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Plant mounting step-by-step

Unmounted material in newspaper
Attaching label to herbarium board
Placing loose material in a capsule
Applying glue to the material
Placing non-stick paper and soft card over the specimen
Placing a sandbag on to the material to weigh it down
Making holes for stitching
Stitching the specimen into position
Tying the thread off on the back of the herbarium board
The knot is covered to prevent it damaging specimens below
Wetted tape is applied to support the material
The mounter signs and dates the back of the specimen
The completed specimen

Large fruits and seeds

If a plant has very bulky fruits or seeds we pack them in archival boxes for inclusion in the carpological collection.

We can also preserve plant material in three-dimensional form in the spirit preserved collection.

 

Conifers

  • Some conifer species (eg Picea and Abies) quickly lose their needles when dry
  • To preserve them for mounting we soak them in alcohol … then immerse them in 50% aqueous glycerol.

 

Bryophytes (mosses), lichens, and fungi

We preserve small, friable plants like Bryophytes, lichen and fungi by putting them in paper capsules mounted on herbarium sheets.

 

Algae

We mount aquatic plants by floating on to herbarium sheets. For more information see:

SPNHC How to prepare seaweed specimens