Re: silica
M (IFMJC@ASUVM.INRE.ASU.EDU)
Fri, 21 Jan 1994 09:56:14 -0700 (MST)
On Fri, 21 Jan 1994 07:25:52 -0800 Barry Meyers-Rice said:
>>On the orchids e-mail group someone explained how they store orchid
>>pollen - Pollen is put on glass slides in a sealed container with
>>silica gel on the bottom to absorb moisture, then the container is put
>>in the refrigerator for two days. After that, the silica gel is
>>removed and the pollen can then be stored in the freezer in a sealed
>>container. The pollen remains viable for nearly a year.
>
>This is very interesting. I am surprised that the silica gel doesn't
>completely dessicate the pollen to such a degree that the pollen is
I take it this process is for storing not pollen, but pollinia?
Or is the pollen scraped out first?
-Michael (just marginally curious)