ASBS Newsletter 153:5-20)
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Newsletter No. 155 June 2013 Price: $5.00 Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 155 (June 2013) AUSTRALASIAN SYSTEMATIC BOTANY SOCIETY INCORPORATED Council President Vice President Bill Barker Mike Bayly State Herbarium of South Australia School of Botany PO Box 2732, Kent Town, SA 5071 University of Melbourne, Vic. 3010 Australia Australia Tel: (+61)/(0)427 427 538 Tel: (+61)/(0)3 8344 5055 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Secretary Treasurer John Clarkson Frank Zich Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Australian Tropical Herbarium PO Box 156 E2 Building, J.C.U. Cairns Campus Mareeba, Qld 4880 PO Box 6811 Australia Cairns, Qld 4870 Tel: (+61)/(0)7 4048 4745 Australia Mobile: (+61)/(0)437 732 487 Tel: (+61)/(0)7 4059 5014 Fax: (+61)/(0)7 4092 2366 Fax: (+61)/(0)7 4091 8888 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Councillor (Assistant Secretary - Communications) Councillor (Assistant Treasurer) Ilse Breitwieser Pina Milne Allan Herbarium National Herbarium of Victoria Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd Private Bag 2000 PO Box 69040 Birdwood Ave Lincoln 7640 South Yarra, Vic. 3141 New Zealand Australia Tel: (+64)/(0)3 321 9621 Tel: (+61)/(0)3 9252 2309 Fax: (+64)/(0)3 321 9998 Fax: (+61)/(0)3 9252 2423 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Other Constitutional Bodies Public Officer Hansjörg Eichler Research Committee Annette Wilson Philip Garnock-Jones Australian Biological Resources Study David Glenny GPO Box 787 Betsy Jackes Canberra, ACT 2601 Greg Leach Australia Nathalie Nagalingum Email: [email protected] Christopher Quinn Chair: Mike Bayly, Vice President Affiliate Society Grant application closing dates: Papua New Guinea Botanical Society Hansjörg Eichler Research Fund: on March 14th and September 14th each year. Australian Conservation Taxonomy Award: on March 14th 2013 ASBS Website www.anbg.gov.au/asbs Cover image: Ternstroemia monostigma W.R.Barker Murray Fagg (Pentaphylacaceae), a New Guinea endemic. Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Male and female flowers and parts (minus petals), Research fruit, seed in section. Artist Taikika Iwagu. Australian National Herbarium With permission of the National Herbarium of Email: [email protected] Papua New Guinea. Publication dates of previous issue Australas. Syst. Bot. Soc. Newslett. 154 (March 2013): ASBS Web site: 8th April 2013; Printed version: 16th April 2013 Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 155 (June 2013) From the President Since the last issue of our Newsletter Robyn Apart from an additional weekend foray with and I had three weeks in May in the Top End Kym into a very dry Litchfield National Park we of the Northern Territory. Plant systematist were based at Philip and Emma Short’s working and ecologist Chris Martine from Bucknell at the Northern Territory Herbarium. Robyn’s University, Pennsylvania, had suggested we focus was on updating her long-standing join up during continuation of his work on the Acanthaceae and Malvaceae manuscripts, breeding systems of Solanum species – Chris while I consolidated my manuscript on the and I had worked through a wet Kimberley a taxa separable under what has been long decade before. I therefore had the opportunity recognised as the common widespread species, of picking up on my work on Lindernia and Stackhousia intermedia. other genera in the region. A poor wet had been Entering the NT Herbarium in Palmerston resurrected by an Easter holidays washed out one’s immediate impression is always of a with flooding rains and most of the Lindernia welcoming, active workplace of staff and species were evident. volunteers. An impressive number of ecologists We renewed acquaintances in one of Australia’s uses the specially cooled and dehumidified botanical frontiers and made new ones, reference room and main herbarium, identifying including other members of Chris’s team, social collections from the vegetation monitoring insect biologist Beth Capaldi Evans and student plots in both Kakadu and the broader Top End. Gemma Dugan. It was reassuring to find how much National Parks in Kakadu appreciated However, behind this welcoming, functional the value and needs of our taxonomic work; impression for visitors is an all too common their assistance over the five days in the Park reality of a staff struggling to cope with needs was more than we anticipated and maximised of maintaining the collection and its associated the returns from our visit. Notable was their data and the variety of tasks and services. Little facilitation of negotiation with the local or no monographic work – so important given Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation to gain