Aquatic Plant Herbarium
Introduction
| Pressing flowers is a past-time that has gone on for generations. Preserving the character of much-loved plants, either for enjoyment in the seasons when they are not around, or for conversion into forms of art. These may be decorations for paperweights, birthday cards or ambitious pressed flower pictures.
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 Pressing plants for pleasure has long been a popular past-time
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| The other side to this is the preservation of pressed plants as a collection, either for pure enjoyment, or for reference and study. This latter is important when studying the taxonomy of plants, and is the remit of an herbarium. Often an herbarium is thought of as a large Victorian building filled with folders of musty dried plants.
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 An herbarium is usually regarded as a musty institution, but it may equally be a couple of drawers.
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However,it can also be a small private collection based in a small cupboard or a couple of drawers. While it is perhaps unlikely that many water gardeners will be inspired to create an herbarium as a hobby, the knowledge of how to successfully press aquatic plants in order to preserve them for identification, or return a sample to a nursery in case of misidentification, is invaluable
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| The accidental misidentification of plants is probably more common in the aquatics trade than anywhere else in ornamental horticulture. Bog garden plants and some emergent marginal aquatics can be treated rather like wildflowers, but wholly aquatic plants are a completely different proposition. While it is recognised that the majority of water gardeners who press aquatic plants will only do so for purely practical reasons, and for getting a sample plant from A to B, what follows is a description of the principles behind creating a full herbarium voucher or specimen. The gardener requiring a pressed piece of leaf and stem to send somewhere, need merely take that aspect of the following process that is relevant.
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The procedures described here, while intended for the home water gardener, also embrace the requirements of those who are interested in wild populations of aquatic plants and wish to make a study or collection of native flora.
There are several very simple pieces of equipment and materials required before the collection of herbarium specimens can begin. A simple plant press is required. This can be made or purchased. It consists of even-sized pieces of plywood and corrugated cardboard or blotting paper. It is these which are used in a sandwich effect to press the fresh material. They are tightened together, either by strong tapes or twist hand screws.
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 It is essential to understand the principles behind creating a full herbarium specimen.
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 Flower presses are suitable for pressing small portions of plants and individual flowers.
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There are also plant presses that are made of metal in a latticework effect, between which board or card is used to separate the various specimens. These are then tightly taped. Of course, for just an odd plant or two a heavy book can be used, the specimen sheets being placed between the pages in the centre, but this is generally only suitable for plant pieces rather than whole plants, unless the species are very small.
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| For the long term storage of herbarium specimens it is essential to have proper herbarium sheets for mounting. These are a tough acid-free paper and available from biological and school suppliers.For short term collections for immediate research purposes, or for mounting for despatch, then heavy weight, standard A4 sheets are perfectly adequate, although they are smaller than proper herbarium sheets.
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Small packets or envelopes to contain any additional plant structures, such as seeds, are necessary as well as labels, and of course, herbarium paste. This is available from biological supply companies, although any paste or glue with a polyvinyl acetate base is quite suitable. Linen tape will also be needed.
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 Additional plant structures, such as seeds, should be contained in small envelopes.
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