Paeonia rockii dried flower specimen and preparation method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses a paeonia rockii dried flower specimen and a preparation method thereof, and belongs to the technical field of plant specimen processing. According to the method, the attractiveness is improved through pretreatment, the shape is kept through gradient drying, then the stability is enhanced through the shaping liquid, and the ornamental value and durability of the paeonia rockii dried flower specimen are remarkably improved; the paeonia rockii dried flower specimen obtained by the method is bright in flower color, clear and visible in paeonia rockii characteristic, high in petal form integrity and long in specimen storage life; the method has excellent application value in the fields of gardening and handicrafts.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of plant specimen processing, and particularly relates to a dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora and a preparation method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The purple-spotted peony has high ornamental value due to the distinct color spot at the base of its petals. However, existing technologies are unable to effectively preserve its unique color and morphology, reducing the commercial value of dried flower specimens. Traditional methods for preparing dried purple-spotted peony specimens often use natural shade drying, hot air drying, or microwave drying. However, these existing technologies present the following challenges: Purple-spotted peony petals are relatively thick and their pigment is unstable, so conventional drying can easily cause them to fade, brown, or deform. Furthermore, existing methods struggle to simultaneously preserve the three-dimensional form of the flower and its natural texture. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention provides a dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora and a preparation method thereof, which solves the problems of fading, deformation, long production cycle and short storage period of dried flower specimens in the prior art.

[0004] In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: to provide a method for preparing a dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora, comprising the following steps: S1: Select purple-spotted peony flowers in the early bud opening stage, cut off the ovary and excess branches and leaves, retain the pedicel, and then immerse the flowers in the pretreatment solution for 10-15 minutes to obtain pretreated flowers; S2: Pre-drying the pretreated flowers in an environment with a humidity of 50-60% and a temperature of 30-35°C for 12-18 hours to obtain pre-dried flowers; S3: The pre-dried flowers are subjected to secondary drying until the moisture content of the petals is ≤8%, thereby obtaining dried flowers; S4: Spray the dried flowers with a fixing agent, and then place the dried flowers in a dark environment at 20-25°C for 24 hours to obtain a dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora.

[0005] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the method provided by the present invention improves the aesthetics through pretreatment, maintains the shape through gradient drying, and then enhances the stability with a setting liquid, thereby significantly improving the ornamental value and durability of the dried flower specimens of purple-spotted peony; the method is simple, convenient, easy to operate, and has high application value in gardening and handicrafts.

[0006] On the basis of the above technical solution, the present invention can also be improved as follows.

[0007] Furthermore, the pretreatment solution is an aqueous solution containing 0.5-1.5% citric acid and 0.1% ascorbic acid.

[0008] The beneficial effects of adopting further technical solutions are: citric acid lowers the pH value of the solution, creating a strongly acidic environment. The activity of polyphenol oxidase (the key enzyme that causes browning of petals) is significantly inhibited at this pH, blocking the enzymatic browning reaction chain. Ascorbic acid is a strong reducing agent that can reduce oxidized quinones in petals to colorless phenols, reversing early browning. The combination of the two effectively inhibits the degradation of anthocyanins and becomes a key factor in protecting the color of dried flowers.

[0009] Furthermore, the secondary drying is to place the pre-dried flowers on a embossing plate and dry them at 30-50° C. for 18-24 hours until the moisture content of the petals is ≤8%.

[0010] The beneficial effect of adopting the further technical solution is that the present invention adopts a staged gradient drying method, which avoids shrinkage and deformation of the petals due to one-time drying, and ensures the integrity and aesthetics of the flowers.

[0011] Furthermore, the setting agent is an aqueous solution containing 2% chitosan and 0.5% glycerol.

[0012] Furthermore, the spraying amount of the setting agent sprayed on the dried flowers in S4 is 2 mL per flower.

