No. 54 Fall 2020 LASTHENIA NEWSLETTER OF THE DAVIS BOTANICAL SOCIETY

STRUCTURAL AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT HIGHLIGHT CONSERVATORY’S YEAR! The novel Coronavirus/Covid-19 has system for our epiphyte walls. Several made this year a real roller coaster ride of us spaced out the actively used for the Conservatory. It slowed us down dioramas there, which weigh several beginning in April, but we still man- hundred pounds each, for better access aged to make a number of important by BIS 2B students. improvements in and around the UC Since there were fewer student Davis Botanical Conservatory. And we helpers available, Jonathon was also had a spectacular fundraising year. invaluable in transplanting and prun- We were able to hire former student ing a large number of both in employee Jonathon Holguin in the and outside the Conservatory, including spring of 2019, as a temporary emer- major work on the plantings at Storer gency hire, and he provided critical Hall and the Sciences Laboratory Build- help with construction and improve- ing as well as at the Biological Orchard ment projects. His first major task was and Gardens. During his 800 hours, he rebuilding the very important bottom- also assisted with many tours as well as heated propagation mist bench. In the watering and weeding. Sciences Laboratory Teaching Green- Just as Jonathon was completing house Jonathon rebuilt the watering his time with us, he helped discover a

ELLEN DEAN ENDOWMENT ESTABLISHED New benches in Greenhouse 62. Photo cour- As many Davis Botanical Society tesy of E. Sandoval members know, Ellen Dean retired in February 2020 after nearly 25 situation that had major repercussions years as Curator of the UC Davis this year: The cause of a sagging roofline Center for Plant Diversity. Her last in GH 62, where we have specimens, day working in the herbarium was turned out to be structural failure of March 16. The first months of her the aluminum support columns. Both retirement were devoted to correcting continued on page 2 the proofs of her magnum opus taxonomic treatment of the Mexican and Guatemalan species of the Lycianthes, which will be published IN THIS ISSUE in the journal Phytokeys by the time Conservatory Report...... 1 this issue of Lasthenia is published. In June she began working with the Ellen Dean Endowment...... 1 rare plant program of the Student Research Grants...... 3 Native Plant Society. Ellen adamantly refused numerous Oak Specimen Images...... 4 pleas to let us honor her at some Blue Dicks Naming...... 5 kind of retirement party. Determined continued on page 6 President’s Profile...... 7 1 CONSERVATORY SUPPORT (CONT. FROM PAGE 1) age and corrosion from the use of salts extraordinaire Chandler Gorman and re- butions to UC Davis over the years with for weed control prior to the advent of cent graduate Calvin Cooper did much the site being officially recognized as the herbicides may have contributed to the of the work. They did a wonderful job Joe and Emma Lin Biological Orchard failure. This discovery in mid-December of pruning and moving plants, hanging and Gardens. Johanna Kwan and Kevin occurred in time for Jonathon to work lights, shoveling gravel, installing the Hague have generously helped fund the with Marlene and me to empty a large new benches, and putting plants back in development of the California Native area in the greenhouse so that Facilities their places. plants beds there. could work on the repairs. We needed Subsequent inspection revealed that The campus planning office is de- to crowd plants on other benches in some structural columns in the Conser- signing signs to bring the Joe and Emma that greenhouse, but thankfully we vatory also needed replacement, now Lin Biological Orchard and Gardens into didn’t lose many plants even though underway. Ordinarily, tours for under- the larger campus wayfinding system. Covid-19-related factors delayed con- graduates would be happening now, and The project will include an interpre- struction until late June. this work would have been postponed tive sign explaining to visitors why this We were able to use the delay to further by class needs. teaching garden is so important and make major improvements in GH 62. The bright spot in this year has been thanking donors who made it possible. We removed old irrigation equipment the donors whose contributions enabled Shari Kawelo in the College of Biological and failing light ballasts and replaced the progress that we’ve made during Sciences development office has been the latter with a portion of the cache this pandemic. In particular, Dr. Dennis extremely helpful in making all of this of 40 relatively new lights that were Walker has made generous donations progress possible. donated by a former intern. We also over the last several years to establish an Other donors this past year are replaced old weed-infested gravel areas endowment to fund a botanical stu- recognized elsewhere in this issue of under benches in parts of this green- dent employee at the Conservatory and Lasthenia. I would like to thank all of house and replaced wonky old wooden has given current use funds until the you who helped us with over $120,000 benches with new plastic ones, some endowment was fully funded this past in donations this past year. We hope to lowered to accommodate taller plants. spring. continue to grow and improve thanks to And there was the usual assessment and Joe Lin and his late wife Emma are your support. discard of some unneeded plants and being acknowledged for his contribu- literal pruning of others. Undergraduate tions to the BOG and their many contri- E. Sandoval

