Department of Botany & the U.S. National Herbarium TheThe PlantPlant PressPress
New Series - Vol. 9 - No. 2 April-June 2006 Botany Profile Cracking the Botanical Barcode By W. John Kress and Lee A. Weigt* am standing in a Costa Rican rain extracting DNA from a tiny tissue sample ganisms. Although the usefulness and forest,” writes tropical ecologist and of a leaf, flower, or fruit. Appropriately practicality of such DNA-based ap- Iconservationist Dan Janzen in his called “DNA barcoding,” referring to the proaches have long been accepted for foreword to the new book produced by coded labels one finds on grocery store identifying microorganisms for which the Department of Botany, Plant products, DNA barcodes consist of a morphological data are limiting, this Conservation – A Natural History short sequence of DNA between 400 and concept has been applied far most Approach (Krupnick & Kress, 2005; 800 base pairs long successfully in University of Chicago Press). “There are that can be easily animals. Until this a thousand species of plants within a extracted and DNA barcoding past year, plants long stone’s throw. Nearly every one of characterized for can revolutionize have been notably them is a described species with a proper all species on the absent in the early scientific name, a handle that you can planet. These our knowledge of stages of barcoding plug into Google and come up with genetic barcodes plant diversity efforts. something. Nearly all of these species or will be accessed The formation their near relatives have been studied, through a digital of the Consortium sampled, thought about and are in ‘the library and used to identify unknown for the Barcode of Life (CBOL; see literature.’ And I cannot identify a single plants in the field, garden, or market. http://www.barcoding.si.edu/) to create a species. Imagine what it would do to any Once fully developed, DNA barcoding database of documented and vouchered and all aspects of human interactions has the potential to completely revolu- reference sequences to serve as a with wild plants if you could walk up to tionize our knowledge of plant diversity universal DNA barcode library has been any plant anywhere - seedling, sapling, and our relationship to nature. By har- a great stimulus for barcoding efforts 40 m tree, grass, root, pressed leaf, or nessing technological advances in elec- around the world and for all life forms. fallen log - and know in a few seconds its tronics and genetics, DNA barcoding will Under the leadership of Executive scientific name. I need not describe how help many people quickly and cheaply Secretary David Schindel, CBOL, which today’s technology would then let you recognize known species and retrieve is housed here at the National Museum use that name to get into the warehouse information about them, and will speed of Natural History (NMNH) and funded of collective botanical knowledge. That discovery of the thousands of species yet by the Sloan Foundation, has succeeded capacity would transform far more than to be named. Barcoding has the potential in building a community of museums, the science of plant biology, the conser- to provide a vital new tool for appreciat- botanic gardens, aquaria, and research vation of plants, and the superficial ways ing and managing the Earth’s immense and institutions that now numbers over 100 we currently make use of the incredible changing biodiversity. institutes from 39 countries across six diversity of form, physiology, genetics The use of short DNA sequences for continents. The Consortium also and chemistry of plants. It would be to biological identifications was first manages various working groups, e.g., plants what the printing press was to proposed by Paul Herbert and colleagues Technology, Plants, Databasing, Data stories, education, science, law, medi- (2003, Phil. Trans., Ser. B. 270; 2004, Analysis, and DNA, which will help to cine and communication.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101) at the lay the foundation for the massive Janzen’s vision is not fantasy and it is University of Guelph with the ultimate collecting, taxonomy, and sequencing almost here. A rapid and accurate method goal of quick and reliable species-level efforts to come. is now being developed for the quick identifications across all forms of life Despite a delayed start, DNA bar- identification of plant species based on including animals, plants, and microor- Continued on page 9 Travel Pedro Acevedo traveled to Cayenne, lecture on DNA barcoding at the USDA botany; to Richmond, Virginia (2/20 – 2/ French Guiana (1/21 – 2/5) to study research facility. 21) to give two presentations at the Guianese Sapindaceae housed at Herbier Mark Littler, Diane Littler and University of Richmond. de Guyane (CAY). Barrett Brooks to Carrie Bow Cay, Jun Wen traveled to Bolivia (1/7 – 1/ Robert Faden traveled to London, Belize (3/15 – 3/30) to conduct coral 31) to conduct field studies on the neo- UK (2/11 – 3/17) to conduct Commelin- reef research. tropical Prunus (Rosaceae), Araliaceae aceae research at the Royal Botanic Dan Nicolson traveled to St. Louis, and Vitaceae; to New Brunswick, New Garden Kew and the Natural History Missouri (1/6 – 1/19) to attend a meeting Jersey (2/17) to give a seminar at Rutgers Museum, London. of the Editorial Committee of the University; to East Lansing, Michigan (3/ Vicki Funk traveled to Boulder City, Botanical Code at the Missouri Botanical 13 – 3/14) to give a seminar at Michigan Nevada (1/6 – 1/9) to attend as President- Garden and to work on Taxonomic State University; and to Paris, France and elect the council meeting of the Interna- Literature, Ed. 2, Suppl. F-G. London, England (3/19 – 3/28) to study tional Biogeography Society; to Atlanta, Paul Peterson and Robert Soreng the Asian and New World Araliaceae and Georgia (1/11 – 1/14) to attend a meeting traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina (3/1 – Vitaceae at the herbaria of the Paris of the Biodiversity Science Education 4/12) to collect grasses throughout Museum (P), Kew Gardens (K), and the Initiative Task Force to address questions Argentina. British Museum (BM). concerning the gaps in biodiveristy Rusty Russell traveled to Cambridge, Kenneth Wurdack traveled to Davis, knowledge; and to Gainesville, Florida (3/ Massachusetts (3/28 – 4/1) to conduct California (1/22 – 1/29) to work on the 9 – 3/11) to attend as Treasurer the mid- research on the Wilkes Collection in the unfinished Euphorbiaceae projects of the year council meeting of the Society of herbarium library and archives at Harvard late Grady Webster at the University of Systematic Biology. University. California Davis; and to Gainesville, Carol Kelloff traveled to George- Stanwyn Shetler traveled to Rich- Florida (2/17 – 2/19) to attend a National town, Guyana (3/7 – 3/25) to worked on mond, Virginia (3/11) to present the Science Foundation, Assembling the Tree the plant and animal collections at the opening talk in the annual workshop of the of Life (AToL) grant participant meeting Centre for the Study of Biological Diver- Virginia Native Plant Society at the at the University of Florida. sity, University of Guyana. University of Richmond. Elizabeth Zimmer traveled to New W. John Kress traveled to Dominica, Laurence Skog traveled to Sarasota, York, New York (1/27 – 1/29) to tour the St. Kitts and St. Vincent (3/6 – 3/17) with Florida (3/5 – 3/12) to work at the frozen tissue and laboratory facilities at graduate student Vinita Gowda to Gesneriad Identification Center at Marie the American Museum of Natural History conduct Heliconia research; and to Selby Botanical Gardens. and to participate as a judge in a science Logan, Utah (3/30 – 3/31) to give a Alain Touwaide and Emanuela and robotics competition. Appetiti traveled to Athens, Greece and Naples, Pompeii, and Padua, Italy (1/23 – The Plant Press 2/2) and to Istanbul, Turkey (3/8 – 3/22) to conduct research on the history of New Series - Vol. 9 - No. 2 Visitors Chair of Botany Visitors W. John Kress Akiko Soejima, Osaka Prefecture Library research and H.A. Allard collec- ([email protected]) University, Japan; Vitaceae (9/28-3/25). tions of Bull Run Mountains (1/12). EDITORIAL STAFF Ze-Long Nie, Kunming Institute of Tom Gardner, University of Maryland; Editor Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Ailanthus altissima (Simaroubaceae) (1/ Gary Krupnick Eastern Himalayan conservation and bio- 13). ([email protected]) diversity, and molecular biogeography of Northern Hemisphere disjunct plants (10/ Joanne Rudolph, Janet Sandberg and News Contacts 10-6/9). Ann Schwendener, Earthwatch Institute; MaryAnn Apicelli, Robert Faden, Ellen Medicinal plants of antiquity (1/16-1/20). Farr, Shirley Maina, George Russell, Alice Mauricio Diazgranados, Herbario Pon- Tangerini, and Elizabeth Zimmer tificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Peter Hoch, Missouri Botanical Garden; Onagraceae (1/17-2/4). The Plant Press is a quarterly publication provided Colombia; Cuatrecasas specimens and free of charge. If you would like to be added to the archives (10/17-2/15). Caroline Solazzo, Smithsonian Center mailing list, please contact Dr. Gary Krupnick at: for Materials Research and Education Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution, PO Michael Sundue, New York Botanical (SCMRE); Pinaceae (1/19). Box 37012, NMNH MRC-166, Washington, DC Garden; Grammitidaceae (1/5). 20013-7012, or by E-mail: [email protected]. Kimberley Fisher and Susan Leopold, Lynn Clark, Iowa State University; Chus- Web site: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botany Oak Spring Garden Library, Virginia; quea (Poaceae) (1/24-1/26). Continued on page 5 Page 2 A Preliminary Conservation Assessment of Vascular Plants by 2010: Impossible! Or is it? Chair ne of the most ambitious and critical goals of inventory records located in international, national, the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and local herbaria, until recently has been under- With Ois Target 2: A preliminary assessment of utilized. With the conservation status of all known plant species, The time has come for herbarium specimens to at national, regional and international levels by play a central role in determining preliminary con- the year 2010. Yet with an assessment of the conser- servation assessments. With over two centuries of A vation status complete for less than 5% of the world’s collecting efforts in habitats around the world the species of plants how can we even pretend that we will resulting specimens maintained in large, medium, provide an assessment of the remaining 95% in the and small herbaria constitute the best data we next four years? Baloney! Impossible! Dream on! currently have for making conservation assessments. View It has to be admitted that sufficient progress has The information contained in these specimens, not been made on meeting this target. However, the unlike the recommendations of experts, can be World Conservation Union (IUCN) has seriously verified, rechecked and reanalysed, and therefore begun to consider how the challenge of meeting Target increase the scientific importance of the assessment. 2 might be met. At a series of international biodiver- For example, specimen information tells us about the W. sity conferences held in late 2005 (IUCN-SSC Plant rarity and distribution of a species: if only a few John Conservation sub-Committee in Miami, Florida in collections (e.g., one to two) are known to exist or if September followed by the Convention on Biological all collections of a species were collected over 50 Kress Diversity’s Global Partnership for Plant Conserva- years ago from a limited geographic area, then we tion meeting in Dublin, Ireland in October) it was can legitimately infer that today this taxon is rare, emphasized by taxonomists, including scientists from threatened, or possibly even extinct. Numbers of the United States National Herbarium, that the world’s collections, dates of collection, and geographic herbaria have an opportunity to contribute signifi- distribution of collections for each species together cantly to meeting Target 2 through an analysis of the can give us a solid conservation assessment. This vast information contained in preserved plant speci- preliminary list of threatened plant species can then mens. Traditional assessment has been carried out serve as the base-line for a more in-depth analysis of through the cumulative knowledge of plant specialists conservation status by botanical institutions and and plant specialist groups and not based on actual conservation specialists around the world. plant specimens. Action must now be taken to rapidly At the U.S. National Herbarium we have com- assemble the data carried in herbarium specimens. pleted a careful analysis of the value of herbarium Plants are universally recognized as an integral part records to assess conservation status and are devel- of the world’s biological diversity and an essential oping an algorithm to use plant specimen records to natural resource for the planet. At present, a complete provide a verifiable assessment of the conservation inventory of the plants of the world has not been status of the world’s known species of vascular assembled, but it is estimated that the total number of plants. The immensity of the task of assessing over vascular plant species is on the order of 300,000 to 350,000 species is intimidating, especially to 400,000. Of particular concern is the fact that many complete in four years. Therefore, our strategy is to species are threatened by habitat transformation, over- greatly reduce the task by eliminating species from exploitation, alien invasive species, pollution, and consideration that can be quickly assessed as non- climate change and therefore in danger of extinction. threatened. Our 4.7 million specimens can rapidly One of the greatest challenges