Herbarium Supplies: cards and boxes for mounting lichen collections

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Here is a discussion (in chronological order) from the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CaliforniaLichens/?yguid=209571660" target="_blank">California Lichen Society's (CALS) listserv[/url]:

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Hello out there!

Could anyone recommend a supply company which sells
materials suitable for a lichen herbarium project,
i.e. packets, cardboard mounts, and cotton padding?

The Herbarium Supply company sells bryophyte packages
and packet "stiffening" cardboards. Are these
appropriate for lichens as well? Can lichens be
mounted on the stiffening cards? The same company no
longer carries cotton padding. Can this be purchased
elsewhere?

Thanks for your help!

Amanda Heinrich
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Amanda et al.,

It really is a shame that the Herbarium Supply Company has lost their
supplier for cotton padding. The advantage to their cotton was that it
was 'bleached' using hydrogen peroxide and not chlorine bleach. Of
course, bleach causes a chemical reaction with some lichens (i.e. with
gyrophoric acid), causing them to turn red (C+). This cotton provides a
barrier between the packet paper and the specimen. Does anyone happen to
have another supplier for this cotton?
We use 100% cotton, archival quality, 24-32lbs paper for packet
envelopes. You can usually find this in any office supply store. We just
use white blank index cards, instead of stiff cardboard.

Robin Schroeder
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Hi,

The Candian Museum of Nature orders cardboards from a local printer. They cut it to size according to our specifications. The most important thing, however, is to be sure that the cardboard is NOT fluorescent in long-wave UV light. We always demand samples of the cardboard stock before approving the order for them to cut it. Many types of cardboard (especially index cards!) are UV++ blue-white, which interferes with checking the UV fluorescence of crustose lichens glued to the cardboards. It is a pain in the rear to have to screen out the coardboard fluorescence with "masks" or remove the lichen from the cardboards before examining the lichens with UV.

We still have some cotton padding from Herbarium Supplies in California. I don't know what we'll do when it runs out if the supplier is no longer available. Perhaps our curator here will be able to answer that question.

Cheers, Ernie Brodo
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Hi;
A while ago, I noted for CALS that 140# water color paper is a good, 100% cotton, acid free paper, very suitable for herbarium use. In 3x5 size, it is heavier and stiffer than index card stock, which is only 90# or 110# I just checked, again, my stock for fluorescence, and found it non fluorescent.

I was tipped off to this by a curatorial assistant/illustrative artist at the California Academy of Sciences, when I was volunteering there.

The differences in the brands, according to the art teacher I pressed on the matter, is primarily 1) how it holds up to the scrubbing of the brushes when soggy, and 2) the users preference of the surface, and 3) import duties. It comes in cold pressed and hot pressed surfaces, the latter smooth, and is made in massive quantities. The Strathmore 140# cold press is very good, and is often available in large sheets, and is US made (less expensive). (It doesn't hold up very well to 'scrubbed puddle painting,' however.) I also use the same (and other companies') hot press, when I expect I have to sketch with ink, as the hot press, not well favored by water color artists, is harder, smoother, more level, and often is the preferred medium for india ink (and pencil) detailed sketches, and botanical illustrations.

Most "self service" copy shops have cutters available that can easily reduce two or three 16x24 or 24x36 sheets to many cards of your preferred size. I like 3x4, as it comes out fairily even. As I buy wire bound pads of the paper in 16x24 and 12x16 during "school sales" for my own use, sketching and watercoloring, I often just cut off some of that. But the big sheets are much less expensive, and often also on sale at the same time. And the "Pre-school Sales" are on now.

Bless All

Mikki
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That sounds good, but I expect that ordinary card stock is less expensive. However, I doubt that it's acid-free or 100% cotton. On the other hand, I don't believe those characteristics are so important when it is the substrate that gets glued down, not the lichen.

Ernie
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I'm happy with the card stock I chop down from large sheets from an art supply store (though I haven't checked the UV response). I'd like ideas on inexpensive boxes or materials for constructing 3-D support. A lot of my collections are calicioids and soil crusts... both easily crushed if simply glued to a flat card. For a while I had access to some wonderful cardboard jewel boxes, but the cost adds up quickly at US$0.25 -0.75 / specimen. I have also tried gluing styrofoam 'peanuts' to the corners of the card, but I worry about what chemicals might come out of them. Most recently I've tried 'popsicle sticks' from a craft store - with a strategically placed knick from some scissors they are easy to snap into a right-angle - two glued to opposite corners of a card form a decent box, if somewhat ugly. Thoughts?

Thanks,
-Eric [Peterson]
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regarding the chemicals outgassing from foam peanuts: i have had the same concern, and i like the peanuts; they're cheap, available, and help keep plastics out of dumps. i wonder how the TLC chemists store their plates; i seem to remember something about ziplock bags, which would tend to indicate that (some) plastics are ok around chemically sensitive materials.
anyone?

regards,
tom [Carlberg]
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Hi;
At the Myxomycetes workshop presented by Dr. Ing (England) we were introduced to Diamond match-boxes, 10 for $1.20 at the time, relatively available at Saveway, and accompanied with a goodly supply of "easy-start kindling." A bit less expensive, but the boxes are nice enough.
[Mikki]
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Hi Eric,

I use Ethafoam which is chemically stable. Using a sharp blade, I cut strips from a larger block to build a little wall glued with PVA to our UV negative card stock. The neat thing about it is I can sculpt this material in any shape. As per costs, I cannot really tell you since I am using leftovers from our move 8 years ago. We had then to pack all our natural history collections in a fashion that would able us to move and to properly stored indefinitely. So a lot of Ethafoam was purchased. It is a very versatile material!

Micheline B.-Bouchard
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Dear Eric,

I construct a simple "box" for calicioids with a half or 2/3 of a standard cardboard piece. I simply score the edges with a scissor blade according to how deep I want the box. I then make a little cut on each of the four corners, bend up the scored edges, and scotch-tape the bend-up sides to make a box. It works very well and is pretty fast. And, the boxes are still UV negative!

Ernie
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Hi Ernie,

Scotch-tape adhesive has a very limited life span and is off-gazing. I
suggest you use archival moisture activated linen tape to tape your box. I
have plenty in my lab!

Micheline
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Hi,

I agree that the linen tape is a much more stable solution to the scotch tape which has a very short adhesive lifespan. I also want to clarify that when you say cardboard that you mean acid free mat board which is stable and is very handy for making boxes, as was described below. Cardboard is not recommended for collections' storage.

Luci Cipera
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