2020–2021 STUDENT RESEARCH GRANTS AWARDED

Thanks to the generosity of donors to Oscar Hinojosa-Espinosa: “Systematics isolation is driving the observed trait the Society (DBS), and to the Jack Major of the Clade variations. and Larry and Charlotte Mitich endow- (Tageteae, ).” Advisor: Profes- ments, we have awarded five grants this sor Daniel Potter. Grant Source: Mitich Paige Kouba: “A Recipe for Succession: year totaling $8,500. Although this is an Fund. Testing Shade Tolerance of Trees under unusual year due to the COVID-19 pan- This project will test whether the Simulated Climate Change.” Advisor: demic, extreme fires, and other crises, genera Adenophyllum and Thymophylla Professor Andrew Latimer. Grant Source: we are looking forward to hearing from are monophyletic, by conducting phylo- Major Fund. this year’s recipients in some form later genetic analyses using molecular data. The object of this study will be to mea- in the year. sure the impact of climate change factors,

Jasmin Green: “Plant Population Diver- shade and CO2, on forest tree species. Mark Uleh: “Phylogeny and Systematics gence in Urban Systems: The Role of of the Miracle Berry and Relatives (Syn- Spatial Heterogeneity.” Advisor: Professor Alyssa Phillips: “Persistence and Evolu- sepalum, Sapotaceae).” Advisor: Profes- Mary Cadenasso. Grant Source: Major tion of Polyploidy in Andropogon gerardii sor Daniel Potter. Grant Source: DBS. Fund. Vitman.” Advisor: Professor Jeffery Ross- This project will study the phy- This study will evaluate two species, Ibarra. Grant Source: DBS. logeny and molecular genetics of the Festuca perennis (Italian ryegrass) and This research will use genomic data miracle berry plant, Synsepalum dulci- Raphanus raphanistrum (wild radish) and field experiments to examine the ficum, which produces a glycoprotein, that grow in vacant lots. It will evaluate effects of polyploidy and asexual repro- miraculin, that is a sugar-free sweet- how plant populations across vacant duction in Andropogon gerardii Vitman. ener which may have other medical lots diverge in various traits and if properties. environmental conditions or population T. Rost 2 RECENT GIFTS