for today’s society is to tell us which species are common and not in danger, halt the degradation of plant diversity in order to meet which is clearly the majority of species, and thereby the present and future needs of humankind. let us concentrate our assessment efforts, and those The IUCN strategy to reach the goal of a prelimi- of our colleagues in herbaria around the world, on nary assessment aims to gather data on conservation the remaining taxa. We estimate that we can identify status from a number of sources, including species at least two-thirds of known species as non-threat- covered in the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened ened and therefore only need to provide a more Species, assessments by the IUCN SSC Plant Special- critical conservation assessment of the remaining ist Groups, regional and national data sets known to be 100,000 species. The task still remains large, but of high quality (including country Red Lists), and becomes manageable. information from leading plant taxonomic specialists. The U.S. National Herbarium at the Smithsonian The most comprehensive data available for a scientifi- Institution is well-suited to assist in achieving Target cally verifiable conservation assessment, i.e., the 2 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. As information contained in the world’s plant specimen Continued on page 8
Page 3 Renaissance. Museum of Natural History’s Central Staff Touwaide and Emanuela Appetiti Collection Care fund. The storage traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, 8-22 March capacity in the herbarium is so overtaxed Research & to conduct research on the history of that in many places it is impossible to Activities botany. At the library Suleymaniye insert new specimens. These funds, to Kütüphanesi they analyzed manuscripts purchase nine cabinets, will allow a little containing the Arabic translation of breathing room in a section comprising On 20 January, Diane and Mark Littler Dioscorides’ De materia medica; at the the specialties of three staff curators. were featured speakers at the Chapman Archeological Museum they examined The Global Checklist for Compositae School for Seamanship in Stuart, Florida, medical instruments and other related project, co-investigated by Vicki Funk, known worldwide for its advanced training objects; and at the herbarium of the has received $200,000 in funding from in multiple mariner professions. On 23 Department of Pharmaceutical Botany at Electronic Catalogue of Names of Known January they lectured to the Sebastian and the Istanbul Universitesi, they photo- Organisms (ECAT), a program of the Vero Beach Power Squadrons, Sebastian, graphed specimens of plants mentioned in Global Biodiversity Information Facility Florida, on their current research in the De materia medica. Touwaide and Appeti- (GBIF). The funds will cover initiation vast Indian River Lagoon System. The ti made some 1,200 slides corresponding and start-up of the project over the first Littlers also did book presentations at the to some 300 species. During their trip, 18 months. 21st Annual Everglades Coalition Confer- they also visited the Department of ence and the Jensen Beach Barnes & History and Deontology of Medicine at Linda Hollenberg and Robert Sims Noble, on 28 January. Istanbul Universitesi’s Medical Faculty of received an $11,199 Collections Care Cerrahpasa, including a visit to the atelier grant from the National Museum of On 6 -11 January, Dan Nicolson traveled of painting of miniatures reproducing Natural History’s Central Collection Care to St. Louis as a member of the Editorial ancient medical manuscripts, particularly fund. The aims of the project “Diatom Committee of the Botanical Code, now ancient plant representations. Other visits Collection: Type Imaging and Storage being edited to incorporate changes made included the Garden of Medicinal Plants Improvements” are (1) to purchase one during the week-long discussions preced- at the Marmara Universitesi, and the archival storage case for the Environmen- ing the Vienna Congress this last summer. History of Medicine Museum of the tal Protection Agency (EPA) diatom Nicolson has been a member of Editorial Istanbul University. Touwaide delivered collection of ca. 15,000 slides, at risk Committee since Sydney (1979). He three talks during his visit: “Dioscorides’ because of storage in substandard cases, stayed on another week, working on Taxo- Kital al-Hasa’ish in Istanbul Libraries” at and (2) to digitally image the US diatom nomic Literature, Edition 2, Supplement the Department of History and Deontol- types (326 specimens on slides) for F-G. ogy, Istanbul Universitesi, Medical inclusion in the online Botany Type On January 24, Stanwyn Shetler opened Faculty of Cerrahpasa on 17 March; Register
Page 4 more than 10,000 deteriorating speci- one day consulting with Jim Harle on the Lynn Gillespie, Canadian Museum of mens. The data supporting each specimen conservation problems associated with Nature; Poa, Poaceae, and Euphorbiaceae will be collected from specimen labels, older, deteriorating maps. (2/3-2/16). field notebooks, and published and unpublished reports of the four year Rebecca Conner, Arizona State Univer- Mary Lee Archer, Allison Idestrup and journey that touched six continents. For sity (13-17 March): Conner is an accom- Tatiana Riabokin, Earthwatch Institute; each specimen, a high resolution digital plished braillist working with the Mesa Medicinal plants of antiquity (2/6-2/10). County Schools who has returned to image will be generated. By making these Walter Lewis, University of Missouri; data electronically available, global school to execute a career change to Museum Studies. Her specific interest is North American Rosa (Rosaceae) (2/7-2/ access to high quality data and images will 9). be provided to researchers around the in material handling and conservation. world, while simultaneously preserving Conner worked in the imaging lab, the Christopher Hardy, Millersville Univer- these fragile specimens. mounting room, and the herbarium, pro- sity; Geogenanthus (Commelinaceae) (2/ viding significant hands-on experience. 