The Plant Press

From The Plant Press, Vol. 24, No. 2, April 2021.

The botanical pressed specimen sheet – an artform in itself

By Sylvia Orli and Erika Gardner

We appreciate the botanical pressed specimen for so many reasons–the plant, the taxonomy, the genetic material, the history, and the incredible value it provides to science. We have also come to appreciate the pressed botanical sheet for itself, the beauty and brilliance that the collection can engender by simply being secured onto paper with a label. The U.S. National Herbarium has now created over 3.5 million botanical specimen images, and they are magnificent because of the skillfully crafted botanical sheets.

The specimens at the Herbarium are mounted by a skillfully trained team of 21 volunteers. This team carries on a special tradition of best practices and standards, which have been in existence since the 18^th century. Our plant mounters do not have any formal training in Botany, but they possess special skills that transfer well in the specimen preparation realm. Many of our mounters are excellent needle crafters! These skills are highly desirable in the specimen preparation room. 

The first step to mount a specimen is to arrange it on an 11”x 18” archival herbarium sheet of paper. In its post-mortem state, the plant should look very similar to how it was growing in the wild. Challenges ensue when the plant is larger than the standard herbarium sheet. The plant must be mounted skillfully and arranged creatively for it to be a valuable specimen for scientific investigation. It is a beautiful balancing act where art and science blend seamlessly on a sheet of paper. 

Very seldom do we encounter the unconventional specimen, examples include, the “oh, so rare happy face” specimen, the heart shaped specimen, or even the railroad track specimen. These creations tend to produce a chuckle and sometimes a post on social media, but for the serious researcher these works of rogue pieces of art are highly discouraged.

A small sample appears below: