Callaway s.n., Natal (1857)
More actions
| Callaway herbarium gathering, Natal, received at Kew in 1857 | |
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| Callaway s.n., Natal (1857) | |
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| The sheet held by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew as K004003480 (CC BY 4.0, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) | |
| At a Glance | |
| Classification | Other |
| Location | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Locality | Natal |
| Collection | |
| Method | Herbarium specimen |
| Sourcing Type | Historical |
| Date | 1857 |
| Collector | Callaway |
| Specimen | |
| Repository | Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |
| Catalogue Number | K004003480 |
| Collector Number | s.n. |
| Scientific Name | Cannabis sativa L. |
Callaway s.n., Natal is a herbarium accession of Cannabis sativa collected in Natal, South Africa, in 1857 by Callaway. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew holds the sheet as K004003480.[1] It is the oldest South African cannabis sheet found, and its label records the isiZulu name Insango.
The label and the record
The sheet is inscribed Cannabis sativa with the male sign, Natal, S. Africa and rec'd. from Revd. Dr. Callaway 1857. Kew's own occurrence remarks read c. Branch of male plant in bud. Natal, S. Africa; received from Rev. Dr. Callaway, 1857, under the name of "Insango."[1]
The date is a receipt date
Both the label and the catalogue remark say the sheet was received in 1857. That is the year it reached Kew, not necessarily the year it was gathered. Kew's processed record nonetheless renders the date as 1 January 1857 with day precision, and Kew's own pipeline flags it with the assertions FIRST_OF_MONTH and FIRST_OF_YEAR, which mark a date padded out by software. The accession carries the year alone.[1]
The name on the sheet
Insango is the isiZulu name for cannabis, recorded here in 1857. Kew's Zululand smoking pipe, catalogued in 1888, gives it as Insangu; the Compton Herbarium (NBG) sheet of 1921 gives Insangu again; and the Bews Herbarium (NU) sheet of about 1900 gives Umsangu.[1]
Specimen and identification
The determination is Cannabis sativa L., and the plant is a male branch in bud.[1]