User:Bernz01/Plant collecting

Sample gathering
When collecting a sample it is important to first make sure that land you are collecting on allows for the removal of natural specimens. Plant collection begins with the selection of the sample. Viable samples include identifying features such as flowers, fruits, root systems or any other unique features. Smaller plants may require multiple individuals to make up a sample. Plants that show signs of infection should be avoided to prevent spreading the disease. The next step after finding a suitable plant for collection is to assign it with a number for record keeping purposes. This number system is up to the individual collector, but usually involves the date of collection or the sequential number of that collection. Along with an assigned number, observations about the plant's location and live appearance should be noted in detail. These field notes will accompany the finished sample to provide supplementary information about the plant.

Preservation without pressing
Some specimens cannot be compressed, degrade when dried, or require other techniques for preservation and storage. Large seeds or fruits may be stored in boxes without compression. Aquatic plants and delicate plants may be stored in a liquid preservative. Cacti may be stored in ethanol.

In cases where drying or pressing a plant may destroy or alter a plant feature being studied, 50-75% ethanol can be used to preserve the specimen for up to 4 weeks. This is commonly used when sectioning tissue samples.

If a collector wishes to preserve a flower in its natural shape they will use a Desiccant. The most commonly used desiccant is Silica gel. To do this flowers are placed in a box, and the desiccant is added till the flowers are covered. After 2-7 days the desiccant is removed, revealing the preserved flowers.

Plant collecting as a hobby
Plant collecting may also refer to a hobby, in which the hobbyist takes identifiable samples of plant species found in nature, dries them, and stores them in a paper sheet album, a simple herbarium, along with the information of the finding location, finding date, etc. necessary scientific information. As in many collecting hobbies, rarer specimens have been valued. However, when collecting living organisms, the conservation aspects must precede the collector's ambitions. This has led in some cases to a collector voluntarily taking part, helping scientists, in some research areas, provided they can store the "collectible". In fact, historically, many species have initially been found within a collection of a collector.

Usually, a plant can be identified in nature, since they are stationary. The advent of digital cameras has led many plant collectors to switch totally to photography. Some have switched to collecting live specimens of various plant species in their gardens, building a sort of "private botanical garden". Some have specialized in a specific group, the orchids and the roses and their cultivars are among the most collected.

Recently plant identification apps have begun to be used by hobbyist plant collectors and casual plant enjoyers. The most common and accessible of these is Google Lens, others include Seek by INaturalist and Plant Snap. These plant identification apps allow users to make field identifications of plants down to the species level. However, for accurate identification of specimens the use of dichotomous keys is still required, as no plant identification app has reached an accuracy of 90%.This has made plant collecting and identification more accessible to casual hobbyist and students.
 * Quality of sources for sample gathering needs improvement
 * Preservation without a press needs sources and details on specific methods
 * An updated source on the mechanics of pressing plants
 * Replace or delete sources that are defunct #4
 * Add a section on what makes a viable sample
 * Find sources for plant collecting as a hobby