wedding shoe, does the United States even have a $100 coin? Indeed it does. In 2021, the United States Mint launched the Platinum Proof Coin Program to “reflect the five freedoms enumerated in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution… This series uses the lifecycle of the oak tree [Quercus] from seedling to a mighty oak as a metaphor for our country’s growth as a nation that values freedom. Liberty grows to a thing of strength and beauty from a seed—our Bill of Rights. Each of the freedoms enumerated in the First Amendment contributes to the growth and development of the Nation.”12

However,if I wanted to merely slip the bride the US equivalent of a sixpence in 1876, I’d be out about 12 cents.14

To round out my herbarium merger – wedding analogy, it comes to mind that a good wedding includes a good party! Once the DUKE collection and staff have completed the move to Chapel Hill, we need to throw an excellent party to celebrate. Start collecting your Silver Sixpences and your Oak tree platinum coins; I will provide the bride’s shoe. Expect an invite sometime in late 2027!

1. Staffordshire Advertiser. 21 October 1876. page 5. [I was unable to obtain this reference to verify its contents.]

2. Duke Brand Guide. https://brand.duke.edu/colors/#brand-colors accessed on 5 September 2026.

3. University Branding and Identity Guidelines: Color. https://identity.unc.edu/brand/color/ accessed on 5 September 2026.

4. Poplett, Emilie. 2020. Illustrious, majestic and highly contested: a complete history of the live Ramses. The Well, University Communications, 24 January 2020. https://www.unc.edu/discover/illustrious-majestic-and-highly-contested-a-complete-history-of-the-live-rameses/ accessed on 27 September 2026.

5. HUH Botanist search // Forster

6. English Heritage. Tintagel Castle: History and Legend. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/tintagel-castle/history-and-legend/ accessed on 27 September 2026.

7. Wikipedia contributors, “Ramalina siliquosa,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ramalina_siliquosa&oldid=1338941306 accessed September 27, 2026.

8. Variable Rim Lichen. NWT Species Search. https://www.gov.nt.ca/species-search/lecanora-varia accessed on 27 September 2026.

9. LeGrand, H., B. Sorrie, and T. Howard. 2026. Vascular Plants of North Carolina [Internet]. Raleigh (NC): North Carolina Biodiversity Project and North Carolina State Parks. Available from https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/index.php Accessed on 27 September 2026.

10. Wikipedia contributors, “John Richardson (naturalist),” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Richardson_(naturalist)&oldid=1372025292 accessed September 27, 2026.

11. Wikipedia contributors, “John Franklin,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Franklin&oldid=1368704808 accessed September 27, 2026.

12. https://www.cavaliercoins.com/blogs/news/value-of-a-sixpence-coin accessed on 5 September 2026.

13. All obverse designs in this series were created by Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Designer Donna Weaver, and engraved by Chief Engraver Joseph Menna. https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases/mint-unveils-coin-designs-and-releases-first-coin-in-new-platinum-proof-coin-series accessed on 5 September 2026.

14. Lawrence H. Officer, “Exchange Rates Between the United States Dollar and Forty-one Currencies,”, MeasuringWorth, 2026 URL: http://www.measuringworth.com/exchangeglobal/ accessed on 5 September 2026

15. Wikipedia contributors, “Friedberg, North Carolina,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friedberg,_North_Carolina&oldid=1365066374 (accessed September 27, 2026).

16. Stuckey, Ronald L. and John R. Wehrmeister. 1979. Botanical excerpts from three letters of Rev. Christian Frederick Denke to the botanist Schweinitz. Bartonia 46: 15-21. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41610370

17. LeGrand, H., B. Sorrie, and T. Howard. 2026. Vascular Plants of North Carolina [Internet]. Raleigh (NC): North Carolina Biodiversity Project and North Carolina State Parks. Available from https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/index.php.

18. Tilly Online. 2018. Something Old, Something New and the Lucky Silver Sixpence. https://www.tilly-online.com/something-old-something-new/ accessed 28 September 2026.