Quick action of silica
gel for dehydration coupled with its smooth texture and
light weight might have better supported the petal
arrangement and prevented loss of pigments. Embedded
drying retains good colour and form. The phenomenon of
embedded drying is that during desiccation, the water
content of the flower is completely absorbed by the surrounding
desiccant material. Silica gel in powder form is
the quickest acting desiccant. Bhutani [11] reported that
embedding in silica gel was perhaps the easiest and the
best method of embedded drying of flowers.