Department of Botany & the U.S. National Herbarium The Plant Press New Series - Vol. 15 - No. 4 October-December 2012 Botany Profile Planted Evidence Found in Research Greenhouse By Gary A. Krupnick alking along a trail in an ever- further research is completed. Additional feet, and each maintains a different set of green forest in the foothills of Curcuma plants in the greenhouse collec- growing conditions—different seasonal Wthe Himalayas in north central tion have yet to flower—are they known temperatures and different humidity Myanmar in 2002, Botany Curator John species or are they new species awaiting levels. Kress came across a plant that appeared description? The living collections come from to be a species of Hitchenia (Zingiber- Gingers and other monsoonal plants six continents, with a majority from the aceae). The plant had no flowers, so he that go through a winter dormancy period tropics, and originate from both wild and collected a living specimen and brought can be challenge to the greenhouse staff. cultivated sources. The collections repre- it back to Washington, DC, for further Some of these plants have a much longer sent the research interests of the curators study. Placed in the hands of the Botany growing season in Asia than what the mid- who have the most active greenhouse Research Greenhouse manager, Mike Atlantic can offer. These longer-season research programs: Robert Faden’s Com- Bordelon, it took two years and plenty species flower at the end of the growing melinaceae, John Kress’ Zingiberales, of care for the plant to flower. During a season, but DC summers are not always Jun Wen’s Vitaceae, and Ken Wurdack’s hot summer day, while hand-watering long enough for these plants. By cranking Euphorbiaceae. Other curators with and soil-checking, Bordelon found at up the greenhouse heat in February, the plant material in the greenhouses include the base of the plant an inflorescence greenhouse staff is attempting to jumpstart Pedro Acevedo’s Sapindaceae, Paul with open flowers. While examining the the growing season, thus encouraging the Peterson’s Poaceae, Warren Wagner’s flowers, Kress decided that this was not plants to come out of dormancy earlier. Onagraceae, and Emeritus Research Hitchenia, but something new to sci- Time will tell if this approach will help Botanist Laurance Skog’s Gesneriaceae. ence instead. What was collected from encourage these nameless plants to flower. Most impressive are the collections Myanmar and growing in the greenhouse of Commelinaceae and Zingiberales, was a new genus, Larsenianthus. The he Botany Research Greenhouses, ranked as the largest living collection genus was named after Kai Larsen, a located in Suitland, Maryland, at under glass in the world of those two Danish botanist and expert on the flora of Tthe Smithsonian’s Museum Support families. Collections have been derived Thailand and Zingiberaceae. The species Center, plays a significant and supportive from field collections of department was named L. wardianus, in honor of the role for the National Museum of Natu- staff and donations from individuals famous British plant collector Francis ral History’s Department of Botany and and institutions from around the world. Kingdon-Ward who explored Upper the U.S. National Herbarium. While the Rarely plants can be grown from seeds Burma in the first half of the 20th century. well-known Herbarium has a collection of found on herbarium specimens or from It is not uncommon for plants to be over 5 million dried, pressed, dead plant fleshy bases of “dried” specimens that collected in the field and brought back to specimens, the greenhouses maintain an had resisted total desiccation. the Research Greenhouses to watch them impressive collection of just under 6,000 In its mission, the Botany Research grow. What is uncommon is for a new living plants. Greenhouses maintain a living collection genus or a new species to be discovered Constructed in 1994, the greenhouse which serves six primary purposes: (1) after the collected plant flowers. Cur- consist of five separate houses totaling identification, (2) preserved specimens rently growing in the greenhouses, for 6,000 square feet under glass, and another (vouchers), (3) chemical and genetic example, are an additional eight different 4,000 square feet of outdoor, above ground analyses, (4) documentation of biologi- flowering plants of Curcuma (Zingiber- growing space. The tallest house reaches cal processes, (5) scientific illustration, aceae) from Southeast Asia that may turn a height of 28 feet and contains a 25-foot and (6) photography. out to be species new to science after Ravenala madagascariensis (Strelitzi- aceae). The four other houses peak at 15 Continued on page 8 Travel Pedro Acevedo traveled to Grenada meeting for the Association of Education Romaschenko to collect plants. (9/12 – 9/14) with Julissa Rojas-San- and Research Greenhouse