Ellen Dean Herbarium Endowment Donna & Raymond Olsson J. Giles Waines (in memory of Grady & Anonymous Willa & Stuart Pettygrove Barbara Webster) Sue Barnette Daniel Potter & Peter Lash Alan Whittemore Teri & John Barry Calvin Qualset Eva Bayon & Kevin McGrew Kevin Rice Herbarium Operations and Gifts in Kind Elizabeth Bernhardt & Ted Swiecki Vanessa Ringgold Joslyn Curtis Mark Bibbo Kristina Schierenbeck Jeremy Fitch Will Block Steve Schoenig & Carol Hillhouse Johanna Kwan & Kevin Hague Cynthia Bloomfield Lisa Serafini & Jim Richards Thomas Rost Laura Camp Jean & Scott Shepard Mick Canevari Doris Sloan Conservatory endowment John Chau Margaret Starbuck Sonia Cook Alison Colwell & Bruce Ponman Thomas Starbuck & Ellen Dean James Harding Lea Condon Ramona Swenson Marie Jasieniuk & Frank Roe Kelsey Craig Mandy Tu & Philip Rogers Rebecca & Fred McWhorter Christine & Christopher Dewees Peter Tucker Stephen & Jill Rae Joseph & Susan DiTomaso Petra & Ron Unger Kirk Ehmsen Jane Van Susteren Dennis Walter Endowment Joshua Erdman J. Giles Waines Dennis Walker Raphaela Floreani-Buzbee Chris Walden Holly Forbes Alice Warrick Conservatory operations Justin Garosi Alan Whittemore Ken Burtis Ronald & Diana Glick Valerie Whitworth & Michael Barbour Jill & Christopher Gorman Marisol Gonzalez Carol Witham Johanna Kwan & Kevin Hague Hazel Gordon Kyeema & Phillipp Zerbe Maud Hinchee Vera Gottlieb Donna & Raymond Olsson Emily Griswold & Nikhil Joshi Herbarium Endowment Jennifer & Jay Prahl Kevin Hague & Johanna Kwan Anonymous Vanessa Ringgold Lesley Hamamoto Mick Canevari Fernando Socorro Susan Harrison Ellen Dean & Thomas Starbuck (in Cole & Priscilla Hawkins memory of John Anderson) Conservatory gifts in kind Amy Hiss & Patrick Reynolds Lewis Feldman Sherman Doo & Debbie Sy Daria Hoyer Louis & Georgette Grivetti Stephen & Jill Rae Caprashean Hunt Glen Holstein Melody Hunt Russell Huddleston DBS Student Grants Fund Chase Hunt-Murray Charles, Jessica & Henry Hughes Elizabeth Brusati Zoë Hunt-Murray Franz Kegel E. Eric Grissell Hannah Kang Marie Jasieniuk & Frank Roe James Harding Shari & Stephen Kawelo Hannah Kang (in honor of Ellen Dean) Russell Huddleston Julie Knorr Julie Knorr Andrew Latimer Andrew Latimer & Jane Herrmann Andrew Latimer Sally Manning Leslie Laurence Sally Manning Karen Miyagishima Valerie Layne Karen Miyagishima (in honor of Ellen Stephen & Jill Rae (in memory of Jack Major) Katherine Mawdsley “Fifi” Dean) Robert & Thomas Rhode Patrick McGuire Robert & Laurie Preston Edward & Dolores Rhode Jorge Medina Stephen & Jill Rae (in memory of Jack Major) Tim Metcalf Robert & Thomas Rhode Pamela Muick Roberto Urtecho Thank you! TRYING OUR HAND AT CROWDFUNDING

The herbarium staff, plus Summer This project is intended to “virtually Although this project has global Ragosta, a local teacher interested in repatriate” 500–700 plant specimens from intention, we will be acting locally by African botany, have teamed up to try a our collection by making them freely making the project into paid science new form of fundraising, Crowdfund- available on the web for use by research- training for a UC Davis undergradu- ing. Our project will be one of twelve ers in Africa and the rest of the world. ate in early 2021. The student would hosted by Crowdfund UC Davis. Our Africa holdings are small but interest- learn job skills such as museum speci- Between Oct. 1 and 31, we will be pro- ing, having come from individual research men curation, data capture, and proj- moting a project titled “Global Access projects, such as Grady Webster’s Euphor- ect management through having this for African Plant Specimens” to the biaceae collection, or through specimen as their own start-to-finish project. world on this website: https://crowd- exchange. It will dovetail with a larger ef- If you find the concepts of the fund.ucdavis.edu/globalaccess, as well fort being proposed by 21 herbaria across proposal worthwhile, we welcome as on the herbarium website and on North America to the National Science your support. our Facebook page. Come take a look! Foundation this fall. A. Colwell

