#dailyzoo candidate - POISONED specimen
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by
Mr._Kevvy
#dailyzoo The "POISONED" label can sometimes be found on Herbarium specimens, showing that they were treated with a hazardous chemical, and before the 1960s this was usually mercuric chloride. They need special handling and even just opening their cases can emit mercury vapor into the air in excess of allowed levels. With this and the water moccasins, who would have guessed botany was so dangerous? :^)
(moved this blurb from three separate object comments into this post.)
Posted
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by
DZM
admin
Hey, a #dailyzoo suggestion --! I like those!
So, wait, though.... is this specimen in some sort of case?
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Mr._Kevvy
in response to DZM's comment.
re: "So, wait, though.... is this specimen in some sort of case?"
Sitting in the standard herbaria storage lockers (check the cabinets behind the fella with the red and white shirt on the start page) if there there are many "poisoned"
specimens they will slowly fill the cabinet with mercury vapor. When a hapless botanist opens the door, most of it will come out at once thus constituting a health hazard.Posted
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I spy a B-movie here... something like a flattened, dried water moccasin emerging into hideous un-life through a combination of radiation and mercury vapours, emerging to strike at hapless botanists, growing to a gigantic size and terrorizing Valdosta.
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DZM
admin
So the specimens will not be individually encased... and are not really individually dangerous, but they will be stored together and can become dangerous in groups, because of the accumulation of mercury vapor?
Just want to make sure I have it right in case I do indeed do a DailyZoo post!
Do you see many of these POISONED ones, too, or is this rare?
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Mr._Kevvy
They can be individually dangerous when handled, but yes storing together in groups multiplies the vapor accumulation so just being around them is hazardous.
And you may want to run all this by a real botanist just to make sure before publication. 😉
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