10). Earthwatch has renewed Alain Touwaide She also consulted with conservation research project on Renaissance herbals specialists in the Departments of Paleobi- Chelsea Specht, University of California; for an additional three years. In 2006, he ology and Anthropology. Conner receives Costaceae (2/20-2/21). will receive $90,000 to conduct research her M.S. this spring and plans to enroll in Tonia Schneider, University of Michi- at the National Library in Rome, the a Museum Studies Program next year. gan; Internship (2/27-3/3). Botanic Garden of Padua, and the U.S. National Herbarium. The grant will be Daniel Fitzpatrick, University of Ying Meng, Kunming Institute of Botany, applied to the development of the Web Maryland (20-24 March): History and Chinese Academy of Sciences; Smilacina site “Renaissance Herbals.” Civil War archaeology are Fitzpatrick’s (Liliaceae) (2/28-6/6). academic interests, but geography is his passion, making him a perfect fit to work Danny Fitzpatrick, University of Mary- with Jim Harle on cataloging and digitiz- land; Internship (3/2-3/24). ing the map collection. The easy parts are collecting and entering explicit data from Eva Gonzalez, Rutgers University; Tril- maps, and digitizing the image. The more lium reliquum (Liliaceae) (3/7). challenging part came when Fitzpatrick Danica Harbaugh, University of Califor- had to interpret content from maps and nia, Berkeley; Santalum (Santalaceae) (3/ determine unclear boundaries. Fitzpatrick 13). New Faces will be continuing his work with Harle through May. Terry Pennington, Royal Botanic Gar- This year the herbarium began a new dens Kew; Meliaceae (3/13-3/15). The Department is grateful to all three program of accepting college students for students for spending their spring breaks Rebecca Conner, Arizona State Univer- an intensive one-week internship during in the U.S. National Herbarium. The sity; Internship (3/13-3/17). what would have been their spring success of this year’s program portends vacation. Each student was vetted through Shiliang Zhou, Institute of Botany, an even more productive Spring 2007. their respective universities, and their China; Calycanthaceae (3/14-8/14). museum experience was a product of Anna-Elena Berz, Independent re- their interests and our needs. searcher; Volunteer interview (3/20). Tonia Schneider, University of Michigan Hannah Baker, University of Maryland; (28 February – 4 March): As a graduate Internship (3/20-3/24). student in Archives Conservation, and practical experience working in archives Ron Lance, Independent researcher; in Barcelona, Schneider arrived ready to Crataegus (Rosaceae) (3/23-3/24). go. She worked closely with Jamie Whitacre on the Mexican Ethnobotany Elizabeth Zacharias, University of project, constructing chronologies and California, Berkeley; Atriplex (Cheno- building reference lists from library and podiaceae) (3/23-3/24). online resources. She also researched the Visitors Tracey Parker, Independent researcher; International Boundary Commission Central American plants (3/23-3/31). (1911). The thousands of plant collec- Continued from page 2 tions made by Edgar Mearns, the botanist Doreen Bolnick, Independent re- Carol Dover, Georgetown University; attached to this government funded searcher; Library studies (1/25). “Historia Plantarum” collection (3/31). survey, form an important element of the Michael Dillon, Field Museum; Peruvian herbarium’s collections from Mexico and Robert Leucking, Field Museum; Mason Asteraceae (3/31-4/7). the southwestern U.S. Finally, she spent Hale Costa Rican collections (1/30-4/2).
Page 5 Survey of Saba grams surveying fishes, mollusks, crusta- Assistant Director) has taken the addi- ceans, macroalgae and sponges. The algal tional step of helping Guyana publish a Bank Finds team collected over 360 specimens (20 new scientific journal. The Contributions putative new species), discovered four to the Study of Biological Diversity, a Botanical Riches new seaweed community types and took new publication series aimed at contribu- Diane and Mark Littler and Barrett over 1,000 photographs in truly excep- tion to our knowledge about the Guyana Brooks participated in a multidisciplinary tional habitats. One dive to 30 m revealed region, is published out of the Centre for survey of Saba Bank, the largest atoll in all the common species of algae found in the Study of Biological Diversity, Univer- the Atlantic Ocean Basin (about 140 shallower seagrass beds minus the sea- sity of Guyana (UG) in Georgetown, square miles in area). Saba Bank is a grasses (seagrasses generally do not grow Guyana. It is edited by Philip DaSilva, classic atoll consisting of a submerged below 20 m). The expedition only Dean, Faculty of Natural Sciences (UG) mountain crowned at the summit with a scratched the surface of this unique and Funk and Kelloff (SI). The first ring of actively growing coral reefs. The seamount. volume was published in 2003 and program is a joint initiative of the Depart- Plans are underway for a permanent contained a paper by Kelloff. The second ment of Environment and Nature of the web site to present photographic results volume has just been published (Decem- Netherlands Antilles and Conservation of the biological survey. Once specimens ber 2005) and it contains three papers by International. are catalogued and digitized, the Web site graduating seniors at UG. These papers The National Museum of Natural will be converted into a virtual Saba represent a milestone for UG in training History had two separate teams (algae and Museum of Natural History that will its students to be productive members of fish) working on the biodiversity survey. allow anyone to visually experience Saba the conservation and biodiversity commu- The fish team, led by Jeff Williams Bank and its biological wonders. nities in Guyana. (Division of Fishes) and including Jim Van Tassell (a Smithsonian Tropical Encouraging Research Institute research associate) collected specimens and photographed Research in many of approximately 200 species of Developing Countries fishes during the survey (40 fish species had previously been recorded from Saba The goals of the Smithsonian are the Bank). Several probable new species of increase and diffusion of knowledge. fishes and possibly a new genus and There are many ways of accomplishing species of goby were collected for the these goals. On the diffusion side we NMNH fish collection. scientists can publish papers, give talks at The algal team, joined by nine other meetings and for the public, and train scientists and park managers, spent two students and staff. The Biological Diver- weeks on Saba, conducting detailed bio- sity of the Guiana Shield program (Vicki logical assessment and sampling pro- A. Funk, Director and Carol L. Kelloff, Correction In “Significant Collections of 2005” (Vol. 9, No. 2; January 2006), the third paragraph should read: “In November, 2001, a momentous work on lichens, Lichens of North America, was published by Irwin Brodo, and Steve and Sylvia Sharnoff. In support of their work, over 5,000 lichen samples were collected across the continent over many years. The entire first set is housed at the Canadian Museum of Nature. The first set of dup- licates was donated to the U.S. National Herbarium. These collections form the foundation of their research on every lichen species reported in their publica- tion. As such, these specimens are critical links that allow one to revisit the time, and place, and possible mindset of the authors years from now. Providing his- toric reference services to researchers is Barrett Brooks (left) and Mark Littler encounter a giant barrel sponge an important function of the U.S. National (Xestospongia muta). (Photo by Diane Littler) Herbarium.”
