finally a Pressing Post!

Three species have already been pressed from our seed bank and two more were ready today with their fruit developing and flowers still present. For those of you who haven't had a chance to press a plant yet for an herbarium or personal collection , here's the scoop!

Required: plant specimens, notebook&pen, plant press.
If you are lucky you have a nice one as above that Steve was kind enough to loan me with sturdy straps, blotter paper,  herbarium paper, cardboard and a wood frame! It doesn't have to be elaborate to work though, I have seen presses of cardboard, newspaper, and bungee cords!

For small plants,  a light tug at the roots will sometimes break them loose, if you feel resistance.... break out the tools and dig gently to obtain all the roots. 

growing plants in trays gives a great advantage for this part,  looks like it was getting too big for its pot already!

Add notes about any part of the plant that may change or be hard to see after its been dryed and include its name if you know it. (Daucus pusillus)

Layout the plant on the paper you will keep it in the press in, numbered to correspond with your notes. When pressing for an herbarium or reference pressings it is best to spread plant apart nicely to show both sides of leaves, flower, fruit if present and any other key features. 

This is Silene antirrhina (sleepy catchfly) and it is much smaller than the previously seen wild carrot. For plants like this, taking a couple is appropriate to ensure you fill your plant page.

Just gently pull apart.

Layout so no plants overlap and are spaced evenly for even drying.

Lastly just pull tight and place somewhere dry! Small plants are done in a few days, cacti can take weeks! 

And when they are ready here is how they look!
The paper in the corner is  a seed packet, often included for plants with loose seeds and spare parts.
These will be sent to Steve next to be cataloged and mounted (glued down) for herbarium use.