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Department of Systematic Biology - Botany & the U.S. National Herbarium The Plant Press New Series - Vol. 5 - No. 4 October-December 2002 Botany Profile With Liberty and Justicia for All By Robert DeFilipps usticia is an attractive genus in the curator in the Smithsonian Institutions Flora of Ecuador in 1987. In addition to dicot family Acanthaceae. It is Department of Botany. those previously mentioned, Wasshau- named for James Justice (1698-1763), Wasshausen began working in Smith- sen has contributed family taxonomic Jan early tulipomaniac and the first person sonian Botany on May 20, 1962, as a treatments of Acanthaceae for the flora in England to grow a pineapple to the technician with Velva Rudd, the Fabaceae of Texas by Correll & Johnston, and of fruiting stage. All botanists and horticul- expert. In a span of 14 years, he worked the Galapagos Islands, Dominica, Pico turists, and numerous other visitors to upwards from technician to the position of das Almas (Bahia, Brazil) and Venezuelan the tropics, are familiar with the shrimp Chairman of the Botany Department, which Guayana, as well as for checklists or plant, an evergreen shrub with arching he assumed in 1976 and held until 1982. catalogues of the family in the three spikes having conspicuous, coppery Prior to that he had been an associate Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French bronze, overlapping bracts resembling the curator from 1969 to 1976, and later became Guiana), French Guiana (edited by carapace of a large shrimp. The technical a full curator from 1982 to the present time. Cremers & Hoff), and Peru. name of this widely cultivated plant, once A great affinity for field collecting and Among his numerous begonia endemic to Mexico, is Justicia bran- exploration pervades his botanical publications is a treatment of the family degeana Wasshausen & L.B. Smith. The interests, and one early influence was his for the Flora of Venezuela (1989), and joint authors of the species, Dieter C. opportunity to peruse the vast collections the world-scope treatment in the defini- Wasshausen (Acanthaceae and Begonia- that had recently been brought back from tive Begoniaceae, Edition 2, Part I: ceae specialist) and Lyman B. Smith Amazonian Peru by J.J. Wurdack. At nearly Annotated Species List; Part II: Illus- (Bromeliaceae and Begoniaceae special- the same time it was realized that Emery C. trated Key, Abridgement and Supple- ist, deceased) have remained associated Leonard (1892-1968), an Acanthaceae ment, by J. Golding and D.C. Wasshau- in a number of ways by mutual botanical specialist at the Smithsonian, had abruptly sen, which recently appeared in Contrib. interests over the years. left behind eight herbarium cases of Texas U.S. Nat. Herb. 43: 1-289 (2002); its Dieter Carl Wasshausen, curator in the Acanthaceae, and Lyman Smith suggested precursor (ed. 1) appeared in Smith- United States National Herbarium (US), that Wasshausen might want to examine sonian Contrib. Bot. 60: 1-584 (1986), of was born in Jena, Germany in 1938. After them. This led to his masters study as a which Wasshausen was a co-author with the Second World War, his father, an treatment for Lundells Flora of Texas, and L.B. Smith, J. Golding and C.E. Kare- eminent German rocket scientist, settled was the genesis of a lifelong interest in the geannes. the family in New Jersey. Later, Dieter New World Acanthaceae. ltogether, Wasshausen has Wasshausen joined the U.S. Army to In the 1980s he diverged slightly to described approximately 247 new spend six months in Greenland testing the collaborate with L.B. Smith and R.M. Klein species in various families, and rate of movement of nuclear fallout in a study of the taxonomically difficult Afive new species have been named for radiation on the Greenland Icecap. His grass family (Poaceae) for the Flora him, including the composite Vernonia three degrees were earned at George Ilustrada Catarinense, a flora of the state wasshausenii S.B. Jones from Brazil; the Washington University (Washington, of Santa Catarina, Brazil, resulting in 998 melastome Tibouchina wasshausenii J.J. D.C.): B.S. in 1962; M.S. in 1965 with a pages of text. Wasshausens excursions Wurdack from Peru; and Vellozia wass- thesis on Acanthaceae for C.L. Lundells into the taxonomy of begonias (Begonia- hausenii L.B. Smith & E.S. Ayensu from Flora of Texas; and Ph. D. in 1972 with a ceae) also began with the stimulus of Brazil. Many of the new species in both dissertation monograph of the genus Smith, and their first joint paper on the categories have been collected during Aphelandra (Acanthaceae). The major subject was on begonias in Ecuador his strenuous field work of the past advisor for his degrees was Lyman Smith, (1979), followed by a treatment for the Continued on page 10 Travel Vicki Funk traveled to Urbana, Illinois to Miami, Florida (9/20 9/22) to attend the