Page 6 Launch of the Global Checklist for Compositae The Department is pleased to an- nounce that work on a “Global Checklist for Compositae” was initiated in March 2006. This project was started at the International Botanical Congress in Vienna, 2005, when The International Compositae Alliance (TICA) undertook this effort. The scope of the project is the creation, consolidation and initial editing of names of Compositae taxa integrated from existing electronic checklists and Floras that are complete, or nearly complete, and which are available in structured databases or digital form. This will be followed by processing additional digital and hard-copy publications. Didelta spinosa Ait. (Photo by Vicki Funk) The principle objectives of the project are: the collation and integration of prior- tions in the project are (alphabetical by Land”), to many South Pacific islands, itized existing checklists into a Global city): Botanic Garden and Botanical Australia, and South Africa. Visitors can Checklist of the Compositae; where Museum, Berlin; Instituto de Botánica pick up a “passport” at the “Hampton possible resolve and complete nomencla- Darwinion, Buenos Aires; Australian Roads dock” in the Garden Court and tural content (including homotypic syno- National Herbarium, CSIRO, Canberra, sally forth with the Expedition along a nyms); capture, examine, report and New South Wales; Royal Botanic Gar- Ports of Call trail throughout the Conser- resolve (as much as possible) differences dens, Kew; Plant Systematics, Landcare vatory. At each “port” they stamp their in taxon concepts; provide data contribu- Research, Christchurch, New Zealand; passports and learn about the adventures tors with regular reports of editorial South African National Biodiversity of a merciless sea captain and his unruly changes; and make the developing check- Institute, Pretoria; Missouri Botanical crew. These exotic ports provided pro- list accessible via the Internet, hosted by Garden, St. Louis, Missouri; University of visions, plants, and some of the highly TICA, and eventually linked to the Global Tokyo; U.S. National Herbarium, Smith- detailed observations that established our Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). sonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and, young nation as a scientific power. Just as Plans include providing a framework for TICA. did the U.S. Exploring Expedition, this facilitating information flow and content Ports of Call journey ends near New York revision among data contributors and the Exploring Our harbor in the Conservatory’s West broader TICA community, providing a Gallery, where the exhibit display substantial information basis (including a Roots includes Expedition artifacts on loan gap analysis) and operating framework for The Department has teamed up with from the U.S. Naval Academy Museum the completion and long-term mainte- the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG), the and a rare dried plant specimen actually nance of the global checklist. An overview museum’s “Botanical Partner on the collected when the Expedition visited the of the project will be presented at the Mall,” to present the exhibit “The U.S. Oregon Territory in 1841, on loan from TICA workshop in Barcelona on 7 July Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842: Ports the U.S. National Herbarium. 2006 as part of the symposium “System- of Call” at the USBG Conservatory, 8 atics and Evolution of the Compositae.” April through 4 June. Every spring the TICA operates as an international Smithsonian and USBG celebrate the U.S. email group (organized by Vicki Funk) Exploring Expedition and the legacy of and has members from over 45 countires. Charles Wilkes by exploring our roots: The project is led by Ilse Breitwieser, both institutions’ original collections Plant Systematics, Landcare Research, began with the living plant specimens and New Zealand. Christina Flann, Wagenin- the thousands of other artifacts that were gen, is the postdoctoral coordinator for collected during the worldwide expedi- the checklist. Funding for the initial 18- tion. month phase of the project has been This year’s exhibit focuses on some of provided from GBIF’s Electronic Cata- the ports of call visited by the expedition logue of Names of Known Organisms – from Rio de Janeiro, to the Antarctic (ECAT) program. The partner organiza- coast (an area later named “Wilkes
Page 7 New DVD-set of Alice Tangerini provided the artwork and broad spectrum of the local community graphics that gave the product a polished, who are interested in the botanical the Plant Type professional look, and Rusty Russell sciences. Informal receptions after the supervised the overall production of the talks were hosted to promote discussion Collection Produced disks. In the end, it was an actual team and exchange of ideas. If you have In March, Cristián Samper, Director effort for a virtual plant species collec- suggestions for future speakers, please of the National Museum of Natural tion. contact Gary Krupnick at krupnickg@si History, and other Smithsonian staff .edu. attended the eighth meeting of the Botanical Partners Conference of the Parties to the Conven- Chair with a View tion on Biological Diversity in Curitiba, Lecture Series Continued from page 3 Brazil. They carried with them a secret Roger Hangarter, Associate Professor a department in one of the oldest and weapon: a 2-DVD set containing 78,736 of Plant Physiology at Indiana University, largest natural history museums, the plant images of plant type specimens. These continued the Botanical Partners Lecture collections at the National Museum of disk sets were distributed to representa- Series by presenting “Environmental Natural History are among the most tives of more than 180 countries and Sensory-Response Systems and Plant extensive in the world. Our herbarium is a contained a basic message: “to conserve Development” on 19 January at the global collection with special geographic and manage your sovereign biological United States Botanic Garden (USBG) (e.g., North America, the