How can you participate?

Each participant should select one (or more) natural place (up to 50 m x 50 m area) for sampling (for example: grassland, forest, pond, mangrove, agricultural field, garden, etc.). From this place, 10 leaves (or needles of conifers) should be collected from each of 8 plant individuals that belong to different species. These 10 leaves of each plant should be collected from 0.5 m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m space. If the leaves are very small (desert plants, conifer needles), more than 10 can be collected. The collected leaves should have no obvious symptoms of disease and have <5% loss to herbivores (“holes”). In wooded habitats, 6 tree species and 2 herb/grass species would be preferable. Please avoid protected areas and protected species unless you have permits. Please avoid illegal species such as cannabis. Participants should make a note of the following important issues:

1. Date of collection
2. Geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude preferable using degree system)
3. Ecosystem type (forest, grassland, desert, stream, lake, sea)
4. Name of each 8 plant species, if possible (preferably Latin, but any language is accepted). We will also confirm the identity based on DNA.
5. Email or twitter contact of the contributor

Samples from each of 8 plants should be placed to separate paper envelopes and dried under the sun (under windscreen of car, window, above floor heating system or radiator or in oven) for until dried leaves crumble and show no signs of moisture. Make sure that temperature does not rise above 50 *C. This kills plant, fungal and bacterial cells but leaves their DNA intact. Dried leaves in paper bags should be placed air-tight in plastic bag(s) and prepared for shipping in the post office. The participants can pay themselves for shipping or request payment by the recipient if this is available in your country. As the samples contain dead material, these should be specified as ‘samples’ or ‘specimens’ in the post office. The samples are shipped to the local regional coordinator or directly to the following address of central laboratory:

Natural History Museum

Liivi 2

50409 Tartu

Estonia

You are welcome to send us a notification to funleafproject@gmail.com when posting samples. That enables us to make sure that the parcel finds its way to our lab.

The samples can be addressed to either Niloufar Hagh Doust or Leho Tedersoo.