Drying Herbarium

[Jeff Hapeman]

This doesn't really help those who are looking to obtain a herbarium dryer,
but it may be interest to those who intend to make their own, or have
access to a controlled-environment chamber...

My undergrad institution had an old controlled-environment chamber that was
no longer used (it had been used to grow plants & fungi).  A retired botany
prof showed me how to dry herbarium specimens so that they retained much of
their color when dried--he put his press in the chamber and set it at 0%
humidity, and about 55 degrees F.  The cool temp apparently helped in
retaining the natural colors of the specimens.

It seems one could fashion a similar apparatus with an herbarium cabinet
(or similar cabinet) and an old dehumidifier.  I haven't tried it yet, but
I plan to someday...

Has anyone heard of this type of cool-drying?


Jeff Hapeman
Department of Botany
University of Wisconsin-Madison
430 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Ph (608)-262-4422  FAX (608)-262-7509
E-mail: jhapeman at macc.wisc.edu or jhapeman at students.wisc.edu