Herbarium mounts in cellophane 



D. DeLisa 



During the summer of 1936 the writer began preparing her- 

 barium specimens by enclosing them in cellophane. Pierce^ has 

 since described an essentially similar method and has noted 

 that specimens mounted under cellophane preserve to a marked 

 degree the natural colors of the leaves and flowers. As this use 

 of cellophane has advantages not mentioned by Pierce, the 

 procedure used by the writer together with the advantages of 

 the method will be briefly reported.^ 



The procedure consists simply of enveloping in cellophane 

 the herbarium sheet with the attached specimen. The edges of 

 the cellophane are folded on the reverse side of the sheet and 

 fastened down along their whole lengths with strips of adhesive 

 cellophane. It was found, as Pierce also notes, that adhesive 

 cellophane is superior to the ordinary gummed paper strips for 

 fastening specimens to the sheet. 



The most important advantage of this method is the pre- 

 vention of the disintegration of specimens. It should be espe- 

 cially practicable for classroom herbaria and other herbaria 

 which are subject to frequent handling. Since the enveloping 

 cellophane is perfectly transparent, no difficulty is encountered 

 in studying the specimen through a lens. 



Much of the natural color is preserved by the use of cello- 

 phane. Although sufficient time has not yet elapsed to deter- 

 mine whether the colors are preserved indefinitely, the method 

 promises excellent results. Pierce's statement that the exclusion 

 of air is an important factor in the preservation of plant colors 

 deserves to be borne in mind. 



Another advantage is that periodic fumigation would prob- 

 ably be unnecessary if the mount were perfectly sealed. The 

 greatly increased attractiveness of the mount is a further ad- 

 vantage, although there is one disadvantage in that roots which 

 are too bulky cannot be included. 



1 W. Dwight Pierce, Science, 84: 253-254, 1936. 



2 The writer's attention has been called to an unsigned note in Torreya 

 35: 161 which states that Fessenden used cellophane in preserving plant colors. 

 Details of the method are not given, but Fessenden apparently used some 

 chemical treatment to prevent the fading of colors. 



58 