the incomplete knowledge of the the flora of permission from the relevant elders for guided the region – is taking place. The Top End Flora access into two areas with rare unnamed programme, collating current knowledge, has Lindernia species. We were also assisted greatly slowed considerably and maintaining the hard- by the knowledge of Ian Cowie and Glenn attained datasets of specimen information and Wightman of the NT Herbarium and Kym the census is very difficult. Staff are effectively Brennan of the Flora and Fauna Division. Kym in holding mode undertaking the administrative took time off to join us in the field: his decades demands of modern government and servicing of intimate field knowledge of our plants added the needs of users within and outside the much more than an extra pair of eyes. Territory. Volunteers are important in this as Australasian Systematic Botany Society Inc. Nominations for membership of Council In accordance with Section 13 of the Society’s Rules, nominations are hereby called for membership of Council. Council consists of the following positions: President, Vice- President, Secretary, Treasurer and two (2) Councillors. Nominations must be received by the Secretary, John Clarkson, PO Box 156, Mareeba Qld ([email protected]) before 5 pm Tuesday 8th October. Nomination forms are included with this Newsletter, or can be obtained from the Secretary ([email protected]) or from the ASBS web site www.anbg.gov.au/asbs Notes • A member may be nominated simultaneously for any number of positions on Council but is ineligible to hold more than one position at one time. • While unter the Society’s Rules there are limits to the number of consecutive years for each Council position, all incumbent Councillors are eligible for re-election. 1 Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 155 (June 2013) in other herbaria. Funds were found to employ one to move the whole collection to better accommodate its growth over the past few years and into the future. Good news is that Philip Short, having resigned for other challenges, completed his Brachyscome revision, since submitted, something he struggled to do under 7TIGMEPMWXWMR2EXYVI8SYVWWMRGI the pressures of low staffing at the Herbarium. -RJSVQEXMZIREXYVEPMWXFSXERMWXPIEHIVW It is sad to see a Herbarium that we have visited 7QEPPKVSYTW TEVXMGMTERXW several times over the past 30 years struggling 4VMZEXIGLEVXIVWEZEMPEFPI in this way as a result of five of seven positions *YPP]EGGSQQSHEXIH GEQTMRKXSYVW becoming vacant in recent times. Even with eventual filling of three of these, staffing levels ;IWXIVR)\TPSVIV will be at a historical, less than adequate, (E]'EQTMRK8SYV low. Even sadder is this not being an isolated (ITEVXWXL.YP] occurrence in our region. /EVMNMRM1X%YKYWXYW /IRRIH]6ERKIW Meeting of Council 9RMUYI[MPH¾S[IVW%FSVMKMREP%VXERH XLI[SVPH´WPEVKIWXQSRSGPMRI Council participated in a phone conference during June. More than a dozen agenda items were discussed in the two hours. The phone ,SPPERH8VEGO +VX;IWXIVR conference cost less than $5 by way of an easy- ;SSHPERHW to-use on-line application. (E]'EQTMRK8SYV th (ITEVXWXL%YKYWX Nominations for Council due by 8 October )\TIVMIRGIXLIFMSHMZIVWMX]SJ While all current members of Council are SJXLI[SVPH´WPEVKIWXXIQTIVEXI eligible for another term, all of us encourage [SSHPERH other members keen to participate in progressing Society activities to nominate for 1MH[IWX;MPH¾S[IVW positions. (E]%GGSQQSHEXIH8SYV Burbidge Medallist Phil Garnock-Jones (ITEVXWXL7ITXIQFIV Council unanimously approved awarding a 7IIXLIFSXERMGEPLSXWTSXWRSVXLSJ4IVXL Burbidge Medal to Emeritus Professor Phil HYVMRK[MPH¾S[IVWIEWSR Garnock-Jones of the Victoria University, Wellington. He will be presented with this 7SYXL;IWX&MVHW &SXER] prestigious award and deliver the Burbidge (E]%GGSQQSHEXIH8SYV Lecture at the Sydney conference later in the (ITEVXWXL3GXSFIV year. His exemplary leadership in publication )\TIVMIRGIXLIFMSHMZIVWMX]SJ and promotion of high scientific and ;%´WJEQSYW7SYXL;IWXVIKMSR nomenclatural standards in plant systematics and evolutionary studies make him highly 0SVH,S[I-WPERH appropriate as New Zealand’s first Medallist. (E]%GGSQQSHEXIH Research grants (ITEVXWRH2SZIQFIV Congratulations to those successful in our %FIEYXMJYPMWPERH SRISJXLI[SVPHW QSWXJEWGMREXMRKREXYVEPLMWXSV] March round of grants. In case people are HIWXMREXMSRW wondering, Mike Bayly ex officio coordinates the Research Committee. He does not play a 4PIEWIGSRXEGXYWJSVQSVIMRJSVQEXMSR part in assessing the submitted proposals. Australasian plant systematics white paper *VII'EPP ;IF[[[GSEXIW[MPHPMJIXSYVWGSQEY Progress has been slow in the last couple of )QEMPGSEXIW$MMRIXRIXEY months in the face of other activities, but we are keen to progress the assembly of data for a +7%'SEXIW8SYVW0MGIRGIRSXE