[Nhcoll-l] Precipitate or Mold in Ethanol Stored Specimens

[Tocci (Lewis-Gentry), Genevieve E.]

Hi Alex,

I can’t say what it is, but it is very unlikely to be fungi. The ethanol should kill any fungal growth and is what we use to preserve our fluid collections as well as treat any moldy things. You can always look under a microscope to be sure.

Best,
Genevieve

=================================================
Genevieve E. Tocci
Senior Curatorial Technician
Harvard University Herbaria
22 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138  U.S.A.
Phone: 617-495-1057  Fax: 617-495-9484
glewis-g at oeb.harvard.edu<mailto:glewis-g at oeb.harvard.edu>

From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Alex Krohn
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2018 1:53 PM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Precipitate or Mold in Ethanol Stored Specimens

Hi everyone,

I recently found some bizzare white granules in some our ethanol preserved specimens. See the attached photos. The white granules tend to stick to the items in the jar, rather than rest at the bottom of the jar. They do not crush easily (like I imagine precipitates would), but instead squish more like tiny styrofoam bits or pieces (like I imagine mold would).

Has anyone seen this before? I washed the specimens and jars in fresh 70% EtOH, and then replaced the EtOH in the jar. So far no new granules have appeared. If anyone has any better ideas of what this might be or how to treat it, I'm very interested.

Thank you!

Alex Krohn

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Assistant Director
Kenneth S. Norris Center for Natural History
University of California, Santa Cruz

https://norriscenter.ucsc.edu/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__norriscenter.ucsc.edu_&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=EYdhJ0HrhAMcA2aVQ-I4N7lml00zxsXPbHYeP7843No&m=XnEVXXyjuaJWzKPdsP3TRiSesSqkKWLyhPfJ0yKwqHA&s=-XvzmoEm-xG7QvJl4rDBYzLpPMJGeG54sLHW2ovXS3s&e=>
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