Do you know what herbaria are and why they are important?

A herbarium is an ordered scientific collection of dried or herbalized plants. Within these collections it is possible to find plant seeds, fruits, wood, petals and photographs of plants in their natural state, within living collections or botanical gardens. Its importance lies in having part of the plant biodiversity represented and systematized. The exploration, collection and herbalization of plant specimens are fundamental to the process of forming a herbarium. Furthermore, by identifying, ordering and describing plants, they become permanent records of the biodiversity of the flora of a region or site (Quesada et al., 1999).

In addition to being so important in the scientific area, they are also important in the personal area. One of the things that most relaxes me and makes me feel emotionally and spiritually productive is visiting the forest in my community, taking long walks, having a picnic and collecting those peculiar leaves that fly in the air and fall on my sandwich, just when I was thinking about taking a bite, it's a spectacular sensation, it's as if the tree was trying to tell me something.

Sometimes I talk to them about the situations in my life and every day they make me reflect a lot on my actions, which are sometimes good and sometimes not. Without a doubt, the pines and oaks help me be a better person.

One of my favorite parts of visiting the forest and returning home is herbalizing those special leaves, flowers and branches that I find along my way, which somehow give me an answer to the questions I have during the day.

Below I will share with you how to make a herbarium at home and learn to herborize plants, branches, flowers and completely fallen leaves (the idea is not to damage the plant), make paintings, birthday cards, postcards and anything else you can imagine.

Materials you will need:

  1. Cardboards of the size you prefer, as long as they are the same size.
  2. Newspaper (the same size as the cardboard).
  3. A thick ribbon.
  4. Thread (your favorite color).
  5. Thick recyclable sheets, poster board, cardboard or other thick material that will work for mounting the plants.
  6. Colors, crayons, paints, etc. (to decorate).
  7. Scotch tape.
  8. A marker, pencil or pen
  9. A small notebook

Process

1. Collect

When collecting a plant sample it is important to label it, so as not to forget the moment and the sensations that were transmitted to you when touching it, observing it and in my case, listening to it. I write the answers and/or reflections that came to my mind at that moment. You can label and/or number it with the adhesive tape and marker, and in the notebook you can write, following the collection list, your thoughts.

2. Pressing

The plant samples (branches, leaves, flowers, etc.) already labeled, you will place them on the cardboard and newspaper, arranging them aesthetically. In the case of branches with more than 2 leaves, you will arrange them so that the beam can be seen (the front part) and underside (the back part of the leaf) of the plant (Figure 1). After arranging them on the newspaper, you will place another newspaper and another cardboard on them. The order would be as follows: a cardboard, newspaper, the branch of the plant, newspaper and finally, another cardboard (Figure 2).

Figure 1. The upper and lower sides of the leaves.
Figure 2. Order of pressing: 1) piece of cardboard, 2) one sheet of newspaper, 3) the labeled plant, 4) one sheet of newspaper and 5) another piece of cardboard.

After repeating the previous step with all the plant samples, you will stack the samples (with their respective cardboard and newspaper) and tie them with the thick tape, so that they are fixed.

Drying

Finally, you will let the plants dry for one week in a dry place, without sunlight and preferably at a temperature higher than the ambient temperature, so that they do not lose their color. I leave them under the seats of my dad's car, you can also put them behind the refrigerator or in a dark heated room.

Plant assembly.

To begin assembly, you will remove the cardboard and newspaper very carefully, as it tends to stick to the newspaper, and when dry they are very fragile. Once detached, you will place it on a thick leaf (the leaf can be recycled and in your favorite color), arranging the leaves and branches in the way you like best. With the thread, you will sew the plant to the leaf very carefully, or you can use adhesive tape. I recommend fixing it in the strongest and thickest areas of the plant, for example, the nodes of the stems or the petiole of the leaves.

Decor

In this step, let your imagination fly and your creative side dazzle, you can write your thoughts, decorate the sheet with drawings, words, etc. You can make birthday cards, paintings, booklet covers, etc.

Below I show you some examples:

Figure 3. Examples of plant assembly.

I hope you liked this idea of productive activity, many times we think that productivity is about doing things for our work or academic area, however, we leave aside our spiritual and creative side. Another point that I really like to emphasize is how important nature gives us, that connection that we can experience just by going out to get fresh air, smell a plant, hug a tree, take a walk, etc.

These types of activities not only feed our creativity, but also our soul and spirituality, and make us reflect, respect and care for the environment in which we live. Being more aware of the care and affection we must have for every living being we encounter during the day.

I share some photos of the place that I told you about at the beginning.

Figure 4. The path I take is approximately four hours of walking.
Figure 5. This is me being very happy.

Plants are extraordinary, they refresh our day, illuminate our minds and give us life.

Vegetable hugs!

Thank you very much for reading, tell me what is your favorite plant? Have you ever herbed a plant? What do you like most about visiting natural spaces?

Reference

Quesada O., C., L. Baena C., J. E. Linares C. and C. Morales T. 1999. Herbaria as documentation centers for the study and conservation of biodiversity. Almeriense environmental meeting: in search of solutions. Communication and Multimedia, Granada.

Furthers reading

González, E., Pérez, V., Acosta, Z., D. Vento, A., Varela, N., Jover, A. and Verdecia, R. (2015). Revised manual for collecting and herbalizing Cuban plant species. ECOVIDA Magazine, 5(1). 1-8.

Ricker, M. and Rincón, A. (2013). Manual for carrying out botanical collections for the National Forest and Soil Inventory.

Sánchez, A., and González, M. (2014). Chapter 12: Techniques for plant collection and herbalization. In Introduction to Botany Manual. 2nd edition. (123-133).

Cires, E. (s.f.). Manual for plant collection and herbalization. Department of Biology of Organisms and Systems. Botany Area. Oviedo University.