3 OAK SPECIMEN IMAGES RESCUE RESEARCH

I joined the UC Davis Department of nized until after they were well underway, experienced an elevated risk of pest in- Entomology and Nematology in March biological monitoring prior to climate sect damage in years when winters were 2020 just as the pandemic and associat- change is very spotty, with massive gaps warmer. Together, the data told us that ed shutdowns were underway. This put across space, time, and species groups. insect damage to plants likely rose over a near halt to all in-person research, in- Herbarium specimens contain data on time in New England because winters, cluding the projects I planned as a new myriad aspects of historical plant ecology which have historically been harsh times faculty member. The exception to this that fill these gaps, including how plant of high mortality for insects, are getting is a project I have been able to move flowering, distributions, microbiomes— warmer. forward with, thanks to the availability e.g., the bacteria and fungi that live in Here in California, however, climate of digitized herbarium specimens. leaves and roots—and interactions with data provide different predictions about The UC Davis Herbarium has taken insects have changed over time. how insect damage could be responding part in a worldwide effort to make her- What interests my lab specifically is over time. In the Sacramento Valley re- barium specimen images available online the stories herbarium specimens might gion, climate change is likely to increase as images that are posted publicly, along be able to tell us about how interactions summer more than winter temperatures with their collection dates and locations. between plants and leaf-feeding insects and to lead to more frequent and extreme Digitized specimens make research more have changed in California over time, heat waves, and more extreme droughts. equitable by giving researchers all over and what might be driving those changes. As a result, insect abundance and there- the world equal access to any data that Herbarium specimens contain evidence fore damage to plants might decrease can be extracted from them. A perhaps of past insect feeding in their leaves. over the long term. Eventually, my lab is

Image 1: Different types of insect damage on herbarium specimens of an oak species. Photo courtesy of E. Meineke

unexpected side effect of this equity is Insects that chew, pierce, and tunnel keen to investigate whether differences that I and, more importantly, the under- through leaves mark those leaves in their between climate change in New England graduates whose efforts fuel my lab (Lena own special ways (Image 1). We can use and California translate to different ef- Wigger and Victoria Woolfolk), have had these markings to investigate how these fects on plant-insect interactions. access to specimens from California even damage types have changed over time, However, first, we have to solve a as undergraduates were called back home and hopefully in the future, how damage scaling problem. A key hurdle to reach- to finish their spring terms. by different insect groups has changed ing our goals is the amount of data we Historically, herbarium specimens over the years as the climate has shifted. need to investigate these topics well. Ide- have been used as benchmarks for This line of research in my lab first ally, since hundreds to thousands of her- taxonomic identifications and as sources began at the Harvard University Herbaria barium specimens are available online for of DNA that allow systematists to place where I was a postdoctoral scholar. I each species of interest, we would be able plant species within the evolutionary quantified insect damage on hundreds of to quantify different insect damage on all tree of life. In more recent years, ecolo- plants from four plant species across New these specimens to determine how they gists – those who study how living things England. The specimens covered 112 have changed over time. However, for interact with each other, and their envi- years and showed how insect damage an individual entomologist, scoring even ronments – have increasingly begun to to plants responded to climate change one specimen for insect damage can take realize that these same specimens can be over that period. My collaborators and I quite a long time. Thus, a central goal re-purposed to investigate the historical found that damage by insects that have for our lab is to automate these efforts effects of humans on the environment. mandibles, those that chew plants leaves, by teaching a computer to recognize the Because many of the effects of climate rose by 23% from the early 1900s to different insect damage types preserved change on biodiversity were not recog- 2008. Three out of four plant species also in specimens. 4 continued on page 7 THE SAGA OF BLUE DICKS: IT’S COMPLICATED

