Early golden autumn is a great time to collect and dry herbs, wildflowers and garden flowers, leaves of shrubs and trees. Communication with nature will allow you to find harmony in the soul, draw energy and calm down. And if you go to a park or forest with your children, you can enjoy the joyful moments of spending time together and, in addition, instill in the kids an interest in the world around them.
In this article we will look at how to collect a herbarium, how to do it easily and correctly, resulting in beautiful specimens of local flora. Herbarium is a collection of various
plants (herbs, flowers, leaves), harvested and dried. Also in the broad sense of the word, this term can be considered as an institution engaged in the collection and storage of such compositions. The first herbariums appeared in Italy in the 16th century, and today the largest collections are in museums, botanical gardens and institutes in New York, Paris, and St. Petersburg. Home collections of dried herbs, as a rule, consist of several dozen exhibits attached to album sheets and provided with labels with the necessary information.
Your own herbarium: how to make and assemble it correctly?
In order to make a herbarium, you will need a minimum set of tools and supplies, including:
- knife, scissors:
- paper or newspapers for drying;
- press;
- albums or folders for convenient storage of plants;
- glue;
- labels or stickers.
The main rule of collecting any herbs, leaves and flowers is to work in dry weather. There should be no dew drops on the biomaterial, otherwise it will dry for a very long time and be poorly stored. Tip: in order to bring to the house all the leaves and flowers, you can take a folder for papers with you. After collecting all the favorite samples of local flora, you need to do their processing. Carefully shake off excess soil from them, spread the plant, but try to keep its natural, natural appearance as much as possible.
Home Herbarium. How to make and dry it?
Consider several basic methods for making herbarium. The simplest technique known to many since childhood is to dry leaves, herbs and flowers in magazines or books, that is, under the press. Its main advantage is that, thanks to the smooth sheets of the printed publication, the biomaterial takes a convenient flat shape. Unfortunately, using this method, you can not only ruin good books, but also ruin the herbarium by overdrying it. Tip: if you want to make the leaves more durable and dense, dip them in a solution of water and PVA glue. And how to make a herbarium of flowers? The second method of drying is to collect the plants in a bunch and then hanging the "bouquets" on a rope in dry rooms (in a barn or in the attic).
It is this technique that is used to dry plants with flowers or fruits. All flowers will retain their shape and look beautiful.
Herbarium: how to make it with a glycerin solution
One of the interesting techniques for preserving and prolonging the life of plants is to soak them in a solution of glycerol (three parts of water and one part of glycerin). Leaves, buds and twigs absorb the substance, water subsequently evaporates, and it remains in the plant. This technique allows you to get elastic, strong, well-preserving leaves and flowers. In plants, only the color changes - to brownish-green. But if necessary, this can be fixed with various spray paints. How to make a herbarium of leaves in this way? A solution of glycerin is poured into dishes with high sides. The plant is prepared: along the bark or tip of the stem, an incision is made about 4 cm long.
And then a leaf or twig is placed in a container with a solution for several days. Take out the plant when it darkens. It should be remembered that as the liquid is absorbed, it is necessary to add a little more solution to the container. Any further work with samples can be started after their final drying.
Herbarium: how to make it stored for a long time and securely?
After collecting, processing and drying the plants should proceed to their design in folders or albums for herbarium. On each leaf, only a plant of one particular species is attached. For clarity, you can put several copies on the page, but at the same time parts of them should not protrude beyond the edges of the paper. Glue and narrow strips of paper are used to attach plants. The lower right corner is left free for an inscription or label with the name of the representative of the flora and other important information (date, time, place of collection, etc.).