collections of Commelinaceae at the Royal (7/1 7/3) to attend the annual meeting of biannual symposium of the Coalition for Botanic Gardens, Kew and East African the Society for the Study of Evolution Excellence in Tropical Biology (CETroB). Herbarium, National Museum of Kenya. (SSE); to Madison, Wisconsin (8/2 8/8) Paula DePriest traveled to Hartford, Laurence Dorr traveled to Caracas, to attend the annual meeting of the Connecticut (7/25 7/28) to attended the Venezuela (8/8 8/29) to collect plant American Institute of Biological Sciences American Bryological and Lichenological specimens in the Teta de Niquitao-Guirigay (AIBS) and to collect Asteraceae for Society meeting at the University of National Monument and the Guaramacal research; to Patras, Greece (9/11 9/16) to Connecticut. National Park and use the herbarium in attend the Sixth International Congress on Maria Faust traveled to Madison, Guanare; and to Bronx, New York (9/24 9/ Systematic and Evolutionary Biology Wisconsin (8/4 8/7) to attend the annual 27) to visit the New York Botanical Garden (ICSEB-VI); and to London, U.K. (9/17 9/ meeting of the Phycological Society of and to work on Taxonomic Literature II, 23) to conduct herbarium work at the Royal America (PSA). Supplement F-G. Botanic Gardens, Kew. Warren Wagner traveled to Madison, Pedro Acevedo traveled to Puerto Rico Laurence Skog traveled to Costa Rica Wisconsin (8/4 8/8) to present a talk at (8/15 9/7) to continue a survey on the (7/14 7/23) to conduct field work and the annual meeting of the Botanical vascular plant flora of karst limestone herbarium studies; to Scotland (9/23 10/ Society of America (BSA). areas; and to Bronx, New York (9/27 9/28) 2) to participate in the Gesneriaceae work- Liz Zimmer traveled to Madison, Wis- for a visit to the New York Botanical shop at Royal Botanical Gardens in Edin- consin (8/4 8/8) to present a poster at the Garden. burgh; and to Tampa, Florida (10/12 10/ annual meeting of the Botanical Society of Gary Krupnick traveled to Patras, 16) to visit Selby Botanical Garden and to America (BSA); and to Cambridge, Massa- Greece (9/12 9/17) to co-chair a sympo- select materials for loan. chusetts (8/21) to discuss collaborative sium and present a paper at the Sixth W. John Kress traveled to Panama (7/ opportunities. International Congress on Systematic and 28 8/4) to attend the annual meeting of Paul Peterson traveled to Madison, Evolutionary Biology (ICSEB-VI). the Association for Tropical Biology; and Wisconsin (8/4 8/8) to present a talk on Dan Nicolson traveled to Bronx, New Chloridoideae (Poaceae) at the annual York (9/24 9/30) to visit the New York meeting of the Botanical Society of Botanical Garden and to work on Taxo- The Plant Press America (BSA); and to Mexico (9/15 10/ nomic Literature II, Supplement F-G. 20) to collect grasses. Mark and Diane Littler traveled to New Series - Vol. 5 - No. 4 Robert Faden traveled to London, U.K. Panama (10/8 10/22) to conduct research Head of Botany and Nairobi, Kenya (8/4 8/25) to study on coral reefs in Bocas del Toro. W. John Kress ([email protected]) Visitors EDITORIAL STAFF Katherine Smith, Private researcher; Peru- Robert Raguso , University of South Co-Editors vian plants (7/17). Carolina; Pollination biology (9/5 - 9/6). Gary Krupnick Katharine Lofdahl, University of Guam; ([email protected]) Jerrold Davis, Department of Botany, Cor- Robert DeFilipps Tree ferns (8/14 - 8/16). nell University; Puccinellia (Poaceae) and Phytolacca (Phytolaccaceae) (9/12 - 9/13). ([email protected]) Jeff Saarela, University of Alberta, Circulation Manager Canada; Bromus, Brachyelytrum (Poa- Hestor Bell, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Shirley Maina ceae), Acorus (Acoraceae) (8/16 - 8/17). Garden, California; Poaceae (9/16). ([email protected]) Michael Tamessar, University of Guyana, Frederica Bowcutt, The Evergreen State News Contacts Georgetown; Biological Diversity of the College; Lithocarpus (Fagaceae) (9/18). MaryAnn Apicelli, Robert Faden, Ellen Guianas Program (8/18 - 8/28). Farr, George Russell, Alice Tangerini, and Terry Macfarlane, Department of Conser- Elizabeth Zimmer Roger Troutman, Sprint Corporation vation and Land Management; Poaceae, (retired); Independent research (8/26 - 9/8). DELTA (9/18 - 9/19). The Plant Press is a quarterly publication provided free of charge. If you would like to be Susan Grose, University of Washington, Gerrit Davidse, Missouri Botanical added to the mailing list, contact Shirley Maina at: Department of Systematic Biology - Seattle; Asteraceae (8/27 - 9/7). Garden, St. Louis; Identification of grasses Botany, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box collected by Paul Peterson (9/24 - 10/14). 37012, NMNH MRC-166, Washington, DC Patricia Tester, Team Leader, Lower Food 20013-7012, or by e-mail: maina.shirley@ Dynamics and Plankton Ecology, National Tarciso Filgueiras, Instituto Brasileiro do nmnh.si.edu.