It’s a common complaint – “Oh no, they’ve changed the name of [fill in the blank]!” The scientific names of many plant species have been revised over the last 25 years, and having to learn yet an- other new name can be constant source of frustration and irritation. A case in point is blue dicks, a widespread and common species that, to many, is a her- ald of spring. Since the first edition of The Jepson Manual, blue dicks has been known as capitatum, and before that it was known as pulchella. However, as I pointed out in a recent journal article, the correct name should be capitatus. So, what’s up with all these name changes? Scientific names aren’t just labels, they are hypotheses about the relation- ships species have with each other. As our understanding about a species and its relationships change, so does the hypoth- esis, and accordingly, the name. To those who just want to know a name but don’t need to know the scientific basis for it, the common name works just fine; but to Dipterostemon capitatus. Photo courtesy of R. Preston those who enjoy learning and using the scientific names, these changes can be burdensome. However, the story behind a new genus, Dichelostemma (from the To further complicate matters, name changes can sometimes provide Greek, “bifid corona”), based on the Greene compounded Salisbury’s er- insights into the human endeavor that is densely clustered and the rors by arguing that Brodiaea pulchella the taxonomic process. The story of the shape of the appendages, in and Brodiaea congesta were separate scientific name for blue dicks is just such contrast to the more open and species and that Brodiaea capitata was a case, as it involves over 200 years of entire of Brodiaea coronaria. also a distinct species. In all, Greene confusion and conflict over the correct George Bentham described the next two proposed that there were three species name for that species. species of Dichelostemma, D. capitatum of blue dicks, including the Channel The story starts in the early part and D. multiflorum, based on specimens Island endemic Brodiaea insularis. The of the 19th Century, at the height of a that Theodor Hartweg had collected in international botanical community botanical rivalry between the English 1848 during his journey to California ultimately took a less radical position botanists Richard Salisbury and James to collect new plants. Dichelostemma on nomenclatural priority than Greene, Smith. Both botanists nearly simul- capitatum was the first name coined for and they adopted a policy of conserv- taneously described two new species blue dicks. Blue dicks differed from the ing later, more widely known names based on specimens collected in 1792 other Dichelostemma species in having over earlier published names in some by Archibald Menzies, ship’s naturalist six , rather than three. cases. At the International Botanical aboard the H.M.S. Discovery during Van- In subsequent years, botanists debat- Congress at Vienna in 1905, they con- couver’s explorations in the vicinity of ed over the relationships between these served Brodiaea over Hookera, which Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. species and the proper application of the put blue dicks and its relatives back in Salisbury named the species Hookera names Hookera, Brodiaea, and Dichelo- Dichelostemma. coronaria and Hookera pulchella, and stemma. The debate came to a head in Still, the debate on whether to ac- Smith named the species Brodiaea gran- 1886, when Edward Lee Greene, perhaps cept Dichelostemma as a separate genus diflora and Brodiaea congesta. Salisbury the pre-eminent California botanist of continued well into the 20th Century. In seems to have rushed his names into the 19th Century, weighed in. Greene their floras, Willis Linn Jepson did not print, as he made several mistakes in his was an advocate for nomenclatural prior- treat Dichelostemma separately from Bro- description of Hookera pulchella, includ- ity, the principle that the earliest pub- diaea, but LeRoy Abrams did; both men ing the assertion that the flowers had lished names should have priority over recognized that Dichelostemma pulchella six stamens. Most botanists took Smith’s later names. He proposed that Salisbury’s was the same thing as D. congestum, not side in the argument and ignored the Hookera be resurrected, within which he D. capitatum. name Hookera in favor of Brodiaea. placed the species that we now refer to Robert Hoover, Jepson’s last gradu- In 1843, Karl Sigismund Kunth Brodiaea. He rejected Dichelostemma, and ate student and afterwards his assis- proposed placing Brodiaea congesta in instead, placed those species in Brodiaea. tant, monographed the and continued on page 6 5 PRESIDENT’S PROFILE: TOM ROST

Professor emeritus Thomas Rost, 2020- was Associate Dean of 2021 Davis Botanical Society president, the Division of Biologi- came to UC Davis in 1972, two years cal Sciences, responsible after completing his Ph.D at Iowa State for academic programs, University. During his many years here, then Executive Associate his teaching and research focus was on Dean. In the latter role he plant anatomy, not a specialty that results led collaborative planning in herbarium specimens, as he pointed of the Sciences Laborato- out at the beginning of our interview. ry Building, including the In fact, he says he has been on only one Center for Plant Diversity, field trip in his life: to the Sonoran desert and negotiated the estab- in Southern California to collect jojoba lishment of the College for anatomical research. His teaching and of Biological Sciences at research were recognized by the Aca- the college, campus, and demic Senate’s Distinguished Teaching regental level. Award in 1997 and election as a distin- Beyond teaching, guished Fellow of the Botanical Society research, and admin- of America in 2008. istrative service, Tom Fortunately for us, Tom is a very developed consulting long-time DBS member whose willingness expertise in two quite dif- to serve as president this year is totally ferent spheres: academic Tom Rost. Photo: Courtesy of T. Rost consistent with his career at UC Davis and curriculum development beyond. and program management and forensic at UC Davis, led to seventeen visiting As he moved from Assistant to full botany. He spoke on the latter at the and consulting appointments from 1979 Professor, Tom undertook significant ad- DBS Spring 2019 annual meeting and to 2020 at universities from England to ministrative service, first as chair of the followed up with an article in the Sum- Bangladesh and Morocco. Section of Plant Biology. During the late mer 2019 (No. 53) issue of Lasthenia. While he’s home in Yolo County, l990s, when biological sciences evolved The curriculum development work, we’re very glad to have Tom Rost as DBS from a division of the College of Letters derived from his early adoption of tech- president this year. and Sciences to a separate college, Tom nology and other new teaching methods K. Mawdsley

