Department of Botany & the U.S. National Herbarium The Plant Press New Series - Vol. 17 - No. 2 April-June 2014 Botany Profile New Endowment Honors Lyman Smith Legacy By Nancy Khan and Warren Wagner he Department of Botany is especially the bromeliads (Bromeliaceae). this new endowment Christopher Smith pleased to announce that a gener- Over the course of his lengthy career he has expressed his desire to honor “their Tous gift in 2013 from Christopher published prolifically, authoring over exemplary dedication to the exploration, C. Smith, Professor Emeritus in the Divi- 1,700 new taxa and 519 publications, with study, and understanding of plants” and sion of Biology at Kansas State Univer- his seminal work being a reorganization hopes “that the recipients of the Lyman sity and son of Lyman and Ruth Smith, of the Bromeliaceae in Flora Neotropica B. and Ruth C. Smith Endowment will has created a new endowment in support which he completed between 1974 – 1979 carry on their tradition of the passion- of early career research fellows in botany. during his tenure as an Emeritus Curator ate and earnest pursuit of taxonomic The endowment, named the Lyman B. in the Department. He was founding mem- research in botany.” We look forward and Ruth C. Smith Endowment Fund, ber of the Bromeliad Society and accumu- to announcing the first recipient of this is designed to provide career develop- lated many awards for his contributions to award within the year. ment opportunities for young scientists Bromeliad research (Taxon 46: 819-824; to further their research and education 1997). At least 50 species have been his new gift is particularly excit- through studies of plants at the U.S. named in his honor, including two bro- ing as it is the first the Depart- National Herbarium (US) and through meliads discovered in South America as Tment has received specifically interactions with our research staff. This recently as 1999. Tillandsia lymanii Rauh in support of research scholarship thus charitable gift will be held in a permanent and Mezobromelia lyman-smithii Rauh & enabling the Department to expand its fund with an annual award made to sup- Barthlott are fitting tributes in recognition opportunities for young botanists to port and sustain the work of fellows in of his legacy of exceptional scholarship in develop and pursue their research inter- residence within the department. the field of tropical plants. ests. In addition, it broadens the Depart- Through this endowment Christopher While largely unrecognized for her ment’s growing suite of endowments Smith has created an enduring award that efforts, Ruth Smith provided invaluable secured by gifts received over the past will continue to recognize the important assistance and support throughout her 80 years. The Department’s endowments contributions that Lyman Smith and his husband’s career. She proof-read countless currently exceed $2.6 million and are wife Ruth made to the field of botanical papers and classification keys, collected managed by the Office of Investments in research. Lyman Smith began his dis- specimens with him on multiple trips to accord with the investment goals, objec- tinguished career at Harvard University South America, supplied photographs, and tives, and policies of the Smithsonian where as a doctoral candidate he made co-authored the volume on “Begoniaceas” Institution. A brief review of the suite his first collecting trip to South America in the series “Flora Ilustrada Catarin- of eight discrete funds dedicated to the to collect bromeliads and other tropical ense” edited by P. Raulino Reitz. Together Department of Botany reveals a genuine plants in Brazil. In 1947 he joined the Ruth and Lyman raised five children, at and unwavering munificence by donors Smithsonian’s Department of Botany least two of whom have actively pursued who have contributed greatly to the and worked as a Research Botanist in careers in the natural sciences. Christo- longevity and ability of the Department the museum for over 40 years, including pher Smith taught evolutionary biology to pursue its core mission of scientific many years after his retirement. at Kansas State University for 33 years. research and collections development. Lyman Smith was a dedicated taxono- Stephen Smith became the second in the The earliest source of support for the mist who studied and identified plants family to pursue a career at the National