The Plant Press

A summer of grape escapes: A field work photo journal

From Plant Press, Vol. 24, No. 4, October 2021.

Jun Wen recently completed two ‘Grape Escapes’—one collecting trip to the southeast United States (August 30 – September 10, 2021) with Sue Lutz, and the other collecting trip to Texas and western Louisiana (September 19-28, 2021) with her long-time collaborator Stefanie Ickert-Bond (University of Alaska, Fairbanks). Wen and her colleagues made important collections and observations throughout the southeast (especially South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and Kentucky), as well as Texas and western Louisiana, targeting grapevines (Vitis, Vitaceae), hickories (Carya, Juglandaceae), and rattlebox (Crotalaria, Fabaceae).

Jun Wen and Stefanie Ickert-Bond

While in Texas, Wen and Ickert-Bond visited the John Fairey Garden near Hempstead. Having a unique artistic design by its founder John Fairey, the Garden is a hidden treasure with extraordinary collections from Mexico. The collecting team enjoyed getting to know the Garden via an introduction from botanist Adam Black via FaceBook. The team was given a tour by Executive Director Randy Twaddle and horticultural botanist Wally Wilkins.

The two trips were among many recent grape escapes that Wen had led, setting a foundation to wrap up the taxonomic revision of North American grapes. The studies of Carya and Crotalaria are collaborative work with colleagues at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for DNA-based species identification assay development.

A virtual summer experience for natural history interns

From Plant Press, Vol. 24, No. 4, October 2021.

Natural History Research Experiences (NHRE) was a Research Experience for Undergraduates site at the National Museum of Natural History sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Each summer (2010-2021) NHRE welcomed approximately15-18 exceptional undergraduate students from around the United States to the museum for a 10-week-long research project guided by an NMNH scientist. NMNH curators Liz Cottrell (Mineral Sciences) and Gene Hunt (Paleobiology) co-Directed NHRE.

Isabella Schrader

This year, NHRE intern Isabella Schrader worked with Rebecca Dikow, Mike Trizna, and Alex White (Smithsonian’s Office of the Chief Information Officer), Paul Frandsen and Ashlyn Powell (Brigham Young University), as well as Botany’s Eric Schuettpelz, on a project called, “Using machine learning tools to quantify mercuric chloride staining across digitized herbarium specimens.” The goal of the project was to update a machine learning model that identifies mercuric chloride staining on digitized herbarium sheets and apply it to all digitized species housed at the U.S. National Herbarium.

Schrader presented her results at a NHRE virtual research symposium held for Smithsonian staff on August 5, 2021. All 14 NHRE interns presented their e-posters using the Gather.Town app, a platform that allows participants to move and interact freely within a virtual space using an avatar. The symposium was well-attended by NMNH staff, associates, and volunteers.

Reflections on the Botany 2021 virtual meeting

From Plant Press, Vol. 24, No. 4, October 2021.

The Botany 2021 meeting (July 19-23) was held virtually for the second year in a row. The virtual meeting was once again a great success as the virtual platform enabled nearly 2,000 participants from 63 countries to attend the meeting. The 2020 virtual Botany meeting ran smoothly, and the 2021 conference built off of last year’s success by lowering costs, increasing accessibility, and making available more content on-demand for participants. The low registration fees were great for facilitating access to the conference for undergraduate students and researchers from developing countries, many of whom may not have been able to attend the meeting if it was held on-site. This year, half of the attendees to the conference were students and 10 percent were post-doctoral fellows; the student prices were lowered from last year to optimize accessibility. Botany conference organizers and the participating societies are working together to decide how to include positive aspects of the virtual conference format into future in-person meetings.

Several members of the Botany Department (Richie Hodel, Gabe Johnson, Eric Schuettpelz, Laurence Skog, Alice Tangerini, Warren Wagner, Jun Wen, Ken Wurdack, and Liz Zimmer) participated in the meetings. Additionally, other people associated with the National Museum of Natural History or other Smithsonian research centers participated (Eleinis Avila-Lovera, Rebecca Dikow, Bill DiMichele, Simone Evans, Dalila Lara, Melissa McCormick, Isabella Schrader, Andy Simpson, William Taylor, Mike Trizna, and Eranga Wettewa).

One in three tree species face extinction, study finds

From Plant Press, Vol. 24, No. 4, October 2021.

Thirty percent of the world's trees are threatened with extinction, according to the new State of the World's Trees report. The report, compiling work led by the Global Tree Assessment (GTA) and launched by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), is one of the first assessments of the world's threatened trees and is the culmination of five years of research to identify major gaps in tree conservation efforts.

Examining the globe’s 60,000 tree species, it reveals that 30% (17,500) of tree species are currently at risk of extinction. That means there are twice the number of threatened tree species globally than threatened mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles combined. 

The report reveals that globally over 440 tree species are right on the brink of extinction, meaning they have fewer than 50 individuals remaining in the wild. These species are found all over the world, from the Mulanje cedar in Malawi, with only a few remaining individuals on one mountain, to a species of alani (Melicope balloui) found only in Hawai’i that has not recently been sighted in the wild.

The report finds hope for the future, however, as conservation efforts led by the botanical community worldwide are growing. Identifying which trees are at risk and ensuring these are protected is the most effective way to prevent extinction and restore endangered species. The report reveals that at least 64% of all tree species can be found in at least one protected area, and about 30% can be found in botanic gardens, seed banks, or other ex situ collections, but further action is needed.