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Newsletter No. 165 December 2015 Price: $5.00 AUSTRALASIAN SYSTEMATIC BOTANY SOCIETY INCORPORATED Council President Vice President Darren Crayn Daniel Murphy Australian Tropical Herbarium (ATH) Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria James Cook University, Cairns Campus Birdwood Avenue PO Box 6811, Cairns Qld 4870 Melbourne, Vic. 3004 Australia Australia Tel: (+61)/(0)7 4232 1859 Tel: (+61)/(0) 3 9252 2377 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Secretary Treasurer Leon Perrie John Clarkson Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service PO Box 467, Wellington 6011 PO Box 975, Atherton Qld 4883 New Zealand Australia Tel: (+64)/(0) 4 381 7261 Tel: (+61)/(0) 7 4091 8170 Email: [email protected] Mobile: (+61)/(0) 437 732 487 Councillor Email: [email protected] Jennifer Tate Councillor Institute of Fundamental Sciences Mike Bayly Massey University School of Botany Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442 University of Melbourne, Vic. 3010 New Zealand Australia Tel: (+64)/(0) 6 356 9099 ext. 84718 Tel: (+61)/(0) 3 8344 5055 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Other constitutional bodies Hansjörg Eichler Research Committee Affiliate Society David Glenny Papua New Guinea Botanical Society Greg Leach Sarah Matthews Advisory Standing Committees [Vacancies to be filled by Council shortly] Financial Chair: Dan Murphy, Vice President Patrick Brownsey Grant application closing dates David Cantrill Hansjörg Eichler Research Fund: Bob Hill on March 14th and September 14th each year. Ad hoc adviser to Committee: Bruce Evans Australian Conservation Taxonomy Award: Chair: John Clarkson, Treasurer on 22nd May 2015, 2016 Grants Policy Public Officer Darren Crayn Alexander Schmidt-Lebuhn Anna Monro Jen Tate Australian National Botanic Gardens Peter Weston GPO Box 1777 Peter Wilson Canberra, ACT 2601 Chair: Dan Murphy, Vice-President Tel: +61 (0)2 6250 9530 Email: [email protected] Web presence ASBS Website: www.asbs.org.au ASBS Facebook Group Webmasters Viewable currently to any member of Facebook; Anna Monro permission to post by application to administrators. Australian National Botanic Gardens Administrators Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia Todd McLay, email: [email protected] Tel: (+61)/(0) 2 6250 9530 Mike Bayly, email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Murray Fagg Cover image: Elaeocarpus sedentarius Maynard & Crayn. Australian National Botanic Gardens Leafy twig with clockwise from top: open flower, petal, Tel: (+61)/(0) 2 6250 9561 sepal, proximal end of fruit, longitudinally sectioned fruit. Email: [email protected] Artist: Catherine Wardrop (NSW). With permission of CSIRO Publishing. Publication dates of previous issue Australas. Syst. Bot. Soc. Newslett. 164 (September 2015) ASBS Web site: 16th Nov 2015. Printed version: 19th Nov 2015. Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 165 (December 2015) From the President I’d like to start this, my first missive in this role, (Alexander Schmidt-Lebuhn, Sarah Mathews, by stating how honoured I am to be elected and Lydia Guja), and efficiently managed by President of the ASBS for 2016. It is humbling to the session chairs. be entrusted with this important role, and I will I congratulate the conference prizewinners endeavour, as part of Council, to do my best to (listed below: Fig. 1), and on behalf of the help the Society meet the challenges and seize Society I thank all of the candidates for their the opportunities of the coming years. This can efforts which made the work of the judging best be achieved collectively, so I encourage all panel (Sarah Mathews, Russell Barrett and members to contact me at any time to share any Peter Weston) exceedingly difficult. CSIRO and all ideas aimed at improving the ASBS and Publishing is acknowledged for sponsorship the service it provides to the members. Please of the student best presentation and best poster email me at [email protected]. awards. ASBS 2015 Conference, Canberra • The winner of the Pauline Ladiges award This year’s conference was a great success, for best presentation by a student was and as always a great opportunity to renew Ben Anderson – “Using genotyping by friendships and begin new ones. And one of the sequencing to resolve the evolutionary most important functions of conferences is the relationships in a species complex of exchange of ideas and building of professional Australian arid zone grasses (Triodia)” networks – if it is said that a stranger is just a • The winner of the prize for best poster by a friend you haven’t yet met, then in the context student was Charles Foster – “Estimating the of ASBS conferences, a stranger is just a evolutionary timescale of flowering plants collaborator you haven’t yet worked with. using complete cp genome sequences” On behalf of the Council I thank all participants • The winner of the Bob Anderson