BLUE DICKS (CONT. FROM PAGE 5)

maintained Dichelostemma as a separate have learned blue dicks as Dichelostem- ies of the Rocky Mountain flora. I also genus. However, Hoover agreed with ma capitatum. recently updated the Themidaceae in Greene’s logic that Dichelostemma Nevertheless, as I reminded read- the Jepson eFlora with a revised key pulchella was the correct name for ers at the start of this story, scientific and treatment of Dichelostemma and blue dicks. Philip Munz did not accept names are hypotheses, and evidence Dipterostemon. Dichelostemma as a distinct genus, and has been accumulating over the years For more detailed information on his California Flora, from which much that blue dicks are not as closely the history of blue dicks, Brodiaea, and of our older generation of botanists related to the other dichelostemmas the rivalry between Richard Salisbury learned their , treated blue as we had presumed. In addition to and James Smith, I refer the reader to dicks as Brodiaea pulchella. having six stamens (vs. three), blue the following articles: Finally, it took another UC Berke- dicks have other differences from Preston, R.E. 2017. New nomen- ley graduate student, Glenn Keator, to dichelostemmas, including features of clatural combinations for blue dicks write his dissertation on Dichelostemma, the floral anatomy and of the em- (Dipterostemon capitatus; : pointing out Salisbury’s errors, and bryology. More recently, evidence from Brodiaeoideae). Phytoneuron 2017- clarifying that Dichelostemma capitatum DNA sequences also shows that Dichel- 15: 1–11. http://www.phytoneuron. was the correct name for blue dicks and ostemma and Brodiaea species are more net/2017Phytoneuron/15PhytoN-Dip- that D. pulchellum should be consid- closely related to each other than they terostemon.pdf ered a synonym of D. congestum. Glenn are to blue dicks. As part my research Preston, R. E. 2012. How the prepared the treatments of Brodiaea and on blue dicks, and anticipating naming brodiaeas got their name. Fremon- related genera for the first edition ofThe one or more additional subspecies, I tia 40(1/2): 16–23. https://cnps. Jepson Manual, where they were in the felt it was time to formally make the org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ very large family , then moved name change to Dipterostemon capi- FremontiaV40.1_40.2.pdf to the Themidaceae when Liliaceae was tatus, the earliest available published divided into thirteen families in the sec- name for blue dicks, coined by Per ond edition in 2012. Since 1995, people Axel Rydberg in 1912, during his stud- R. Preston

6 ELLEN DEAN FUND (CONT. FROM PAGE 1)

interns, staff, and friends of Ellen first the knowledge that the Ellen Dean heard from me about the idea of honoring Herbarium Fund will remain to support her with a named endowment for the the campus herbaria for years to come. Herbarium. Many of you were asked to Special thanks to Dr. Shirley Tucker, keep this as a surprise (which you did). Jean Shepard, and the Herbarium staff. However, as it turned out, the surprise All campus endowments may always was really mine: Ellen found the webpage be added to. If there are additional DBS for the proposed endowment among other members or others who would like to Herbarium funds. She deduced that it was contribute, please visit this page online: supposed to be a surprise, and being the https://give.ucdavis.edu/AHER/324350. kind and thoughtful person she is, kept If you have any questions about this quiet about her discovery, or any other campus endowment or As the 2019 Fall season for annual giving, please contact our Curator, Alison giving arrived and planning began Colwell [email protected] or CAES Ellen and Johanna at the 2020 Herbarium for UC Davis GIVE DAY 2020, we Development officer, Shari Kawelo at tea. Photo: Coutesy of G. Yoak continued working with the College 530-752-2097 office, 530-219-9844 of Agricultural and Environmental mobile, or [email protected]. not to let her career at UC Davis end Sciences Development team to get the unacknowledged, I commissioned an word out. By early June, just before the J. Kwan original botanical illustration of Lycianthes deadline, we still needed a few thousand rzedowskii, a species she described, drawn dollars to establish the fund. And then, Editor’s Note: Johanna Kwan, Horticulture by botanical artist (and DBS member) in the last week, an anonymous donor 1997, initiated the campaign to create a Lesley Randall. In addition, I began got us over the finish line. The mystery campus endowment to provide unrestricted inquiries about how we could create an continues as the donor(s) is still funds for the Center for Plant Diversity in endowment in Ellen’s name. unknown to me, but I thank everyone honor of Ellen Dean’s long and meritori- During the Fall of 2018, many current for your support! We surpassed our ous service. She wrote this report on the and former DBS members, volunteers, $50,000 goal, and we all can celebrate successful result.

