Biology · Ch 1 — Living World
Herbarium
Herbarium
Herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a dried plant specimen that has been pressed, chemically treated to prevent decay/pest damage, and then mounted on a standard-size sheet so that it can be preserved and studied for a very long time. Herbaria are one of the most effective and widely used tools in taxonomic study, because they let a botanist examine a plant's exact physical form long after the living plant itself is no longer available (for instance, if it only flowers for a short season).
Origin of the term and the technique. The word "herbarium" was coined by the French botanist Pitton de Tournefort in his book Elemens. However, the technique of preparing herbaria was pioneered earlier, by the Italian taxonomist Luca Ghini (1490–1556). …
What this figure shows. A mounted herbarium sheet showing a dried, pressed plant specimen fixed flat onto a standard-size sheet of paper, with a printed label in the lower right corner recording the plant's name, classification, date and place of collection, an …