breath and a few other aqueous plants gives fairly good results when dried in water. In water drying,
the lower leaves and flowers from the stem are stripped and are kept standing in cold water to about 5
cm depth. The material is kept undisturbed in a dry, well aerated room until both the holder and
flowers are dried. This takes 6-7 days depending upon the water content in plant material and water
taken in the container/holder.
58
PRESS DRYING
The flowers and foliages are placed between the pages of a book or magazine or between the
folds of newspaper or blotting sheets by giving some space between the flowers/foliage. These sheets
are kept one above the other and corrugated cardboard sheets of the same size are placed between the
folded sheets so as to allow the water vapour to escape. The whole bundle is then kept in the room. For
quicker drying a herbarium press is kept in a hot air oven at 45°C for 12 to 24 hours depending upon
the moisture in the flowers or foliage. This method is laborious and the time taken for drying is more
than drying in solar dryer/ hot air oven. The press dried material is stored in cardboard boxes. These
boxes are lined with blotting sheets, which keep flowers /foliage dry.