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THE EFFECT OF MICROWAVE OVEN‐DRYING ON THE INTEGRITY OF SPORE AND POLLEN EXINES IN HERBARIUM SPECIMENS
Author(s) -
Arens Nan Crystal,
Traverse Alfred
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
taxon
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1996-8175
pISSN - 0040-0262
DOI - 10.2307/1222270
Subject(s) - spore , pollen , herbarium , botany , microwave oven , moisture , microwave , biology , chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
Summary An investigation of the effect of microwave oven‐drying on spores and pollen is presented. As was expected of moisture‐containing bodies, microwaving does damage many spores and pollen when the plant materials containing them are so dried. However, enough grains remain intact to permit morphological study. Once dried by conventional technique, spores and pollen are no longer damaged by microwaving. A technique of intermittent bursts of microwaving during drying, in place of continuous treatment, apparently minimizes spore/pollen damage.