The Plant Press

The Franck family succulent portraiture

From Plant Press, Vol. 23, No. 1, January 2020.

By Julia Beros

In 2017, botany contractor Victor Shields was tasked with reorganizing the clutter of the Euphorbia cases, and among the sheets of pressed material he found one nearly empty with a small photograph pasted in the upper corner. And soon he found another. And then another, and another. Often in the collections various sheets void of plant material are stored with herbarium specimens, dubbed “literature” they are usually write-ups and keys to species and synonyms or cut-outs from articles with relevant information. The photographs Shields found, though sparse with information, were part of a more intricate history of succulent research.

At the turn of the 20^th century J.N. Rose (noted motorcycle-riding botanist and curator at the Smithsonian Institution) along with N.L. Britton (co-founder of the New York Botanical Garden) were the major authorities on Cactaceae, collaborating as well in work on Crassulaceae. Abroad in Germany, Alwin Berger was a prominent figure in succulent botanical research, having worked in gardens throughout Europe he developed an interest in succulents, ultimately publishing multiple monographs and aiding in the nomenclature and evolutionary study of cacti and agaves. Rose and Britton even named a genus Bergerocactus in his honor. He was greatly supported by his fellow succulent enthusiasts, namely Harry Franck, a highly active member of the German Cactus Society. At the time Franck, a hobbyist in Frankfurt, had cultivated one of Europe’s largest living collections of succulents.

His massive collections served the botanical community by providing live specimens, rare even in cultivation, for research. Though he died just before Berger’s publication of Die Sukkulente Euphorbien in 1907, his passion and contributions live on through the photographs of his cultivated specimens gathered by his son Harry Franck, making the illustrations possible for this monograph. Haunting portraits, these statuesque creatures emerging from terra cotta with their names etched onto tags dangling at the nape of their pots, serve as historical research documents, and ethereal momentary impressions of the still steady work of a succulent: arms cutting into the sky as roots do below the surface, hoarding water through CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism).

Photographs of cultived Euphorbia cereiformis, Euphorbia cooperi, and Euphorbia grandidens appear on herbarium sheets in specimen folders.

Rare benthic marine algae species discovered from the deep-water habitats of Bonaire

From Plant Press, Vol. 23, No. 1, January 2020.

David Ballantine, Barrett Brooks, and Gabe Johnson of the Botany Department collaborated on a recent publication in which two rarely reported and one newly described species of benthic marine algae were reported from deep-water habitats in Bonaire, representing the first Caribbean reports of each. The study was published in Botanica Marina (62: 587-593; 2019).

Archestenogramma profundum is previously known only from its type collection in Bermuda, and the rarely reported Halymenia integra is known originally from its type locality at Cabo Frio, Brazil. The newly described Verdigellas discoidea represents the fourth species in a rarely encountered genus first described in 1994 by James Norris and David Ballantine. Verdigellas species have an extremely simple morphology in which small spherical cells are embedded within a gelatinous matrix. Like the other members of their order, Palmophyllales, they survive today almost exclusively in deep water.

Benthic marine algae reported for the first time in the Caribbean (from left): Verdigellas discoidea, Archestenogramma profundum, and Halymenia integra. (photos by Barry Brown)

The mesophotic realm, loosely defined as marine low light environments at depths from 30 - 150 m, has in recent years proven to be a rich source of undiscovered biodiversity, in terms of both fauna and flora. Given the technological difficulties and expense involved with working at such depths, only a small percent of such habitats has been examined and only a handful of deep-water programs have existed in the Caribbean region.

Johnson did the genetic barcoding for the newly described species. His findings supported the new species designation for the collection and underscored the need for more molecular resources to be developed in order to understand the evolution of these early-branching lineages of green plants.

These collections were made in 2017 while Brooks participated in a NMNH Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) expedition, using the deep research submersible Curasub (http://www.substation-curacao.com).