[0013] The beneficial effects of adopting a further technical solution are: after drying, the chitosan solution can form a transparent, tough film that tightly wraps the surface of the petals, branches and leaves of the dried flowers. This film can effectively fix the shape of the dried flowers and prevent the petals and leaves from breaking, deforming or falling off due to slight touch during subsequent processing, display or transportation, thereby significantly improving the mechanical strength and durability of the specimens; glycerin is an extremely strong moisturizer and plasticizer, which can absorb trace moisture in the air, so that the film formed by the chitosan and the fibrous tissue of the dried flowers themselves maintain a certain softness and elasticity; the combination of chitosan and glycerin enables the shaped dried flower specimens to maintain a clear shape and not be easily damaged, while retaining a natural soft touch and not being easy to break, and its excellent environmental protection and biodegradability meet the requirements of effectiveness and safety at the same time.

[0014] The invention also provides a dried peony flower specimen prepared by the method for preparing the dried peony flower specimen.

[0015] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the purple-spotted peony dried flower specimen provided by the present invention has bright flower color, clearly visible purple spot characteristics, a flower color retention rate of ≥90%, high petal morphological integrity, a long specimen storage period, and the flowers remain free of deformation, mildew, and color change after being stored for more than 3 years, and have excellent application value in the fields of gardening and handicrafts. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 This is a physical picture of the dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora prepared in Example 1; Figure 2This is a real picture of the dried flower specimen of purple-spotted peony prepared for comparison. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The specific implementation methods of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the embodiments.

[0018] Example 1 A method for preparing a dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora comprises the following steps: S1: Select purple-spotted peony flowers in the early bud opening stage, cut off the ovary and excess branches and leaves, retain the pedicel, and then immerse the flowers in a pretreatment solution (an aqueous solution containing 1.1% citric acid and 0.1% ascorbic acid) for 10 minutes to obtain pretreated flowers; S2: Pre-drying the pretreated flowers in an environment with a humidity of 55% and a temperature of 35° C. for 15 hours to obtain pre-dried flowers; S3: Place the pre-dried flowers on an embossing plate, then transfer the embossing plate to a 45°C oven and dry for 24 hours until the moisture content of the petals is ≤8%, thereby obtaining dried flowers; S4: Spray 2 mL of a fixative (a solution containing 2% chitosan and 0.5% glycerol) onto each dried flower, and then place the dried flowers in a dark, 22°C environment for 24 hours to obtain dried flower specimens of Paeonia lactiflora.

[0019] Example 2 A method for preparing a dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora comprises the following steps: S1: Select purple-spotted peony flowers in the early bud opening stage, cut off the ovary and excess branches and leaves, retain the pedicel, and then immerse the flowers in a pretreatment solution (an aqueous solution containing 0.5% citric acid and 0.1% ascorbic acid) for 15 minutes to obtain pretreated flowers; S2: Pre-drying the pretreated flowers in an environment with a humidity of 50% and a temperature of 30° C. for 18 hours to obtain pre-dried flowers; S3: Place the pre-dried flowers on an embossing plate, then transfer the embossing plate to a 30°C oven and dry for 24 hours until the moisture content of the petals is ≤8%, thereby obtaining dried flowers; S4: Spray 2 mL of a fixative (aqueous solution containing 2% chitosan and 0.5% glycerol) onto each dried flower, and then place the dried flowers in a dark, 20°C environment for 24 hours to obtain dried flower specimens of Paeonia lactiflora.

[0020] Example 3 A method for preparing a dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora comprises the following steps: S1: Select purple-spotted peony flowers in the early bud opening stage, cut off the ovary and excess branches and leaves, retain the pedicel, and then immerse the flowers in a pretreatment solution (an aqueous solution containing 1.5% citric acid and 0.1% ascorbic acid) for 10 minutes to obtain pretreated flowers; S2: Pre-drying the pretreated flowers in an environment with a humidity of 60% and a temperature of 35° C. for 12 hours to obtain pre-dried flowers; S3: Place the pre-dried flowers on an embossing plate, then transfer the embossing plate to a 50°C oven and dry for 18 hours until the moisture content of the petals is ≤8%, thereby obtaining dried flowers; S4: Spray 2 mL of a fixative (aqueous solution containing 2% chitosan and 0.5% glycerol) onto each dried flower, and then place the dried flowers in a dark, 25°C environment for 24 hours to obtain dried flower specimens of Paeonia lactiflora.

