From Plant Press Vol. 16 no. 4, October 2013
By Julian Campbell
When James Smithson endowed an “establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men,” how could he possibly have imagined the pleasant place that the Smithsonian’s Department of Botany and Herbarium has now become? Located on the 4th and 5th West Wing floors of that massive National Museum of Natural History building, I have been coming here to study every year or two or three since 1982. Almost like going ‘through the looking glass’ one walks up through the exhibit or ascends on the elevator to the secure door, swiping one’s visitor pass for entry. A magical world awaits!
For readers who may not be so familiar with the visiting experience, let me outline highlights of a day recently spent here, checking on some botanical records from Kentucky, where I have been working on an atlas of the state’s vascular flora since about 1990. There are many important old collections of plants from Kentucky at US (the official acronym for this herbarium). Particularly important are the collections of Lucy Braun (1889-1971), who, almost single handedly, documented the flora and vegetation of Kentucky during 1920-1950. I continually maintain a list of collections to check at major herbaria, attempting to verify obscure records or to clarify identifications. My list for US has now gotten down to a handful of really problematic cases, but it will probably never go to zero—since taxonomic issues are never-ending!
Within the first few minutes of poking around in the cabinets, I unearthed a “new record” of Eriophorum virginicum. This cottongrass is common in more northeastern states, but it has virtually disappeared from Kentucky, with only two or three currently known populations. This “new record” was a collection of Robert Runyon in 1928 that has never been assimilated into the state’s Natural Heritage Program database. Through the wizardry of Wikipedia, I discovered that Runyon (previously off my radar-screen) was born in Boyd County, Kentucky, but became an amateur botanist, photographer, curio-shop merchant, and politician in Texas and Mexico.
Between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm, breaking for an excellent lunch and cup of tea at the staff cafeteria downstairs, I was able to check on the following other items of interest:
- Agrimonia striata: drew blank, remains unverified in Kentucky despite old report by Kearney (1893)—where is his collection?
- Cyperus plukenetii: verified Braun’s collection again from McCreary Co., but still no trace of her cataloged collection from Rowan Co.
- Hypericum pseudomaculatum: checked Braun’s collections that she referred to this species, but they are just robust H. punctatum.
- Luzula acuminata var. carolinae: checked Braun’s collection that she initially referred to L. saltuensis, but it is indeed var. carolinae.
- Oenothera nutans: checked Braun’s collection from Menifee Co., which Werner Dietrich had redetermined as O. biennis—rightly so?
- I noted much O. nutans recently at higher elevation in West Virginia, flowering a few weeks earlier than O. biennis at a lower elevation.
- Polygala nuttalii: verified Braun’s collections again from a site in Metcalfe Co., the only records of this southeastern species in Kentucky.
- Polygonum buxiforme: verified Braun’s collection of this overlooked species from Kenton Co., and discovered McFarland’s from Fayette.
- Prunus allegheniensis: drew blank; Braun initially used this name for a collection from McCreary Co., according to Max Medley (1993).
- Schizachyrium scoparium var. divergens: Braun’s collections (from Christian and Grayson Cos.) and Henry Lix’s (from Mammoth Cave) were annotated as this taxon by Kanchi Gandhi, but Flora of North America excluded it from Kentucky—is it really distinct anyway?
- Ulmus thomasii and U. serotina: checked the few collections of these rather poorly known elms; no new records but more misidentification.
US is one of the most effective large herbaria in the world, partly because its collections are regularly used by many visiting researchers, as well as staff. The open and friendly communication amongst botanists that is fostered here is an essential feature of the operation. Knowledgeable visitors are able to make provisional rearrangements within difficult taxa, using subfolders where appropriate. Doors are open to a range of experts in offices around the collections, so that useful discussion can often proceed and the staff can keep an eye on the visitors in case they get out of line.
Julian Campbell is an Independent Consultant at the Bluegrass Woodland Restoration Center in Lexington, Kentucky
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