department, the Albert S. Hitchcock from a broad range of areas and groups Museum of Natural History working to Fund, was established in 1937 as a and was widely recognized as a world identify, catalog, and care for herbarium memorial fund to maintain the Hitch- authority on many tropical families, specimens from 1978 – 2012. Through cock-Chase Library and Collections. By Continued on page 11 Travel Vicki Funk traveled to Cape Town, Laurence Skog traveled to Sarasota, student committee meeting and a student South Africa (1/7 – 1/27) to present a Florida (2/18 – 2/28) to work at Marie symposium. paper at a meeting of the Association Selby Botanical Garden on the unmounted Kenneth Wurdack traveled to Bronx, for the Taxonomic Study of the Flora of specimens of Gesneriaceae; and to Hono- New York (2/19) to use the herbarium, Tropical Africa (AETFAT) and to partici- lulu, Hawaii (3/22 – 3/29) to visit the library, and archives at the New York pate in a field trip to collect Compositae Foster Botanical Garden, the herbaria at Botanical Garden for research relating to for research; and throughout northern the University of Hawaii, and the Bishop Euphorbiaceae, Malvales, and Guyana Chile and southern Peru (2/28 – 3/21) to Museum, as well as to attend the iDigBio floristics. collect specimens of Werneria (Composi- workshop at the East-West Center at the tae) for research. University. Rusty Russell traveled to New Haven, Alain Touwaide traveled to Messina, Connecticut (3/8 – 3/13) to co-organize Italy (3/1 – 3/31) to teach an intensive and speak at an iDigBio workshop on course on the classical scientific tradition digitization of source materials for at the University of Messina, to present a biodiversity at Yale University; and to talk at Locri, the local branch of the Inter- the Honolulu, Hawaii (3/17 – 3/23) to national Association for Classical Studies, present an invited lecture at an Ethnobiol- to present a talk at Messina Academy, ogy Society meeting at the University of and, with Emanuela Appetiti, to visit the Hawaii-Manoa, and to visit collections archeological sites of Kaulonia and Ger- and collaborate with staff at the Bishop ace, both rich in archeobotanical material. Museum and Lyon Arboretum. Warren Wagner traveled to Hawaii Eric Schuettpelz traveled to Chin (2/10 – 2/26) to attend a meeting of the State, Myanmar (3/1 – 3/21) as part of an Smithsonian Institution National Board, expedition to survey the flora of Natma to attend a meeting on the Flora of the Taung National Park. Marquesas Islands, and to a attend plan- ning meeting for Dimensions of Biodiver- The Plant Press sity, a multi-institution NSF grant to study Onagraceae and evolution of scent. New Series - Vol. 17 - No. 2 Jun Wen traveled to Raleigh, North Chair of Botany Carolina (2/28 – 3/2) to attend a graduate Warren L. Wagner ([email protected]) Visitors EDITORIAL STAFF Carlos García-Robledo, Smithsonian Dara Meekins, George Mason University; Fellow; Plant-herbivore interaction Ethnobotany internship (1/6-1/20). Editor (7/20/10-7/17/14). Gary Krupnick Harlan Svoboda, Ohio University; Pas- ([email protected]) Janelle Burke, New York Botanical Gar- sifloraceae (1/6-1/10). den; Tropical Polygonaceae and Plumbag- Copy Editors inaceae (8/1/12-12/31/14). Caetano T Oliveira, Universidade de Robin Everly, Bernadette Gibbons, Rose São Paulo, Brazil; Mikania (Asteraceae) Gulledge Ning Zhang, Pennsylvania State Univer- (1/7-1/31). sity; Vitaceae (1/7/13-6/30/15). News Contacts Tom Kaye, Institute for Applied Ecology; MaryAnn Apicelli, Rusty Russell, Alice Maria Kaye, University of Aberdeen, Orobanchaceae (1/8-1/9). Tangerini, and Elizabeth Zimmer United Kingdom; DNA barcoding Yongli Fan, Xishuangbana Tropical The Plant Press is a quarterly publication pro- (11/25/13-3/25/14). vided free of charge. 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Oklahoma; Medieval history of botany Gloria Batista de Vega, Smithsonian Web site: http://botany.si.edu/ (1/6-1/9). Tropical Research Institute; Eucheuma Page 2 A New Opportunity to Increase Workforce Diversity Chair he call for diversity in the workforce is often assist with collections duties in the Core Collec- followed by varying degrees of action and tions Management Unit. Ted comes to us from With Tinaction. However, in 2013 the Smithsonian a recent assignment at the National Air & Space Institution “walked the talk” and issued a policy Museum.