What Local Native Plant Is That?
In Bushland Near Your SchoolPreparing Specimen
When you get back to school flatten the cuttings between sheets of newspaper.
Arrange your specimen so that it looks as life-life as possible. Write the name on the paper or you might forget which is which. Put plenty of sheets below and on top of each cutting. Pile them one on top of the other and then put something heavy on top.
Every two days,
change the paper because it will have soaked up some of the moisture
out of the plant. You must keep changing the paper until all the sap
has been absorbed and the plant is completely dry or it will go MOULDY when you stick it in the herbarium.
When the specimen is COMPLETELY dry you can stick it onto a sheet of card to go into your folder.
Turn one leaf so you can see the back view.
If you cannot prepare your specimen on the same day you collect it, you can keep it in a plastic bag in the fridge for a day or two. But, ideally, press it between newspaper as soon as you can. If the arrangement is not perfect the first time, you can move it about a bit when you change the paper.
Web Links
Collecting and preserving plant specimens, a manual: version 3, 2006, Queensland Environmental Protection Agency. (PDF 2.2 MB)
Reference Books
Curriculum Links
