The Plant Press

Orchids Through Darwin's Eyes

From Plant Press, Vol. 12, No. 1 from January 2009.

The 15^th Annual Orchid Show will be on display at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in the special exhibition gallery off the Museum’s Rotunda. The show is a joint presentation of the Smithsonian Institution Horticulture Division and the U.S. Botanic Garden, hosted by NMNH. The show runs from 24 January through 26 April.

The exhibit titled “Orchids through Darwin’s Eyes” celebrates the world of orchids, the 200^th birthday of Charles Darwin, and the 150^th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species. Orchids were studied by Charles Darwin (1809–1882), and influenced his formulation of theories of natural selection and evolution. His 1862 book On the Various Contrivances by which British and Foreign Orchids are Fertilised by Insects, and on the Good Effects of Intercrossing focused on their pollination biology and adaptation and the rare first edition of this work is on display in the exhibit.Since then, orchids have starred in scientific studies on plant adaptations. This exhibit explores the world of orchids and their adaptations and evolution through the eyes of Darwin and those he influenced—naturalists, horticulturists, and scientists who continue to find new insights and curious surprises while working with these captivating plants.

The exhibit displays live plants but also features the first undisputed fossil evidence of orchids—a piece of Dominican amber entombing a bee with orchid pollinia on its back. The amber specimen is on loan from Harvard University and will be its first public display since being described and featured on the cover of Nature in 2007 (448: 1042-1045).

The Museum was involved with developing the exhibit script with Sally Love in the NMNH Office of Exhibits serving as Exhibit Developer, working on the scientific content with museum botanist Ken Wurdack. Over-all responsibility for the exhibit came from the Horticulture Division, working in cooperation with the Office of Exhibits Central.

'Partners in Evolution' Opens at NMNH

From Plant Press, Vol. 11, No. 2 from April 2008.

On February 15, the Partners in Evolution: Butterflies + Plants opened to the public. This unique, immersive exhibition gives visitors the opportunity not only to observe the ways in which butterflies, plants, and other animals have evolved, adapted, and diversified over tens of millions of years but to walk through the enclosed, climate- controlled, tropical garden and interact with these beautiful butterflies as they flutter around the pavilion.

At any one time, the 1,200 square foot pavilion houses approximately 400 butterflies made up of 30 to 40 different species from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Australia. A staff of 4 receives butterfly chrysalides from suppliers in Costa Rica, Florida, Malaysia, and Kenya. They make sure the butterflies emerge properly from their chrysalides, are released into the butterfly pavilion, and that the plants are maintained. The average lifespan of the butterflies is from 2 to 4 weeks so new butterflies must be purchased on a regular basis. Horticulture staff works full-time to procure and propagate pesticide-free plants for use in the pavilion.

The exhibition was curated by John Kress and Ken Wurdack (Botany), Ted Schultz and Robert Robbins (Entomology), and Conrad Labandiera (Paleontology). Other core members of the team were Bill Donnelly (Horticulture), Nate Erwin (Education), Sally Love, Elizabeth Musteen, and Sharon Barry (Exhibits). Access to the exhibit is through timed tickets which are available at any of the IMAX ticket counters. 

'The Lost Amazon' Opens at NMNH

From Plant Press, Vol. 11, No. 2 from April 2008.

Harvard botanist Richard Evan Schultes (1915-2001) spent twelve years in the Colombian Amazon during the 1940s and early 1950s with the goal of exploring territory previously untraveled by any modern naturalist. He spent these years mapping uncharted rivers, living among two dozen Indian tribes and collecting some 25,000 botanical specimens, including 300 new species and more than 2,000 medicinal plants. Schulte’s was able to capture some of his discoveries and observations on camera. His photographs and memorabilia are the focus of a temporary exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History entitled, “The Lost Amazon: The Photographic Journey of Legendary Botanist Richard Evans Schultes,” on view April 17 through October 31.

“Richard Evan Schultes is a towering figure in the field of ethnobotany,” said Cristián Samper, acting secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. “As a former student of Dr. Schultes, I am gratified that the Smithsonian is honoring his legacy with this tribute to his extraordinary life.”

DNA Exhibit Opens at the U.S. Botanic Garden

From Plant Press, Vol. 10, No. 2 from April 2007.

