Department of Botany & the U.S. National Herbarium The Plant Press New Series - Vol. 18 - No. 1 January-March 2015 Symposium Spotlight Special Agents Seek Change By Gary A. Krupnick he National Tropical Botanical and five preserves are all in the Hawaiian the Missouri Botanical Garden, offered Garden and the Department of Islands, while its fifth garden is located in opening remarks, explaining that the TBotany at Smithsonian’s National South Florida. Field exploration expands first biodiversity symposium (the word Museum of Natural History presented a its work beyond Hawaii into the greater “biodiversity” was coined in proceedings one-day symposium titled, “Agents of Pacific Islands region. from that forum) occurred at the Smith- Change: Botanic Gardens in the 21st Cen- Kirk Johnson, Sant Director at NMNH, sonian Institution in 1987. In a rapid-fire tury” on October 7, 2014, in Washington, kicked off the day with a welcome to the delivery, Raven than walked the audi- DC. The symposium brought together museum. As a paleobotanist, Johnson said ence through a history of tropical botany the world’s leading scientists, research- he felt a strong connection with botani- and conservation: the 1964 charter to ers, and garden leaders to share the most cal gardens and spoke fondly of botanists establish the Pacific Tropical Botani- pressing issues, trends, and solutions at whom mentored him during his college cal Garden (PTBG); Mildred Mathias botanical gardens, to the challenges faced years. as a key figure in the establishment of by the natural environment, the struggles A second welcome was given by the Organization for Tropical Studies to feed the hungry, and the losses of Chipper Wichman, Director and CEO in 1963; Norman Myers witnessing the cultural diversity. of NTBG. “Is it enough?” was a phrase state of destruction of the tropics in the The symposium was structured Wichman used in his 1970s; Terry Erwin around four over-arching topics: (1) introduction. Is it enough “The world needs estimating tens of Extinction or survival: conserving plants that botanical gardens millions of species in in a changing world; (2) Feast or fam- have cutting-edge research botanists to be the tropics; Senator ine: how we can and will feed 9 billion facilities; that they house the agents of Inouye in 1988 enact- people; (3) Biocultural conservation: the best collections of ing a name change interpreting the richness of the human specimens; that they are change and to for the garden, from experience; and (4) Operational sustain- exploring remote islands push the limits” PTBG to NTBG. ability: are botanic gardens an endan- in the world; that they are Raven went on to gered species? Each topic featured three reaching the last plants -Chipper Wichman explain that an early to four guest speakers and was followed and protecting them from focus of conserva- by an expert panel with five leaders in extinction? tion was about the botany. Pointing out the challenging times that desire for prosperity of forests. Rachel The event, held in Baird Auditorium we live in, Wichman explained that the Carson’s Silent Spring and the forma- at the National Museum of Natural role of botanical gardens has evolved since tion of the Sierra Club brought a new History (NMNH), was convened to World War II. The world population is put- vision of conservation, and with that, help celebrate the 50th anniversary of ting too much stress on the planet, which NTBG developed stronger conservation the National Tropical Botanical Garden is threatening food security, cultural secu- views to complement a strong collection (NTBG). Chartered by Congress to serve rity, energy security, and biosecurity. We of botanical specimens. Endorsing the a great public need, NTBG is a nonprofit are facing one of the greatest extinction positive work of NTBG over the past 50 institution dedicated to tropical plant crises, and what we are doing, Wichman years, Raven now looks forward to the research, conservation, and education, argued, is not enough. The world needs next 50 years of the garden’s work. with an emphasis on species at risk. botanists to be the agents of change and to The first topic of the symposium was NTBG’s headquarters, primary science push the limits. “Extinction or Survival: Conserving and conservation facilities, four gardens, Peter H. Raven, President Emeritus of Continued on page 15 Travel Pedro Acevedo traveled to Salvador, era; and to Paris, France (11/29 – 12/13) ferns from Mount Halimun Salak and Bahia, Brazil (10/17 – 10/24) to attend the with Laurence Dorr to study herbarium Mount Gede Pangrango National Parks; XI Latin American Botanical Congress, specimens and to locate type specimens of and to Wilmington, North Carolina (12/1 where he presented a one-and-a-half-day grasses and other plants collected by S.B. – 12/2) to attend a thesis defense at the course entitled “Generic Diversity of Buckley. University of North Carolina Wilmington. Neotropical Lianas & Climbing Plants,” Ashley Egan traveled to Salvador, Alain Touwaide and Emanuela and led the first organizational meeting of Bahia, Brazil (10/20 – 11/2) to speak at the Appetiti traveled to San Antonio, Texas the Neotropical Lianas Working Group XI Latin American Botanical Congress, (10/17 – 10/21) to visit the local botanic whose goal is to produce a Field Guide to attend the first official meeting of the gardens and the Department of Classics to the Lianas and Climbing Plants of the Legume Morphology Working Group, of Trinity University; to Florence, Italy Neotropics; and to Puebla, Mexico (10/31 to collect legumes in Bahia State, and to (10/28 – 11/4) to attend the opening of – 11/13) to collect specimens and data on discuss collaborative research. the Academic Year of the University of members of Sapindaceae and climbing Vicki Funk traveled to Salvador, Florence; to Cordoba, Spain (11/13 – plants at several localities in Sierra Madre Bahia, Brazil (10/17 – 11/1) to speak at 11/23) to attend the 2014 International Oriental. the XI Latin American Botanical Congress Congress of Ethnobotany, where they Barrett Brooks traveled to Colon, and to collect plants in the field; to Bronx, co-organized a 1-day session on historical Panama (11/10 – 11/26) to participate in a New York (11/18 – 11/21) to work in the ethnobotany; to Leuven, Belgium (11/30 Rapid Algal Assessment of the mangroves herbarium at the New York Botanical – 12/8) to participate in the international and reef areas in the vicinity of Galeta Garden; to Raleigh, North Carolina (11/21 conference “Towards the Authority of Marine Lab and to present a talk entitled – 11/23) to attend a NESCent meeting; and Vesalius: Representations of the Human “Plantas Marinas de Galeta: La historia to Sweden (11/29 – 12/10) to receive the Body in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and del mundo según las algas.” Rolf Dahlgren Prize in Botany from the the Renaissance”; and to Athens, Greece Robert Soreng traveled to Berlin, Royal Physiographic Society in Lund. (12/15 – 1/15) to do research at the Germany (11/22 – 11/29) to study herbar- Paul Peterson traveled to Sierra National Library of Athens and to work ium specimens of Poa and related gen- Nororiental de Puebla, Mexico (11/9 – at the National Hellenic Research Foun- 11/25) to collect grasses and participate dation with an interdisciplinary team on The Plant Press in an ethnobotanical study (A Biological Byzantine and Ottoman alchemy. Approach to Documenting Traditional Jun Wen traveled to Delaware Water New Series - Vol. 18 - No. 1 Ecological Knowledge in Synchronic and Gap, Pennsylvania (10/8) to collect moss Chair of Botany Diachronic Perspectives) funded by the and sumac gall aphids; to St. Louis, Mis- Warren L. Wagner National Science Foundation (NSF) and souri (12/15 – 12/19) to conduct her- ([email protected]) Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento barium studies of Vitaceae at the Missouri y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO). Botanical Garden; and to Beijing, China EDITORIAL STAFF Eric Schuettpelz traveled to West (12/26 – 1/8) to conduct collaborative Editor Java, Indonesia (11/1 – 11/21) to collect research. Gary Krupnick ([email protected]) Visitors Copy Editors Ning Zhang, Pennsylvania State Univer- David Lorence, National Tropical Robin Everly, Bernadette Gibbons, and sity; Vitaceae (1/7/13-6/30/15). Botanical Garden; Flora of Marquesas and Rose Gulledge Samoa (10/2-10/10). Yongli Fan, Xishuangbana Tropical News Contacts Botanical Garden, China; Pollination stud- Ghillean Prance, Royal Botanic Gar- MaryAnn Apicelli, Rusty Russell, Alice ies (1/13/14-1/12/15). dens Kew, United Kingdom; Neotropical Tangerini, and Elizabeth Zimmer Rhizophoraceae and Anisophylleaceae The Plant Press is a quarterly publication pro- Eduardo Pasini, Universidade Federal (10/3-10/8). vided free of charge. 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