Who did not make a herbarium in school years? Not only children, but also adults are happy to collect beautiful leaves, and autumn is the most suitable time for this! It is so exciting to collect a collection of wild flowers, ferns and other plants. The herbarium can be used not only for educational purposes, but also as an element of decor. Bookmarks, wall panels, memorable gifts from colorful plants look stylish and tasteful. Let’s find out how to make a herbarium correctly.
Herbariums for scientific and educational purposes have been used for hundreds of years. Early collections were collected by herbalists to study the medicinal properties of plants. The oldest herbarium in the world is 425 years old!
One of the most famous plant collectors is the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, who invented his own classification system for flora and fauna. Its dried samples are still used by scientists today and are stored in special vaults of the Linnean Society in London. Linnaeus was the first to place samples on separate sheets that can be stapled into a folder, then adding elements or removing them for study.
Most of us do not collect plants for scientific purposes, but to teach children or just do it as an interesting hobby. But even in this case, you can take the process seriously and become a professional. The first rule for preserving the color and vibrancy of a dried plant: speed. The less time the sample is dried under pressure, the more likely the shape and color will be preserved.
What you need for a herbarium:
Thick cardboard sheet
- Paper for printer
Any plant that can fit on a piece of paper can be with roots. Note: If you collect plants from the wild, be careful about rare protected species.
- A pen
- Pencil
- Клей
- Газеты
- heavy books
1. Place the plant between two sheets of newspaper and put it in a book. Place a few more heavy books on top. Under such a press, the flower will dry up to a week or more.
2. When the sample is dry, stick it on the cardboard.
3. Cut out a 10×15 rectangle from paper and stick it in the lower right corner of the herbarium sheet. On it they write:
The name of the plant (if you can find it in the reference book, then in Latin)
· Collector: your name
Where was it collected
When assembled
To make the herbarium more complete, mark the details of the plant with a pencil. Can you distinguish the stem, leaves, petals, stamens, pistils and root? As a result, you will receive a valuable scientific specimen and a beautiful piece of art.