neotropics, the resources, you need to understand the Conservatory. On 6 April, Michael Balick, Pacific Region, and the Indian subconti- species in your care...and, to better under- Vice President and Chair of Botanical nent) and taxonomic (ferns, monocots, stand species, you need type specimens.” Science Research and Training, and and many dicot families) strengths, and it All attendees found a copy waiting at their Director and Philecology Curator at the is extremely rich in historical specimens seats at the convention dinner and, in his Institute of Economic Botany at the New providing a critical temporal element to address, Samper emphasized the powerful York Botanical Garden, presented its information content. The US National message contained within. The disks were “Ancient Wisdom and Modern Medicine: Herbarium also maintains the largest enthusiastically received, according to Plants, People, and Cultures in the inventoried and fully verified type Len Hirsch, Smithsonian’s CBD represen- Tropical Rainforest.” The Botanical specimen collection with high resolution tative. Partners Lecture Series is a collaboration digital images of all vascular plant The task of organizing the existing data between the Department and USBG, specimens accessible via the Internet (see and images on two disks and designing a designed to bring together the Washing- http://ravenel.si.edu/botany/types/). user friendly interface that permitted ton scientific community interested in To address Target 2 we now need to searches by country (or geographical botanical studies. Invited speakers have complete the inventory of the remaining unit) fell to Ellen Farr and her staff. been chosen to attract participants from a 3.9 million vascular plant specimens in the herbarium at the Smithsonian. The challenge is great and the problems of stockpiling and managing the specimen data are formidable. Staff from our Information Management Team, lead by Ellen Farr, are developing methods, including voice recognition protocols, that will allow us to speed up data entry to finish the inventory in as fast a way possible. However, no matter how fast the technology, it is clear that we will need massive people power and funding (about $3M!) to complete the job. By initially mobilizing the data currently available in the U.S. National Herbarium, we can provide critical baseline data for use by other large botanical institutions as well as local and regional herbaria throughout the world to complete the Target 2 assessment. Time is of the essence. We must begin now. We should have started yesterday. For more information on addressing Ellen Farr (left), Rusty Russell, and Alice Tangerini display the new DVD set of Target 2 with specimen data, see Plant plant type specimens. (Photo by Deborah Bell) Talk (January 2006; 43: 46-47).
Page 8 Historia Plantarum Collection Opens species. The short sequence in the cyto- chrome c oxidase (CO1) gene, which has The Department is pleased to an- W511 in the west wing of NMNH, where been found to be widely applicable in nounce that the “Historia Plantarum they are to be consulted and used. A com- animal barcoding, is not appropriate in the Collection,” brought to the National puterized catalogue is currently being case of plants because of a much slower Museum of Natural History (NMNH) by prepared and will soon be accessible on- rate of COI gene evolution in higher Alain Touwaide and Emanuela Appetiti, line. plants than in animals. is now open and accessible to Smithsoni- The two regions identified so far for an staff and external scientists. plants are the nuclear internal transcribed The collection is devoted to the spacer (ITS) and the plastid trnH-psbA history of botany and medicine, with a intergenic spacer. ITS is the most com- particular focus on the Old World and DNA Barcoding Continued from page 1 monly sequenced locus used in plant medicinal plants. Among the fields phylogenetic investigations at the species covered are botany in Antiquity, the codes have now been successfully applied level and shows high levels of interspe- Middle Ages and the Renaissance, to flowering plants. In a 2005 paper cific divergence. The trnH-psbA spacer, botanical illustration in manuscript and entitled “Use of DNA barcodes to identify though short in length (~450 base pairs), printed books, the history of medicine flowering plants” published in the Pro- is the most variable plastid region in and pharmacy, and the history of natural ceedings of the National Academy of angiosperms and is easily amplified sciences. The collection includes many of Sciences, members of the Department of across a broad range of land plants. the primary sources in the original lan- Botany and the Laboratories of Analytical Together, these two DNA regions may guage, the necessary reference works for Biology at NMNH (Kress et al., 2005) unlock the key to DNA barcoding in the study of such sources, the secondary identified two DNA barcodes that have the plants. literature, and many scientific journals. potential to be a practical and standard- Herbarium collections, such as the Books, off-prints and journals are ized tool for plant species identification millions of specimens maintained in complemented by slides, microfilms, and in biodiversity assessments, life history herbaria at natural history museums and “non-book” material. and ecological studies, and forensic botanic gardens, provide a documented Future requests for access to the analyses. As described in their paper, a source for building the plant barcode Historia Plantarum Collection should be successful DNA barcode must be 1) short library. In the Kress et al. (2005) study, addressed to Alain Touwaide and Emanu- enough to be quickly sequenced (e.g., dried herbarium specimens over 100 ela Appetiti (Tel: 202-633-0967; e-mail: approximately 400-800 base pairs in years old were tested and shown to be [email protected]), or in case of their length), 2) easily located and amplified in usable for DNA barcodes. Despite the absence Dan Nicolson (Tel: 202-633- all plant species, and 3) variable enough overall success