A new exhibit, DNA Identification of Plants—Reading the Hidden Barcode, has opened at the U.S. Botanic Garden exploring how DNA from plants can be used to develop a rapid and accurate method of species identification. Co-sponsored by the NMNH Department of Botany, Nature’s Barcodes is on display at the USBG Conservatory through June 10.

In devising a natural barcode, scientists study an organism’s unique DNA sequences, which can be easily extracted from tissue samples and then analyzed. Conceivably, this could be done for every species on the planet. The new exhibit tracks the progress of an ongoing joint project to develop such genetic “barcodes” for plants, as well as barcode “readers.” The project uses medicinal plants as a pilot study, also co-sponsored by the Botanic Garden and NMNH.

New Ethnobotany Exhibit at NMNH

From Plant Press, Vol. 10, No. 2 from April 2007.

 

In February, with guests from the Cultural Institute of Mexico and the Smithsonian Institution Latino Center in attendance, Cristián Samper unveiled the new North Lobby Research Case in the National Museum of Natural History. Entitled “Ethnobotany of the Southwest United States and Mexico,” this new exhibit results from three years of work by Rusty Russell, Bill Merrill and Jamie Whitacre to organize and prepare the data from more than 30,000 Botany and Anthropology specimens, personal journals, and archives materials. Using these collections, the bi-lingual exhibit tells six stories that describe the manner in which local cultures used specific plants more than 100 years ago. It also chronicles the work of Edward Palmer, whose collections of both plants and cultural objects have contributed significantly to the study of ethnobotany in North America. 

Celebrating Orchids

From Plant Press, Vol. 10, No. 2 from April 2007.

On 3 March, the Smithsonian Institution’s Horticulture Services Division and the U.S. Botanic Garden sponsored a family festival at the National Museum of Natural History in conjunction with the exhibition, Orchids: Take a Walk on the Wild Side. Visitors enjoyed an array of activities for the whole family including coloring botanical prints, taking a scavenger hunt with binoculars, watching orchid-potting demonstrations, asking experts how to grow orchids at home, an orchid murder mystery storytelling and more. Nearly 5,000 visitors participated. Alice Tangerini participated by doing demonstrations of orchid drawing. Tattoos of Tangerini's orchid images were printed for the visiting children. Beth Page, Annie Ceccaraini, Barbara Faust, and others from the Horticultural Services Division planned the many activities with the assistance of Hal Banks in the NMNH Office of Guest Services.

Orchids: Take a Walk on the Wild Side

From Plant Press, Vol. 10, No. 1 from January 2007.

The 13^th Annual Orchid Show is now on display at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in the special exhibition gallery off the Museum’s Rotunda. The show is a joint presentation of the Smithsonian Institution Horticulture Division and the U.S. Botanic Garden, hosted by NMNH. The show runs from 27 January through 22 April.

The Museum was involved with developing the exhibit script with Sally Love in the NMNH Office of Exhibits serving as Exhibit Developer, working with museum botanists Robert Faden, W. John Kress, Gary Krupnick, and Ken Wurdack, as well as Ted Schultz and Brian Harris from the NMNH Department of Entomology. Over-all responsibility for the exhibit came from the Horticulture Division, working in cooperation with the Office of Exhibits Central.

The exhibit reveals not only the beauty and diversity of orchids, but also focuses on their natural history, evolution, and conservation. This is the first Smithsonian orchid exhibit with major input from Smithsonian scientists, and many of the labels focus on science, particularly those explaining the evolution of orchids and their adaptation to diverse environments.

Visitors follow in the footsteps of Smithsonian researchers from the forest floor up into the tree canopy to learn about orchids in their natural habitats. The exhibition recreates a tropical rainforest bursting with gorgeous orchids and even includes the mock up of a small research station. Orchids are displayed naturalistically rather than submerged in mulch as is typical for such exhibits. Information on orchid ecology, pollination biology, symbioses, evolution, phylogeny and conservation is interspersed on display panels throughout the exhibit. Scientific research at NMNH, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), and Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) also is mentioned in this wonderful new exhibit.

Exploring Our Roots

From Plant Press Vol. 9, Issue 2, from April 2006.

The Department has teamed up with the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG), the museum’s “Botanical Partner on the Mall,” to present the exhibit “The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842: Ports of Call” at the USBG Conservatory, 8 April through 4 June. Every spring the Smithsonian and USBG celebrate the U.S. Exploring Expedition and the legacy of Charles Wilkes by exploring our roots: both institutions’ original collections began with the living plant specimens and the thousands of other artifacts that were collected during the worldwide expedition.

