Tufted conifer-weed from the collection of Amelia Griffiths

This specimen of tufted conifer-weed, a red alga, is RAMM’s oldest biological specimen to date. It is over 200 years old.

Mrs Amelia Griffiths collected the specimen on the Cornish coast in 1801. Griffiths was a renowned seaweed collector from Torquay. The seaweed she collected provided the foremost algologists with new material to describe. She also popularised seaweed collecting and promoted our seaside towns as holiday destinations.

Griffiths compiled three volumes of pressed seaweeds. Once she had collected the seaweed, she would have floated it in a shallow tray of water. After the seaweed spread out in its natural form, she would slip a thick sheet of paper underneath. Lifting the paper preserved the natural form of the specimens. It would then get pressed.

This object was selected by a member of the LGBTQ+ community as part of the Out and About: Queering the Museum at RAMM project. Listen to the attached audio (transcript available) to find out why.

Visual description: A single white page. In the centre there is a pressed specimen of tufted conifer-weed in the centre. The specimen is spread out, with each strand visible and untangled. Cursive handwriting underneath the sample reads: July Thuyoids Cornwall 1801. The page is numbered 815 in the top right corner.