Herbarium

A herbarium is a collection of plants in record form.

They are usually A3 in size but I have made one approximately A4 in size, to keep a record of lavenders.

The first thing to do if you want to create a herbarium is to take plant samples. This is examples of the leaves, flowers, seeds, the whole plant with the roots (if possible or necessary).

It is very important to note here that when finding a plant that you want to collect in the wild you must not dig it up. Obviously this record is for your personal use and not for any scientific or botanical use and therefore the plant in the wild should be left to be enjoyed by others who happen to stumble upon it, often plants in the wild are rare or at least becoming less common. Therefore take a cutting of the stem, leaves and flowers but do not dig it up.

When you have collected your plant samples press them and dry them by placing them individually between sheets of newspaper and then separated with cardboard and layered one on top of each other, once you have a pile place some heavy books on top and leave to dry - this should take approximately one week.

As they are drying find out all that you can about this particular plant and the different varieties within its species.

Note where and when you picked it (even if it was in your own garden).

Note the type of soil it is growing in, the colour of the foliage, the flowers.

Note the size of the whole plant, the shapes of its leaves, note if it has a scent or not.

For my herbarium I have decided to start a collection of lavenders.

In my garden I sat and drew Lamiaceae (the family of the plant, in this case it is from the Mint family), Lavandula angustifolia. I studied the plant intensely and I read anything I could find about this particular variety. I took photographs aswell which are a great way to show exactly the setting of a plant and the size.

I snipped a stem with flowers on and a small bunch of the foliage for drying, I could have taken a root sample as this is my own plant but I am creating a much reduced herbarium in size from the standard A3 and only want a record that shows the differences between each lavender, to the eye, above ground level.

I went to another lavender plant I have growing in the garden, Lamiaceae, Lavandula dentata and did the same as with Lavandula angustifolia and I was amazed at the differences.

When observing this particular variety of lavender I noted the following:-

sited in a sunny position in sandy soil, strong scented flowers, large bush, silver foliage, deep purple flowers, leaves long, pointed and flat.

When observing this variety of lavender in my garden I noted the following:-

Sited in sunny position in sandy soil,

medium sized bush, strong scented flowers,

purple with lilac bracts, leaves serrated and long and slender,

lots of flower heads all over plant

The next step to creating your herbarium is to make the "book".

I took two pieces of ply wood and cut them to the same size, approximately A4 (well to be more accurate a certain someone did it for me). I then, yes I did do this myself, painted the wood with green paint (acrylic) and when nearly dry I sanded it off to give a distressed look, using coarse sand paper. Once completely dry I scored the word HERBARIUM into the wood using a pen and then I sealed the whole thing with some beeswax polish.

I then got small holes drilled into both peices and then threaded hemp string through the holes joining the two pieces of wood together with pieces of green and blue scrapbook paper as the pages.

I then took my first set of dried plant pieces and prepared the white envelope for mounting.

I used an A4 white envelope and cut it to the correct size and leaving the folded side to the outside of the book so as to create a flap. I then mounted the herb onto the white envelope after I had stuck it into the book. I used wallpaper paste, applying it carefully with a small paintbrush.

Once the herb was secured, I started to attached photos, my drawings, and the all important plant label - this is the most important part, it is your record of what the plant piece actually is, at the moment you are in no doubt but trust me a few months down the line you will have forgotten, note taking and information on each plant piece is the most important part of this whole project that must be taken seriously.

The label should contain:

The scientific name of the plant

The vernacular name of the plant (common name)

The date of collection

The locality, area where found

The habitat the plant was found in

The characteristics of the plant

It may also contain the plants uses and where it is native to.

Also you must include that you are the collector and give the specimen a number if you intend to collect a few different samples of one kind of plant. it may also be that you receive a plant specimen from someone else and you therefore must include it in your collection but state who collected it and where etc for reference.

Once I secured the herbs in place, the photos and the artwork, the label and any other information pertaining to the plants, I folded over the flap on the envelope and protected the plant part by placing a piece of cardboard on top of it, then closed the book and tied it securely.

You might also find that when you collect seeds you want to keep them with your specimen, this is best done by placing the seeds into a small envelope and securing to the plant specimen page or the folding flap as in the case of the type of book I have made.

Let your imagination soar and create your very own herbarium of your favourite plants and learn about the plants along the way.