Newsletter No. 170 March 2017 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 Jennifer Tate John Clarkson Institute of Fundamental Sciences Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Massey University PO Box 975, Atherton Qld 4883 Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North 4442 Australia New Zealand Tel: (+61)/(0) 7 4091 8170; (+61)/(0) 437 732 487 Tel: (+64)/(0) 6 356- 099 ext. 84718 Email: [email protected] or Email: [email protected] or [email protected] [email protected] Councillor Councillor Ryonen Butcher Matt Renner Western Australian Herbarium Royal Botanic Garden Sydney Locked Bag 104 Mrs Macquaries Road Bentley Delivery Centre WA 6983 Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Australia Tel: (+61)/(0) 8 9219 9136 Tel: (+61)/(0) 415 343 508 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Other constitutional bodies Hansjörg Eichler Research Committee Affiliate Society David Glenny Papua New Guinea Botanical Society Sarah Mathews Heidi Meudt Advisory Standing Committees Joanne Birch Financial Katharina Schulte Patrick Brownsey Murray Henwood David Cantrill Chair: Dan Murphy, Vice President Bob Hill Grant application closing dates Ad hoc adviser to Committee: Bruce Evans Hansjörg Eichler Research Fund: Chair: John Clarkson, Treasurer on March 14th and September 14th each year. Marlies Eichler Postdoctoral Fellowship: Grants Policy on July 31st each year. Gillian Brown Alexander Schmidt-Lebuhn Public Officer Jen Tate Anna Monro Peter Weston Australian National Botanic Gardens Peter Wilson GPO Box 1777 Chair: Mike Bayly (Chair) Canberra, ACT 2601 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; permission to post by application to administrators. Anna Monro 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. Flyer accompanying posted copies CSIRO Publishing publications on plants with order form see www.publish.csiro.au/plants Publication dates of previous issue Australas. Syst. Bot. Soc. Newslett. 168–9 (Sep–Dec 2016) ASBS Web site: 22nd Dec 2016. Printed version: 23rd Dec 2016 Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 170 (March 2017) From the President Welcome to the first report for 2017. I hope mechanism for our early career professionals, everybody had a wonderful, refreshing break our discipline’s future. A full account of the over the Christmas-New Year period and has Fellowship including eligibility and assessment begun 2017 with renewed vigour. The year is criteria are provided in the following pages. off to a flying start ... Systematics 2017: Joint ASBS-SASB Decadal Plan for Systematics and Taxonomy conference Adelaide, 26–29 Nov 2017 I’m pleased to report that the funding proposal Preparations for the joint meeting of your for the Decadal Plan for Systematics and society and the Society of Australian Systematic Taxonomy mooted in my last President’s report Biologists (SASB) are in full swing. Themed has been submitted (via the Australian Academy Integrating Systematics for Conservation of Science) to the Ian Potter Foundation. and Ecology, this opportunity to meet with We should be in a position to report on the our non-botanical colleagues is a rare joy. outcome in the next ASBS Newsletter. If it is The last joint meeting – Sydney 2013 – was successful, the seriously hard work will begin, a runaway success not only scientifically, but and we will need more of the community to also financially through the boost it provided to engage and deliver than has been the case so the Society’s coffers. I have every confidence far. A number of people have been instrumental the upcoming Adelaide meeting will be just in getting the idea this far and they deserve our as great and I strongly recommend that all congratulations. They know who they are, but make plans to attend and contribute. The I’ll mention four in particular: Kevin Thiele, conference conveners have invited proposals Ilse Breitwieser and Bill Barker furnished for conference symposia. Please send these to much of the initial vision and muscle required one of the conveners. Keep a close eye on, or to get the ball rolling and keep it in motion, better, subscribe to the conference website for and Katharina Schulte has expertly coordinated news and announcements. the development group with both charm and Conference web site: efficacy over the last year or so. https://systematics.ourplants.org/ Conveners: [email protected] New ASBS postdoctoral grants: Marlies and [email protected] Eichler Postdoctoral Fellowship I’m exceptionally pleased that the Society is Call for nominations for Burbidge Medal finally able to announce a new grant scheme I’d like to remind members that they – the Marlies Eichler Postdoctoral Fellowship. are invited to nominate candidates for Members will recall that the late Marlies consideration for the Burbidge Medal. The Eichler, wife of the celebrated Australian plant Burbidge Medal is awarded to an individual taxonomist Hansjörg Eichler, passed away a who has made a longstanding and significant few years ago. In addition to the substantial contribution to Australasian systematic annual donations she made to the Eichler botany and is the highest honour the Society fund in the years since Hansjörg’s passing, can confer. Previous recipients are listed (as she honoured the Society in her will. It is Burbidge lecturers) on the ASBS website on that extraordinarily generous gesture that has the history of conferences page (Web ref.). resulted in the Society being able to offer this Nominations should include a written proposal new Fellowship. Members of the ASBS Grants sent to the Secretary ([email protected]) Policy Standing Committee and previous or [email protected]). Vice President Mike Bayly began this process Web ref. www.asbs.org.au/asbs/conferences.html and current Vice President Dan Murphy has Darren Crayn shepherded it to its conclusion. All are warmly President, ASBS thanked and congratulated for their efforts. This is a great outcome for the Society, a fitting way to honour the Eichlers’ legacy and generosity, and we hope a valuable additional support 1 Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 170 (March 2017) Issue of concern Specimen destruction update for our members Michelle Waycott Chair, Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria Catastrophically, two incoming loans of CHAH recommends that all institutions be herbarium specimens have been destroyed by prepared to limit the risk associated with the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture specimens coming into Australia. Likewise and Water Resources (DAWR) on arrival in most Australian herbaria now already consider Australia. The two consignments had been it too risky to allow the return of their own shipped to Brisbane and Canberra from specimens from international herbaria until this the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle matter is resolved. (Paris, France) and from the Allan Herbarium This terrible destruction of irreplaceable (Christchurch, New Zealand). scientific specimens has enormous negative The Managers of Australasian Herbaria implications to the reputation of Australian (MAHC), a CHAH subcommittee, have been scientific institutions. The risk of international proactively seeking to resolve how future herbaria refusing to loan or exchange specimens importing of specimens will be handled with Australian herbaria will lead to hampering through engagement with DAWR. A clear of our ability to conduct research in a field and balanced request proposing clarification where we currently have a strong international on the options and procedures for importing reputation. specimens to Australian herbaria has been I applaud the work of the MAHC committee, sent to the DAWR’s Plant Import Operations under the current leadership of Frank Zich Branch, Plant Biosecurity Division following (CNS), supported my Pina Milne (MEL), Gill discussion with DAWR staff. Brown (BRI) and Brendan Lepschi (CANB) Already, as a result of this, all New Zealand who have been actively seeking a solution. herbaria have ceased shipping loans to Australia. CHAH members have endorsed this approach by New Zealand herbaria and this will stay in place until the matter is resolved. ASBS Inc. business ASBS postdoctoral grants: Marlies Eichler Postdoctoral Fellowship The ASBS Council would like to announce Thanks and acknowledgement to the ASBS our new ASBS postdoctoral funding scheme, Grants Policy Standing Committee, and in the Marlies Eichler Postdoctoral Fellowship. particular Mike Bayly, for all their