Herbarium Technique
There are some methods used for making herbarium which are mentioned below:
- Collection: This is the first step where the plant materials are collected which are 30- 40 cm in length. The material used for determination should be complete which means it should complete inflorescence. The collected material should be kept in the metallic vasculum or polythene bags so that the moisture is preserved. While collecting the plant material diseased plants should be avoided.
- Drying: After collecting the plant specimens they should be pressed in the newspaper folders. The overlapping of the specimens should be avoided Then these newspaper folders should be preserved in a field of grass.
- Poisoning: Mercuric chloride is used in the process of poisoning. It is important to avoid the microbe’s growth. Again after this, the specimens are dried.
- Mounting, Stitching,, and Labelling: In this process, the dried specimens are stitched on the herbarium sheets. The field data are entered on the right-hand lower side.
- Deposition: In this last process the sheets are arranged according to the Bentham and Hooker system of classification and genus. After intervals of six months, DDT and copper sulfate are sprayed to kill the insects.
Herbarium : Technique, Importance and Functions
An herbarium is a type of storehouse or repository of the collected plant specimens which are dried, pressed, mounted, and preserved on sheets. The first herbarium was developed by the professor of botany Luca Ghini. It helps in the detailed study of different types of plants. It is used for preserving plant wealth including the type of the material. The largest Herbarium in India is Central National Herbarium which is located in the Indian Botanical Garden at Kolkata.