of ITS and trnH-psbA as 0910). Books are housed in W500-C and to provide a unique sequence for each plant barcodes, it is recognized that each of these DNA regions also poses some problems, such as the inability to amplify ITS in a number of groups of vascular plants (such as ferns) and the variable length of the plastid spacer that makes it difficult to align among species. More extensive trials of these and other possible plant DNA barcodes are now underway in laboratories around the world, including those at NMNH, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and Edin- burgh, New York Botanical Gardens, and the Natural History Museum in London. Already a number of significant projects have been initiated to utilize the best plant barcode when it is available. In the Department of Botany, our early work on developing a workable plant barcode centered on the 200 plus species now found on Plummers Island, Maryland, a National Park Service habitat reserve in the Potomac River that has been studied and inventoried by biologists in the Emanuela Appetiti and Alain Touwaide explore the new Historia Plantarum Washington, D.C., area for over 100 Collection. (Photo by Elaine Haug) years, making it an appropriate test site Continued on page 10
Page 9 DNA Barcoding Continued from page 9 for barcoding trials. We have so far surveyed a broad range of angiosperms in 50 plant families, 72 genera, and 83 species that occur on the island. We will shortly complete the remaining 120 species so that each taxon can be uniquely identified by their ITS and trnH-psbA signature. In discussions with scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, we will soon begin a project to produce a DNA barcode library for all the plant species on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), one of the primary research stations for tropical biologists in the world. The experience gained from bar- coding the 200 species on Plummers Department staff and volunteers explore and collect plants on Plummers Island, Island will be applied to the over 1,400 Maryland, for a DNA barcoding project. (Photo by Rusty Russell) species now recorded from BCI. Once completed, the DNA barcode library of Erickson has joined our team as post- rently, samples can be processed at LAB plant species will be an invaluable tool for doctoral fellow to spearhead the project. from tissue through sequencing (both ecologists and evolutionary biologists In addition to the plant barcoding strands of DNA) for $2 per sample, conducting investigations on BCI. In marker work, NMNH has had an active including an archival DNA extract. addition, plans are in place to begin a role in numerous barcoding projects from As of 2006, all biological departments massive project to barcode the plants of the start with well publicized articles on at NMNH have active DNA barcoding Costa Rica in collaboration with the butterflies and birds. When the idea of projects. Two global efforts underway in Asociación Instituto Nacional de Biodi- DNA barcoding in its present form started which NMNH is very active are: Fish – versidad (INBio) and the Área de Conser- circulating, Paul Hebert and Lee Weigt, Barcode of Life (FISH-BOL) and All vación Guanacaste (ACG) in Costa Rica current head of the Laboratories of Birds Barcoding Initiative (ABBI). Both as well as the Missouri Botanical Garden. Analytical Biology (LAB), met at a of these projects aim to be taxonomically One of the most exciting barcode genomics conference and upon return comprehensive. FISH-BOL hopes to bar- projects has recently been launched in Weigt and Noreen Tuross, then Director code 22,000 marine and 8,000 freshwater collaboration with the United States of LAB, wrote a Smithsonian new fish species by 2010. ABBI has the same Botanic Garden here on the Mall in Wash- initiative proposal to incorporate DNA target date for the approximately 10,000 ington, DC. We are building a DNA bar- barcoding into the museum’s methodolo- species of birds on the planet. The code library for all plant species that are gies. This idea morphed into a DNA Feather Identification Lab, directed by used by people as medicines. According barcoding proposal and included other Carla Dove in the Bird Division at to World Economic Pants: A Standard elements for “enhanced taxonomy” at NMNH, and LAB have teamed up to Reference (Wiersema & León, 1999; NMNH. As a result NMNH received an create a database to utilize DNA to iden- CRC Press), over 1,000 species are annual increase of $700,000 in the base tify remains of birds involved in strikes currently classified as medicines, which budget starting in September 2005 that on aircraft. The desire for this bird strike are defined as plants “that serve as was split between barcoding and basic identification database led to the DNA sources of specific pharmaceutical agents collections needs. The funding has a barcoding of almost all the birds of the and those that are widely used, mostly in three-year ramp up of infrastructure United States and Canada, and NMNH is the crude sense as folklore remedies.” requirements, including two new staff and now actively participating in the global This estimate of the number of medicinal over a half million dollars of equipment, effort. plants is conservative as it does not much of which in now functional at LAB Similar to the Department of Botany’s include numerous species used locally by instrumentation rooms at Smithsonian’s collaboration with STRI to barcode the indigenous peoples. We expect to develop Museum Support Center (MSC) in plants of BCI, LAB is taking the barcod- barcodes for nearly 2,000 species that Suitland, Maryland, including new high- ing project and lab resources to taxono- have medicinal value. A universal and throughput automated DNA extractors for mists in the field in Panama and will simple means of identifying these medi- both plant and animals tissues. One can participate in two taxonomy workshops at cinal species through DNA barcodes will extract 96 individuals in less than 30 the Bocas Marine Station at STRI. They facilitate the use of these species and the minutes and the other does high-quality will focus on sponges in July and tuni- easy identification of species in the many CTAB (plant) or organic (animal) tissue cates in August of this year and will forms by which they are applied. David extractions for less than $1 each. Cur- extract DNA from freshly collected,