The 2020 Smithsonian Botanical Symposium, May 15, to explore plant symbioses

Plant symbiosis: The good, the bad, and the complicated

The Smithsonian’s Department of Botany and the United States Botanic Garden will hold the 2020 Smithsonian Botanical Symposium, “Plant symbiosis: The good, the bad, and the complicated,” at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., on May 15, 2020.

Plants, like all organisms, exist in collaboration and competition with other life forms. As primary producers, plants form the basis of most food webs. In many cases, they also depend on insects, vertebrate animals, bacteria, and/or fungi to survive and reproduce. Sometimes, these interactions are especially close and long lasting and such symbioses are among the most fascinating relationships in the natural world. The 18^th Smithsonian Botanical Symposium will explore current research in the diversity of plant symbioses, examining the relationships plants have with insects, fungi, bacteria, and even other plants. It will culminate with a panel Q&A session followed by poster presentations and a reception at the United States Botanic Garden. Speakers will include botanists, ecologists, microbiologists, and geneticists, whose research unravels the complicated relationships that plants have with their collaborators and competitors in the natural world.

In addition, the 18^th José Cuatrecasas Medal in Tropical Botany will be awarded at the Symposium. This prestigious award is presented annually to an international scholar who has contributed significantly to advancing the field of tropical botany. The award is named in honor of Dr. José Cuatrecasas, a pioneering botanist who spent many years working in the Department of Botany at the Smithsonian, and devoted his career to plant exploration in tropical South America.

Call for Posters
Abstracts for poster presentations may be emailed to sbs@si.edu. Topic must be related to the study of plant symbioses (e.g., lichen, mycorrhizae, pollination, root nodules, seed dispersal) and contain original research. The deadline for abstract submission is April 10, 2020. Abstract submissions should include the following:

• Author(s) name(s) including affiliation(s) and email address(es).
• List the title in sentence case.
• Titles are limited to 150 characters.
• Abstracts may not exceed 1,500 characters including spaces.
• Posters should be no larger than 30" x 40" (portrait orientation).
• Presenting authors are required to attend the poster session (6:30 pm – 8:30 pm) to take advantage of opportunities to discuss their work with symposium participants.

Times and Locations
Symposium: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Baird Auditorium, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History
Reception and Poster Presentations: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at U.S. Botanic Garden

Registration
Attendees must register online at https://usbg.doubleknot.com/event/2020-smithsonian-botanical-symposium/2627079. Email sbs@si.edu for more information.

Vicki Funk: Appreciations and reflections

From Plant Press, Vol. 23, No. 1, January 2020.

The Department of Botany received a great number of messages expressing sympathy and condolences upon the passing of our friend and colleague, Vicki Funk. Here are just a few.

Kristen Michelle Van Neste

] Kristen Michelle van Neste (second from left) with Vicki Funk (center), Morgan Gostel (far right), and fellow interns at the U.S. Botanic Garden in 2015. (photo by Hilary-Morgan Watt)

I had the pleasure of working with Vicki Funk while I was a botany intern at NMNH. She taught me that after a hard day in the field, it is important to treat yourself. Vicki always bought the two of us a scoop of ice cream before returning to the office. She taught me not to take work so seriously by purchasing a bright blue wagon for me to pull my research equipment in and telling me stories of how she used to ride a scooter to meetings that were in the adjacent building. She taught me not to focus on myself but listen to the ideas of others. There was always time to talk in her office, no matter how much work she needed to complete. She taught me to treat everyone equally. She gave me, a lowly intern, the same respect she gave the Secretary of the Smithsonian. Everyone was equal in her eyes. Most importantly, Vicki Funk taught me how to have fun while conducting meaningful science. She was always the first to laugh at herself, to smile in the morning, and to get her work done before catching the afternoon metro home. When I think of the Smithsonian, I think of Vicki’s office filled with sunflower decorations and knick-knacks. I think of her constant smile and her admirable confidence. Vicki Funk was as beautiful as the sunflowers she studied. She will be dearly missed.