Specimen Collection

[dougo83]

Hey guys, I have already mentioned my PNW trip coming up soon. One of the things I will be doing is collecting samples of wild edible and not-so-edible plants for future reference, etc. What is a packable, lightweight idea for storing samples so they will not get damaged in a pack? Mind you, there will be about 15 of us, all responsible for our own stuff, crammed into rentals for 10 days.

PeACE
Dougo

 

[chopchop]

Have you ever made a plant press?

It's like a book. Wood frame like a picture frame or two sheets of lightweight plywood as a cover, then filled with cardboard "pages". Put newspaper on each side of the specimen, put cardboard on each side of the newspaper, and close the "book." Then use something like a belt, bungee, or some cordage to cinch it up tight. If you splay out the plants and keep it dry, it will do a great job of preserving stuff for you. I guess ome folks like to use a heavy bond craft paper instead of the newspaper.

I don't use one myself, (I've just stuck leaves in between the pages of books I was reading), but the researchers I work with use them all the time, and they seem to work really well.

 

[Ankar Sheng]

I second the plant press.

Maybe you could use a tourniquet to tighten it up instead of a belt, or bolts+butterfly nuts to keep the weight down.

 

[Idaho Jarhead]

Good lord, I thought this thread was going to be about the OTHER specimen collecting. Like a train wreck, I had to watch though.

 

[ROCK6]

Good lord, I thought this thread was going to be about the OTHER specimen collecting. Like a train wreck, I had to watch though.

You're a sick man

Hey Doug, a few small Rubber-made type containers may be suitable along with a plant press. There won't be too many berry edibles, but you might have tubers or roots. I use a couple small containers in my deployment ruck to keep some of my computer stuff from getting damaged (wireless mouse, hard-drive, etc.).

ROCK6

 

[dougo83]

Ok...so...I decided to throw a press together. I think this will work:

I took some old masonite clipboards I had:

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Then cut the clips off with a box-cutter:

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Then I drilled some 1/4" holes, 1 in each corner, to run wingnuts through:

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Ta-Da!!

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Obligatory new knife porn:

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I am hoping this thing works out alright. I already can see that longer bolts are needed. These are pretty short. I will post pics and stuff from Portland as I can.

 

[1Tracker]

4-6" bolts will do you depending upon the number of plants you want to 'book'. Use some felted paper in between each plant to absorb the moisture. Don't clamp especially tight in the begining, just enough to hold it down. Use ziplocks to separate roots/tubers/ berries into a 2 gallon ziplock. They're pretty durable in a pack like that.