How to paste nice flowering plants in a herbarium sheet? and Eriogonum umbellatum #3

How to paste nice flowering plants in a herbarium sheet?

I am supposed to collect a dicotyledonous angiosperm and a monocotyledonous angiosperm. I am thinking of pasting an inflorescence of Tagetes patula for the dicot species. So, I wanna know some tips to do this work fine and smoothly.
How do I paste the flower flat? Do I have to preserve and press the inflorescences (like under a heavy weight) for some weeks and wait for the chlorophyll of the leaves to fade a little? What's the ideal length and breadth of a herbarium sheet? What info should it contain?
I need to know how to make a perfect herbarium sheet.

Thanks in advance for your help!


inflorescence best answer:

Answer by mick
Here's some tips:
-To carry the plants you collect, put them in sealed plastic bags. The air trapped inside the bag will prevent your plant from being squashed. Keep them shaded from the sun. On particularly hot days, put a damp paper towel in the bag, that will help keep them fresh until you get home. Label the plants the moment you collect them. As soon as you get back home put them to dry between paper sheets and under a weight. Change the sheets every day until the plants are completely dry.
-Your sample should have all the parts of the plant, not just the flowers. Small plants should be collected whole, including the roots. If they are too big, like bushes or trees, it's ok to just collect a small branch but make sure you pick one with both leaves and flowers.
-Herbarium specimens should not be glued to the sheets but held down with strips of paper and pins. This way, if necessary, the specimen can be removed to be examined, and then re-attached to the sheet.
-There is no standard size for herbarium sheets. Some institutions require a certain size but this may vary from place to place. The bigger the better, but the ideal size actually depends on the size of the shelves or boxes were the specimens are to be kept.

The label should contain:
-place and date of collection (where and when you found the plant)
-other info on the place (elevation, habitat, and so on)
-name of collector (you)
once the plant is identified you can add
-plant's scientific name
-name of person who identified it

For more detailed instructions google: "herbarium specimen preparation" and you will find many helpful sites.

inflorescence

Eriogonum umbellatum #3


Best viewed @ large size

Polygonaceae - Widespread in western North America (see below); Pine Creek Trail - Modoc County, California origin of plant above
Sulphur Flower, Sulphurflower Buckwheat
Shown: Detail of inflorescence displaying buds and fully opened flowers; width of inflorescence approx. 4 cm

"Eriogonum umbellatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name sulphurflower buckwheat, or simply sulphur flower. It is native to western North America from California to Colorado to central Canada, where it is abundant and found in many habitats. This is an extremely variable plant and hard to identify because individuals can look very different from one another. Also, there are a great many varieties. It may be a perennial herb forming a small clump with flowers to 10 centimeters tall, or a sprawling shrub approaching two meters high and wide. The leaves are usually woolly and low on the plant, and the flowers come in many colors from white to bright yellow to purple. Native American groups utilized parts of this plant for a number of medicinal uses." (Wikipedia)

Additional views:
farm3.static.flickr.com/2588/4205416575_cbd5505f3c_b.jpg
farm3.static.flickr.com/2645/4205430221_fdb9f3899e_b.jpg

Photographed in Regional Parks Botanic Garden - Berkeley, California

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