VOUCHER SPECIMENS

Six methods of storage of vouchers are used:

1. Dried plant organs are stored in paper envelopes located in cardboard and plastic boxes.
2. Succulent or fleshy plant organs are stored in jars containing a solution of 5-12% formaldehyde in water or 30-50% alcohol with a small amount of glycerin added
3. Intact spores are stored on microscope slides in a drop of glycerin or lactic acid. The slides are placed in Petri dishes.
4. Intact spores of arbuscular fungi and mycorrhizal root segments are stored in vials with formaldehyde.
5. Spores and other fungal structures are permanently mounted on microscope slides in both polyvinyl alcohol-lactic acid-glycerin (PVLG) and PVLG mixed with Melzer’s reagent (1:1 v/v). At present, over 3000 slides are stored. The slides are stored in numbered boxes. Each box has a reference number corresponding with a given described or undescribed species. These numbers correspond with the numbers of microscopic slides, vials, and photographs.
6. Mycorrhizal roots are preserved in PVLG and vials with ethanol.