OAK SPECIMENS (CONT. FROM PAGE 4)

With researchers from Duke, Kath- leen Pryer and Carlo Tomasi, my lab has a b made progress toward this goal since I arrived at UC Davis, all thanks to the digitization efforts of the UC Davis Her- barium team. Focusing on Valley Oak, Quercus lobata—a native California oak tree that harbors diverse types of damage by insect herbivores—we are now train- ing machine learning algorithms to rec- ognize different insect damage types on digitized herbarium specimens. During the pandemic, undergraduate researchers in my lab have provided the computer with examples of different damage types by annotating digital specimens from the comfort and safety of their homes (Im- age 2). These undergraduate researchers upload the herbarium images to a pro- Image 2. a) A type of insect feeding damage called a leaf mine on a valley oak (Quercus lobata) gram where they point to a damage type specimen, and b) this damage type annotated by undergraduate researcher to teach the com- and say, “hey, computer, this is chewing”. puter algorithm to recognize leaf mines on its own. Photo courtesy of E. Meineke The computer takes that information have completed annotations for over recognizing and quantifying insect dam- in and, with enough input from the re- 20,000 instances of insect damage. This age. We are extremely proud of these searchers, can identify chewing on a new means that we have given the computer efforts so far and are excited to continue specimen by itself. 20,000 examples of indentations and incorporating digital herbarium speci- Viola! No more hunching over a marks on leaves made by insects. We mens into our entomological work well microscope for hours to extract data are now writing a grant to maximize the into the future. from herbarium specimens. So far, we potential of computer algorithms for E. Meineke 7 DAVIS BOTANICAL SOCIETY LASTHENIA

LASTHENIA, the Newsletter of the Davis Botanical Society, is published in collaboration with the staff of the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory UPCOMING EVENTS! and Center for Plant Diversity. Editor: Kate Mawdsley The Arboretum & Public Garden fall plant sale will be held online this year, from mid-October through mid-November, and will feature a huge Issue Contributors: A. Colwell, E. Meineke, J. Kwan, K. Mawdsley, R. inventory of over 730 types of plants. After placing an order, customers Preston, T. Rost, E. Sandoval, G. Yoak will schedule an appointment for curbside, contactless pick up of their Design: Susan Gloystein order at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery. The sale will be open only to Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum & Public Garden and Davis Botani- Layout: Bruce Ponman cal Society members. As of press time, the opening date has not yet been DBS OFFICERS, 2020–2021 announced, so check the plant sale website for news: https://arboretum. President: Thomas Rost ucdavis.edu/plant-sales. President-elect: Steve Schoenig Membership Vice President: Thursday November 19, 5:00–6:00 p.m. Fall Program: Student Recipi- Shannon Still ents of Davis Botanical Society Grants: Max Odland and Shawn Chris- tensen will talk about their research. Zoom format. A flier/email will be Secretary: Lars Anderson sent containing details. Treasurer: Robert Rhode Past President: Elina Niño Thursday, December 17, 6:45–8:00 p.m. DBS holiday presentation: Members at Large: Alison Colwell, Needles, cones and arils: our favorite California groves! This event Lars Anderson is conceived as a “dispersed format” field trip. Please visit a favorite conifer Student Member at Large: grove, send your images and impressions to Alison (aelcolwell@ucdavis. Maureen Page edu) by Dec 14, and she will concatenate them into a group presentation Ex officio: Teri Barry, Ellen Dean, Kate Mawdsley, Dan Potter, Ernesto

to be held on Zoom. Sandoval

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