Memorial in the 2015 ASBS conference for their support Student Award was Janet Gagul. This award for this most important annual Society occasion, is to support registration fees of a student with a special mention reserved for the keynote who attends the annual ASBS conference speakers (Vicki Funk, Craig Moritz and Ilse and presents a spoken or poster presentation. Breitwieser). We hope we can count on your In consideration of Bob’s institutional continued support. The conference organising relationships, priority is given to a student committee is due special mention for putting from a developing country. on a great show. The notables are Anna Monro, ASBS 2016 is in Alice Springs, a vibrant, Chris Cargill, Brendan Lepschi, Cath Reed, culturally diverse city located in Australia’s red and Jim Croft, but no doubt there were many heart. I have no doubt the organisers will deliver other helpers before, during and after the event, a program of sessions, excursions and social to all of whom we are grateful. The scientific events to rival any previous ASBS conference, program was interesting and excellent, expertly and it will be a great opportunity for those of us curated by the Scientific Program Committee Australasian Systematic Botany Society Inc. Nancy T. Burbidge Medal This prestigious award is presented to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to plant systematics in Australasia. Council invites Society members to make formal nominations for the 2016 award. A nomination should comprise a formal letter with supporting information, and the names of two referees who have agreed to provide additional written support if invited to do so. Nominations must reach the Secretary by 4th March 2016. For more information, please contact Leon Perrie at [email protected] 1 Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 165 (December 2015) Fig. 1. Student awards at the recent ASBS conference in Canberra. From top: a, Ben Anderson receiving the Pauline Ladiges Award from CSIRO Publishing’s Chris Anderson; b, Charles Foster receiving the award for best poster; c, Darren Crayn presenting Janet Gagul with the Bob Anderson Memorial Student Award Ph. a, c, Murray Fagg; b, Mike Bayly who have never seen Australia’s red centre to experience it with friendly and knowledgeable colleagues. I hope to see you there. Council changes I would like to thank the immediate past Council, and indeed all past Councils, for having left the Society in such robust financial shape, so much so that I frequently goad John Clarkson (Treasurer) to be more adjectivally diverse when describing the Society’s position – he’s thoroughly worn out ‘healthy’. Good management over a long period has ensured that the Society’s funds, bolstered by the extraordinary generosity of Marlies Eichler over many years, have been put to the best possible use. The membership is stable at around 300, a strong indicator that the Society continues to be relevant and delivers value to its members. Immediate past President Bill Barker and Councillor Kelly Shepherd leave the Society having contributed much to its success over the past few years (Fig. 2). I warmly welcome Jennifer Tate to the Councillor role vacated by Kelly, knowing she will make every bit as valuable a contribution as Kelly did. The remainder of Council members continue for 2016, albeit with some shuffling of responsibilities – Dan Murphy moves from Councillor to Vice President and Mike Bayly from Vice President to Councillor. The future... It is widely acknowledged that there has been a decline in our workforce over the last few decades, yet the Australasian plant systematics community continues to function at a high level. We are world renowned for our outputs and our innovation – the acronym soup of virtual infrastructure we have built - AVH, ALA, APNI, APC, NZ eFlora, LucID, interactive keys (e.g. Wattle, Euclid, etc) - is the envy of the world. We have a lot to celebrate, and a great deal to look forward to. But our success will endure only if we remain alive to opportunities and not dwell on the past. Introspection and retrospection, if not counterweighed with 2 Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 165 (December 2015) Fig. 2. Enter stage left; exit stage right. In Canberra at the ASBS meeting: members of the incoming 2015/16 ASBS Council (left six) and the outgoing 2014/15 (right six): from left, Darren Crayn, Jen Tate, Leon Perrie, Mike Bayly, Dan Murphy, John Clarkson, Kelly Shepherd, Bill Barker. Ph. M. Fagg. optimism, will not grow our science. The Thiele warns of being ‘surveyed to within an Decadal Plan for Taxonomy being developed inch of your lives’, I’d give it a few metres at in part by the Society is our attempt to seize the least. day and argue that our science has a core role In closing, I think it is an exciting time to be a to play in the future prosperity (in the broadest plant systematist in Australasia, and an exciting sense) of nations.