Curators. Alice Tangerini traveled to Savannah, doval to attend a workshop on Caribbean Robert Faden traveled to London, Georgia (7/8 – 7/14) to attend the 2012 invasive species (CABI-Invasive Species England (9/8 – 9/15) to attend a sympo- annual conference of the Guild of Natural Compendium). sium at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Science Illustrators; and to Denver, Colo- Walter Adey travelled to Newfound- celebrating the completion of the Flora of rado (8/3 – 8/5) to teach a three-day class land, Canada (7/16 – 9/7) to establish a Tropical East Africa. at the Denver Botanic Gardens as part of a year-long experiment on the control of Vicki Funk traveled to Columbus, guest workshop in conjunction with their temperature and light on coralline climate Ohio (7/7 – 7/12) to the Botany 2012 Botanical Illustration Program. archive species Clathromorphum compac- meetings where she presented a paper in a Alain Touwaide and Emanuela tum. colloquium honoring the accomplishments Appetiti traveled to Graz, Austria (9/2 Marc Appelhaus traveled to Colum- of Tod Stuessy & Dan Crawford, moder- – 9/6) to attend the meeting of the Inter- bus, Ohio (7/7 – 7/11) to attend the Botany ated a colloquium for the second retire- national Society for Ethnopharmacology, 2012 meetings; and to Bronx, New York ment of John McNeill, and presided over where Touwaide delivered the keynote lec- (9/12) to use the herbarium and library at the annual Council meeting of the Inter- ture; to Padua, Italy (9/12 - 9/16) to attend the New York Botanical Garden. national Association for Plant Taxonomy the meeting of the International Society Barrett Brooks traveled to Miami, the as current president; to Montreal, Canada for the History of Medicine, where each Keys, and Ft. Meyers, Florida (9/7 – 9/ 14) (7/14 – 7/21) to present a paper at The of them chaired a session and Touwaide with Cavan Allen to collect plants; and International Compositae Alliance meet- delivered a paper and plenary lecture. to Monterey, California (9/23 – 10/10) to ing; to Raleigh and Durham, North Caro- Warren Wagner traveled to Colum- attend the American Academy of Under- lina (9/11 – 9/14) to give a talk at North bus, Ohio (7/7 – 7/12) to attend the Botany water Scientists conference. Carolina State University and to attend the 2012 meetings; and to St. Louis, Missouri Leslie Brothers traveled to Toronto, fall meeting of the Science Board of the (7/15 - 7/19) to attend the World Flora Canada (7/23 – 7/26) to attend the annual National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. Online meeting at the Missouri Botanical Gabriel Johnson traveled to Colum- Garden. The Plant Press bus, Ohio (7/6 – 7/11) to attend the Botany Jun Wen traveled to Columbus, 2012 meetings and to take part a molecu- Ohio (7/8 – 7/12) to give a presentation New Series - Vol. 15 - No. 4 lar cytogenetics workshop and volunteer at the Botany 2012 meetings; to Canada Chair of Botany with the PLANTS program. throughout New England (8/7 – 8/11) to Warren L. Wagner W. John Kress traveled to Seattle, conduct Vitaceae research with colleagues ([email protected]) Washington and Portland, Oregon (7/31 – and collect plants in Quebec, Montreal, 8/19) to attend a SIGEO/CTFS workshop New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Con- EDITORIAL STAFF and to present a talk at the Ecological necticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Editor Society of America meeting with David Virginia. Gary Krupnick Erickson; and to Calicut, India (9/6 – Kenneth Wurdack traveled to Colum- ([email protected]) 9/16) to deliver an invited plenary lecture bus, Ohio (7/7 – 7/12) with Jay Horn to at the Sixth International Conference of present a paper at the Botany 2012 meet- Copy Editors the Family Zingiberaceae. ings; to the Loreto region of Peru (7/15 Robin Everly, Bernadette Gibbons, Rose Gary Krupnick traveled to Oakland, – 8/11) to conduct field work on Euphor- Gulledge, Dail Laughinghouse California (7/14 – 7/19) to attend the biaceae and their fungal endophytes; and News Contacts North America Congress for Conservation to Bronx, New York (9/12) to use the MaryAnn Apicelli, Robert Faden, Rusty Biology. herbarium and library at the New York Russell, Alice Tangerini, and Elizabeth Paul Peterson traveled to Dorchester Botanical Garden. Zimmer County, Maryland (8/17) to collect plants Elizabeth Zimmer traveled to Colum- The Plant Press is a quarterly publication pro- with the Maryland Department of Natu- bus, Ohio (7/7 – 7/12) to give a presenta- vided free of charge. To receive notification of ral Resources; and throughout northern tion at the Botany 2012 meetings. when new pdf issues are posted to the web, please subscribe to the listserve by sending a message Mexico (9/10 – 10/31) with Konstantin to [email protected] containing only the following in the body of the text: SUBSCRIBE Visitors PLANTPRESS-NEWS Firstname Lastname.