Also, I have scheduled a meeting with Mr. Todd and Ms. Lewis for February 18th, 2011. For this meeting I have prepared a few questions/topics to talk about.
What is the main purpose of a herbarium?
What are the steps to mount a specimen?
What type of storage is needed to keep the specimens kept correctly?
From my meeting I found out a LOT of information, and below is just some of the important things that I will have to think about for my project.....
-Herbarium closets cost anywhere from $500 to $700 for a half size (a substitute for this is a cardboard box wrapped in a plastic trash bag and put in the freezer for a week a few times a year (to get rid of bugs)).
-The only housekeeping steps to keep up a herbarium is to check it every few years to ensure that all pieces are held down firmly (one possible thing we could do for teaching purposes would be to laminate the sheets).
-As for the types of specimens that should be kept, the following applies when choosing the specimen
large population size
native species
average size and color (for the specific specimen)
good shape
get root if possible
-A plant press is needed to press the plants before mounting them
-The following are supplies needed for a plant press
ply-wood appr. 1/2" to 5/8" think
cardboard sheets cut with a very sharp knife to ensure the pockets on the side stay in tact
blotter sheets to remove any moisture
newspaper to put between each plant
heavy duty straps to wrap around and secure the plant press
-After pressing plants, make sure to keep any piece that falls off the specimen while mounting it on paper.
-When collecting plants, note the date, location, habitat description, the species you are collecting, and who is collecting the specimen*.
-When mounting the specimen, the following are supplies are needed
herbarium paper/posterboard for mounting on (cut into 11.5" X 16.5" pieces)
glue (ex. Elmers)
crochet cotton
strapping tape
-The following are steps to follow while mounting a specimen
cut the posterboard
arrange the plant to get a general idea of how you want it to look (so you can see all the plant and it is aesthetically pleasing)
spread glue over a cookie sheet using a small paint brush
dip specimen into glue to coat the BOTTOM side
blot off excess glue on newspaper
add the you paper
let air dry
make label (including all the information listed above*)
add pocket for any pieces that fell off the specimen (if needed)
-After initially mounting the specimen on paper and allowing it to dry, some pieces may be loose. For smaller pieces, use strapping tape where able. For larger pieces, use crochet cotton and lightly sew down. This is to ensure that all parts of the specimen are contained and do not fall off.
Also, I have scheduled a meeting with Mr. Todd and Ms. Lewis for February 18th, 2011. For this meeting I have prepared a few questions/topics to talk about.
From my meeting I found out a LOT of information, and below is just some of the important things that I will have to think about for my project.....
-Herbarium closets cost anywhere from $500 to $700 for a half size (a substitute for this is a cardboard box wrapped in a plastic trash bag and put in the freezer for a week a few times a year (to get rid of bugs)).
-The only housekeeping steps to keep up a herbarium is to check it every few years to ensure that all pieces are held down firmly (one possible thing we could do for teaching purposes would be to laminate the sheets).
-As for the types of specimens that should be kept, the following applies when choosing the specimen
- large population size
- native species
- average size and color (for the specific specimen)
- good shape
- get root if possible
-A plant press is needed to press the plants before mounting them-The following are supplies needed for a plant press
- ply-wood appr. 1/2" to 5/8" think
- cardboard sheets cut with a very sharp knife to ensure the pockets on the side stay in tact
- blotter sheets to remove any moisture
- newspaper to put between each plant
- heavy duty straps to wrap around and secure the plant press
-After pressing plants, make sure to keep any piece that falls off the specimen while mounting it on paper.-When collecting plants, note the date, location, habitat description, the species you are collecting, and who is collecting the specimen*.
-When mounting the specimen, the following are supplies are needed
- herbarium paper/posterboard for mounting on (cut into 11.5" X 16.5" pieces)
- glue (ex. Elmers)
- crochet cotton
- strapping tape
-The following are steps to follow while mounting a specimen- cut the posterboard
- arrange the plant to get a general idea of how you want it to look (so you can see all the plant and it is aesthetically pleasing)
- spread glue over a cookie sheet using a small paint brush
- dip specimen into glue to coat the BOTTOM side
- blot off excess glue on newspaper
- add the you paper
- let air dry
- make label (including all the information listed above*)
- add pocket for any pieces that fell off the specimen (if needed)
-After initially mounting the specimen on paper and allowing it to dry, some pieces may be loose. For smaller pieces, use strapping tape where able. For larger pieces, use crochet cotton and lightly sew down. This is to ensure that all parts of the specimen are contained and do not fall off.