First, read this statement about collecting plants as a high school student.

 
Collecting Plants in the Field

• A dandelion digger, small pick, or shovel is useful for digging the plants; a sharp knife to cut and trim plants is also handy.
   
• In digging plants, be sure to get a fair sample of the root, especially of grasses, grass-like plants, and forbs - as some plants are identified by the roots.
   
• A complete specimen should show the roots, stems, leaves, and flower heads. Do not include too much plant material, as it will not dry well, and may actually mold.
   
• Soil and dead plant material should be removed when the specimen is collected.
   
• Collect twigs of shrubs and trees.
   
• In the field, plants will stay fresher if kept in a sealed plastic bag and out of the sun. A bread sack works very well.
   
• Plants should be loaded in the press as soon as possible. If plants must be kept overnight, a wet paper towel in the bag will help keep them from wilting too badly.

Collectors should keep a field notebook and record the following for each plant immediately.

• An identifying number
• Date
• Location
• Habitat: sun/shade, soil type, moisture, etc.
• Type of growth: tree, shrub, herb, or vine
• Height (metric or English, but use units!)
• Flower or fruit color (record only what is visible)

Pressing Plants

• Place each plant between one sheet of folded newspaper. One specimen per newspaper sheet.
   
• Mark the edge of each newspaper to identify it with a specimen in your field notes.
   
• Keep the size of a herbarium sheet in mind (23" X 14"). If the specimen is small, several will be needed to fill the sheet.
   
• Make sure all the specimen fits inside the newspaper.
   
• If necessary, the plant should be folded neatly in an "N" or inverted "V" so it will fit inside the specimen sheets for pressing.
   
• Turn some leaves and flowers up and some down so both sides can be seen when mounted.
   
• Load the plant press. No more than 3 newspapers between blotter sheets. No more than 3 blotter sheets between cardboard dividers.
   
• Tighten the press and do not disturb!
   
• The specimen must be completely dry before mounting.

Drying Plants

• Plants must be protected from fungal growth until the drying process is over.
   
• If the air temperature is high and the relative humidity low, then all that is necessary to dry the plant specimens well is to place the plant press where it will receive some natural ventilation, and tighten the press straps each day (they loosen when the plants inside dry and shrink).
   
• If conditions are such that little or no natural drying occurs (cool temperatures, high relative humidity), then a heat source should be applied. In all cases ventilation of the plant press is important in order to remove water vapor rising from the plant specimens, and especially to vent water vapor from the corrugations of the cardboard.

  

• A simple dryer consists of an open-ended plywood box (with or without a bottom) measuring 46 cm long, 35-60 cm wide and at least 30 cm high. To allow for proper air circulation, the dryer should have a small air vent cut near the base (or should be raised slightly off the ground, if the bottom of the dryer is absent). A 100 watt bulb is placed in the bottom of the dryer (on an aluminium pie plate or fire resistant pad). The press is placed on edge, length-wise, across the dryer's open top, with cardboard placed alongside to block air spaces. This will cause the warm air within the dryer to be forced through the press. Depending on the moisture in the plant samples, the collection sheets will dry in 24 - 48 hours.

• Herbarium sheets measure 23" X 14".
   
• Completely cover a tray or glass plate with a layer of "thinned" Elmer's white glue.
   
• Glue a Herbarium card to the lower, right-hand corner of a herbarium sheet.
   
• Decide how you will position your plant on the herbarium sheet.
   
• Carefully lay your specimen in the glue on the tray. Do Not push the specimen down into the glue.
   
• Lift the specimen from the glue and place it on the herbarium sheet, pressing the plant gently against the sheet.
   
• For specimens with thick stems or fruit, run a bead of "Archers" cement.
   
• Place the finished sheet flat on a lab table to dry.

Herbarium Cards

• Much of the formal information needed for the herbarium card is available from the collector's field notebook.
   
• Correct identification of the specimen is extremely important at this point. Care must be take to insure the plant is labeled with the correct identification.

Storing Mounted Plants

• In a professional herbarium, mounted plants are stored in humidity and temperature controlled rooms that are protected from insect infestation.
   
• For a high school, mounts can be kept in boxes with mothballs, and stored in a cabinet.