This year’s exhibit focuses on some of the ports of call visited by the expedition – from Rio de Janeiro, to the Antarctic coast (an area later named “Wilkes Land”), to many South Pacific islands, Australia, and South Africa. Visitors can pick up a "passport" at the "Hampton Roads dock" in the Garden Court and sally forth with the Expedition along a Ports of Call trail throughout the Conservatory. At each "port" they stamp their passports and learn about the adventures of a merciless sea captain and his unruly crew. These exotic ports provided provisions, plants, and some of the highly detailed observations that established our young nation as a scientific power. Just as did the U.S. Exploring Expedition, this Ports of Call journey ends near New York harbor in the Conservatory’s West Gallery, where the exhibit display includes Expedition artifacts on loan from the U.S. Naval Academy Museum and a rare dried plant specimen actually collected when the Expedition visited the Oregon Territory in 1841, on loan from the U.S. National Herbarium.

Island Archipelagos: Cauldrons of Evolution

From Plant Press, Vol. 9, No. 1 from January 2006.

“Artocarpus altilis” from the Society Islands by John Frederick Miller, from Captain James Cook's first Pacific voyage (1768-1771) © The Natural History Museum, London

Island archipelagos have long been recognized as unique biological laboratories by
evolutionary biologists. The classic observations by Charles Darwin on adaptive radiation in
finches were made in the Galápagos archipelago and more recently ecological and evolutionary
investigations in the Hawaiian Islands, Eastern Caribbean, and Azores have increased our
understanding of evolutionary processes and the generation of biological diversity.
Characterized by different degrees of isolation from continental floras and faunas, by equable
maritime climates, and by often reduced biodiversity and trophic structure, islands often
contain unique biotas that experience different selective pressures from those that dominate
mainland ecosystems.

Added to this mix of biological richness are two kinds of storms – physical storms in the
form of hurricanes that regularly pass through the island chains and the “storm” of human
population growth and development. The former storms, along with other types of natural
disturbance such as volcanic activity, have played an important role in the evolution of the
biota. The latter “storm” now threatens the continued existence and ecological integrity of both
terrestrial and marine ecosystems of island archipelagos. The Symposium will explore the role
that island archipelagos have played in our understanding of ecological and evolutionary
processes as well as the future conservation of these unique ecosystems.

The speakers at the Symposium will be Bruce G. Baldwin (University of California at
Berkeley); Javier Francisco-Ortega (Florida International University); Ole Hamann (Botanic
Garden, University of Copenhagen); Mike Maunder (Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden);
Robert Ricklefs (University of Missouri-St. Louis); and Warren Wagner (National Museum of
Natural History).

Department Staff "Go Where They Grow" at USBG

From Plant Press, Vol. 7 No. 4 from October 2004.

A new exhibit featuring the plant exploration work of Department staff botanists opened at the United States Botanic Garden on 22 July. Cosponsored by the Department, “Going Where They Grow: Exploring on the Front Lines of Botany” will be on display in the USBG Conservatory’s Plant Exploration room through 14 November.

Department staff are featured in a new exhibit at the United States Botanic Garden, "Going Where They Grow."

From the Pacific to the Caribbean, from Mexico to Southeast Asia, plant species – even entire plant communities – are vanishing along with the knowledge of their usefulness to native cultures. Some individuals are at work to save what is left, while others are struggling to know what is there. Staff botanists travel throughout the world, surveying disappearing natural habitats and preserving specimens for the U.S. National Herbarium and for other botanic institutions around the globe. Their work is key to preserving each country’s national heritage as the scientists record local ethnobotanical knowledge and assist in each nation’s race against the loss of biodiversity.

By focusing on four distinct regions around the world (the work of Warren Wagner in Hawaii, Pedro Acevedo in Hispaniola, Paul Peterson in Mexico, and W. John Kress in Myanmar) and including living specimens of plants collected during travels to those regions, “Going Where They Grow” gives visitors a taste of “roughing it” on long, arduous plant expeditions to remote areas. Also featured in the exhibit are “tools of the trade” that showcases plant-collecting equipment and other paraphernalia used by botanists on expedition. More information about the exhibit is available on the Department Web page <http://persoon.si.edu/goinggrow/goinggrow.html> and the USBG Web page <http://www.usbg.gov/education/events/Going-Where-They-Grow-Exploring-on-the-Front-Lines-of-Botany.cfm>.