[NHCOLL-L:1287] Re: Juicy Fruit

[John Edmondson]

on 23/10/01 3:55 am, John Nelson at nelson at biol.sc.edu wrote:

> MON 22 Oct 1047h
> 
> Friends:
> 
> We just processed a dried, pressed, unmounted plant specimen of Rhamnus
> caroliniana for our herbarium collection. It was noticed that the
> newspaper surrounding the specimen was still stuck to the preciously
> fleshy ftruits (now squashed). These fruits were quite gummy, and
> definitely not absolutely dried out. The thing about it was that this
> specimen was collected in 1987!
> 
> Just wondering if anyone has had experience with supposedly dried out
> plant material that retains water in the tissues-- one would think
> cacti, improperly prepared would be considered here, but there have to
> be others. Fruits retaining water after several years...an invitation to
> mold, insects, ? Or maybe this gumminess is an effect of water
> absorption from the atmosphere?
> 
> thanks JOHN

Advisable to detach the fruits and store separately. Ideally, freeze drying
works best, as the freezing disrupts the cell structure before the drying
takes over.

JOHN EDMONDSON