[0021] Comparative Example A method for preparing a dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora comprises the following steps: S1: Select purple-spotted peony flowers at the initial bud opening stage, and cut off the ovary and excess branches and leaves; S2: Place the trimmed flowers on a embossing board, and place the embossing board in a ventilated, dark, 20°C environment for 7 days until the petals become brittle and hard, thereby obtaining a dried flower specimen of the purple-spotted peony.

[0022] Experimental Example 1 Physical comparison: The dried flower specimens of Paeonia purpurogena obtained in Example 1 and the dried flower specimens of Paeonia purpurogena obtained in the comparative example were observed and compared. Figures 1 and 2 As shown, the purple-spotted peony dried flower specimen prepared by the present invention has bright color and low petal breakage rate. The purple-spotted peony dried flower specimen prepared in the comparative example has dull color and higher petal breakage rate than that in Example 1. From the perspective of appearance comparison, the purple-spotted peony dried flower specimen prepared in Example 1 is more beautiful.

[0023] Experimental Example 2 The dried flower specimens of Peony purpurogenum prepared in Examples 1 to 3 and the comparative example were placed in a cool place indoors at room temperature and observed three years after the preparation of the peony flower specimens. The morphological changes, mildew, and color changes of the three-dimensional dried flower specimens were recorded. The results are shown in Table 1.

[0024] Table 1 Record of dried flower specimens of Paeonia purpurogena

[0025] As can be seen from the above, compared with the traditional drying method, the preparation method of the dried flower specimen of Paeonia purpurogenum provided by the present invention inhibits the degradation of anthocyanins through pretreatment, avoids petal shrinkage and deformation to maintain the shape through gradient drying, and then uses a setting liquid to enhance stability. The result is a dried flower specimen of Paeonia purpurogenum with bright petal color, complete petal shape, and long-term storage stability.

[0026] Although the specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail in conjunction with the embodiments, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this patent. Within the scope described by the claims, various modifications and variations that can be made by those skilled in the art without creative work still fall within the scope of protection of this patent.

Claims

1. A method for preparing dried flower specimens of Paeonia lactiflora, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1: Select purple-spotted peony flowers in the early bud opening stage, cut off the ovary and excess branches and leaves, retain the pedicel, and then immerse the flowers in the pretreatment solution for 10-15 minutes to obtain pretreated flowers; S2: Pre-drying the pretreated flowers in an environment with a humidity of 50-60% and a temperature of 30-35°C for 12-18 hours to obtain pre-dried flowers; S3: secondary drying the pre-dried flowers until the moisture content of the petals is ≤8%, thereby obtaining dried flowers; S4: Spray the dried flowers with a fixing agent, and then place the dried flowers in a dark environment at 20-25°C for 24 hours to obtain a dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora.

2. The method for preparing the dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora according to claim 1, wherein: The pretreatment solution is an aqueous solution containing 0.5-1.5% citric acid and 0.1% ascorbic acid.

3. The method for preparing the dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora according to claim 1, wherein: The secondary drying is to place the pre-dried flowers on a embossing plate and dry them at 30-50° C. for 18-24 hours until the moisture content of the petals is ≤8%.

4. The method for preparing the dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora according to claim 1, wherein: The setting agent is an aqueous solution containing 2% chitosan and 0.5% glycerol.

5. The method for preparing the dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora according to claim 1, wherein: The spraying amount of the setting agent for the dried flowers in S4 was 2 mL per flower.

6. A dried flower specimen of Paeonia lactiflora obtained by the preparation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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