Pitcher Plant Plastination: Preserving Botanical Specimens For Education And Display

2 School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK § These authors contributed equally to this work. ABSTRACT: The lifelike preservation of three-dimensional plant material poses particular challenges, and there is still no established method for it. The aim of the present study was to develop a method to preserve the trapping leaf of a carnivorous pitcher plant in its natural shape and coloration for long-term display in a public exhibition. Fresh pitchers were subjected to one of the following preservation methods: freeze-drying, coating in PDMS, and plastination. The resulting specimens were then compared against fresh and air-dried material. Plastination was found to be superior to the other preservation methods in yielding lifelike specimens for display. In particular, plastinates retained their shape better and exhibited no obvious shrinkage. However, the process altered the coloration significantly due to the loss of chlorophyll and mobilisation of anthocyanins (red–blue pigments) during the dehydration and impregnation stages. Exposure of the finished plastinated specimen to bright light also caused it to turn brown over a period of several weeks. Further work is needed to refine the procedures for plastination of botanical material. In particular, a method should be sought for fixing chlorophyll and other plant pigments. These issues notwithstanding, plastination shows promise as a 3D preservation method to supplement herbarium material and educational displays.