Page 10 expertly identified and vouchered speci- Faust, M.A. and P.A. Tester. 2006. 183-184; Herodicus [1], pp. 263-264; mens, and then bring those extractions Creation of the subgenus Testeria Faust Herodicus [2], p. 264; Herodotus [3], p. back to LAB for subsequent processing subgen. nov. Protoperidinium Bergh from 271; Herophilus [1], pp. 274-276; and databasing. the SW Atlantic Ocean: Protoperidinium Hierocles [6], p. 307; Iatromathematics, Taxonomists, geneticists, biotechni- novella sp. nov. and Protoperidinium pp. 690-692; Ichor, p. 704; Infibulation, p. cians, and statisticians are working hard to concinna sp. nov. Dinophyceae. Phycolo- 798; Lycus [9] of Neapolis, pp. 938-939; implement a universal system for DNA gia 45: 1-9. Lycus [13] of Macedon, pp. 939-940. In: barcoding in both plants and animals. Brill’s New Pauly: Encyclopedia of the Scientists at NMNH are clearly taking a Littler, D.S., M.M. Littler, I.G. Mac- Ancient World. Brill, Leiden and Boston. leadership role in international efforts to intyre, E. Bowlin, M.S. Andres and R.P. make barcoding a routine technique for Reid. 2005. Guide to the dominant Touwaide, A. 2005. Preface: Byzantine the specialist and layperson as well. By macroalgae of the stromatolite fringing- urology. Why a book on such an abstruse harnessing advances in instrumentation reef complex, Highborne Cay, Belize. topic? Pp. 7-8. In: Diamandopoulos, A. and genetics, barcoding will help many Atoll Res. Bull. 532: 67-91. (ed.). Highlights from the History of Nephrology - The History of Byzantine people quickly and inexpensively recog- Roalson, E.H., J.K. Boggan and L.E. nize known species and retrieve informa- Uroscopy. International Society for the Skog. 2005. Reorganization of tribal and History of Medicine & International tion about them, and will speed discovery generic boundaries in the Gloxinieae of the millions of species yet to be Association for the History of Nephrol- (Gesneriaceae: Gesnerioideae) and the ogy, Patras. named. Barcoding will provide a vital new description of a new tribe in the Gesneri- tool for appreciating and managing the oideae, Sphaerorrhizeae. Selbyana 25(2): Touwaide, A. 2005. Publishing history of Earth’s immense and changing biodiver- 225-238. medicine journals - report on a session. sity. Within a few years, Janzen’s vision of Pp. 257-264. In: Musajo Somma, A. (ed.). st quick and accurate identification of all Skog, L.E. 2005. Gesneriaceae in the 21 Proceedings of the 39th International plant species in a Costa Rican forest may century. Selbyana 25(2): 179-181. Congress on the History of Medicine. become a reality. And in the long run, Soreng, R.J. and M.V. Olonova. 2005. On Bari-Metaponto, September 5-10, 2004. respect for nature and its conservation the distribution of the rare species Poa Progedit, Bari. will proportionally increase as well. veresczaginii Tzvel. Syst. Zametki 95: Touwaide, A. 2005. The quest for the * Lee A. Weigt is the Manager of the 32-34. [In Russian] exotic. Pp. 27-29. In: Musajo Somma, A. Laboratories of Analytical Biology, Strong, M.T. 2006. Taxonomy and distri- (ed.). Proceedings of the 39th Interna- Smithsonian Institution. bution of Rhynchospora (Cyperaceae) in tional Congress on the History of A shortened version of this article the Guianas, South America. Contr. U.S. Medicine - Bari-Metaponto, September appeared in Plant Talk (October 2005; Natl. Herb. 53: 1-225. 5-10, 2004. Progedti, Bari. Issue 42). Touwaide, A. 2005. An odyssey of Touwaide, A. 2005. Urine analysis from knowledge. Medieval manuscripts and Antiquity to Byzantium: a technical trans- early printed books from the National formation? Pp. 18-23. In: Diamadopou- Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland. los, A. (ed.). Highlights from the History Pp. 272-290. In: Musajo Somma, A. (ed.). of Nephrology - The History of Byzan- Proceedings of the 39th International tine Uroscopy. International Society for Congress on the History of Medicine. the History of Medicine & International Bari-Metaponto, September 5-10, 2004. Association for the History of Nephrol- Progedit, Bari. ogy, Patras. Touwaide, A. 2005. Editorial: exploring Touwaide, A., N.G. De Santo and G. traditions. Iran. J. Pharmacol. Res. 4(2): Aliotta. 2005. The origin of western her- 61-62. bal medicines for kidney diseases. Adv. Chronic Kidney Dis. 12(3): 251-260. Touwaide, A. 2005. Environment, pp. 676-679. In: New Dictionary of the Publications History of Ideas. Touwaide, A. 2005. Healers and physi- DaSilva, P., V.A. Funk and C. Kelloff, cians in ancient and medieval Mediterra- eds. 2005. Contributions to the Study of nean cultures. Pp. 155-173. In: Yaniv, Z. Biological Diversity, Volume 2. Biodiver- and U. Bachrach (eds.). Handbook of sity and Conservation Studies in Guyana: Medicinal Plants. Haworth Medical 1, 2, and 3. Centre for the Study of Press, Binghamton. Biological Diversity, University of Touwaide, A. 2005. Hegetor, pp. 54-55; Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana. Pp. 1-78. Heliodoros [5], pp. 71-72; Heras, pp.
Page 11 Art by Alice Tangerini
Chromolaena odorata (L.) King & H. Robinson
Chromolaena odorata is one of the many spe- cies from Barro Colo- rado Island (BCI), Panama, that will be added to the DNA barcode library (see cover story). BCI was declared a biological reserve in 1923, and is currently supervised by the Smithsonian Tropi- cal Research Institute (STRI). The island, an international center for tropical research, is one of the most im- portant and well- studied biological reserves, and remains as one of the few areas of tropical forest in the world where the entire flora has been identified.
Department of Botany PO Box 37012 NMNH, MRC-166 Washington DC 20013-7012
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