University of South Carolina Herbarium

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!! This month's Botany Walk will be hosted by Dr. John Nelson, Curator Emeritus. While he's been busy adding hundreds (ok tens of thousands) of new specimens to our herbarium AND teaching Botany Boot Camp, he's graciously offered to lead visitors on a lively walk around the Historic Horseshoe this Wednesday, May 15 at 11am meet at the steps of McKissick Museum. Questions? email us at [email protected]

Hello friends, we need your help. We're calling upon citizen scientists to help us transcribe labels for some of our specimens. Back in 2020 when COVID disrupted ...well, basically everything, we tried to adapt some workflows and wound up with a bunch of images of specimens for which we have no metadata. So now we're asking for you to help us develop those records. We've created a project in Notes from Nature (link below). You can create an account or just help anonymously. The site will display an image of a specimen and prompt you to enter a few bits of information from the specimen label. Project link =>https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/md68135/notes-from-nature-southeastern-us-biodiversity/classify?reload=0&workflow=26561
For more background info see our BioSpex page here =>https://biospex.org/projects/botanical-miscellany-ii-no-monotony-in-botany
We're sure you'll soon agree that Berton Braley got it right years ago "There's no monotony in Botany." Ready, set, go...

In a new paper out today, nearly 300 researchers, including NMNH's Robert Soreng, have crafted an invaluable tool - a vast DNA tree of life with 1.8 billion letters of genetic code from 9,500+ species! 🧬

With this invaluable tool future research can:

⌛ Look back in time to the origin of plant life

🌺 Identify new species

💊 Uncover new medicinal compounds

🌱 Conserve plants against climate change and biodiversity loss

Read more about this open access resource here: s.si.edu/4b9Z18e

Save the date! On Tuesday, April 16th MIRC celebrates 2024 with a curated selection of films about the beauty of our environment and the critical need to protect it for future generations. The program includes environmental-themed science fiction classic Silent Running (1972), Prizmacolor gem A Day with John Burroughs (1919), and two never-before-screened films from MIRC’s vaults, showcasing stunning South Carolina wildlife and the very first Earth Day celebration held on April 22, 1970 on USC campus. An event in collaboration with the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, the A.C. Moore Herbarium, and the Gerald C. Bauknight Library Endowment Fund.
in Columbia SC at 6pm (reception) and 7pm (screening). Free entrance.

TWO EXCITING EVENTS COMING NEXT WEEK!!!
1) In celebration of Earth Day, we are co-sponsoring a screening of 'Silent Running' and some short clips from the Moving Image Research Collection at The Nick Theater in Columbia on Tuesday, April 16 at 6pm. Please register in advance at https://36372.blackbaudhosting.com/36372/page.aspx?pid=196&tab=2&txobjid=ea6d79fd-4988-469f-b9f1-125c664f4655

2) Botany Walk on the Historic Horseshoe Wednesday, April 17 from 11am-Noon. No need to register, just meet on the steps of McKissick Museum. More info here: https://www.sc.edu/calendar/uofsc/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D969810516

In celebration of Earth Day, we are cosponsoring a screening of ‘Silent Running’ at the Nick! Join us for a reception starting at 6pm, April 16, 2024 followed by the film at 7pm. Thanks to our friends with Moving Image Research Collections, the Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, and the Gerald C. Bauknight Library Endowment Fund for organizing this event.

While perhaps better known for her contributions as an entomologist, Maria Sibylla Merian’s (born April 2, 1647) botanical illustrations of insect host plants are outstanding as well. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41398755

Come see us this weekend at the Palmetto Sportsmen’s Classic at the SC State Fairgrounds in the Ellison Building. We’re part of the coolest group there! Meet and speak with colleagues with the USC herbarium, Clemson herbarium (yep we’re on friendly terms), Botany and Plant Conservation, and Archaeology Programs as we celebrate 50 years of collaboration with the SC Heritage Trust Program.

https://www.reflector.com/features/local/mystery-plant-marine-algae-is-cultivated-as-important-food-source/article_dfd2b5e2-d5bc-11ee-83a4-bf27ea14bdd0.html

Mystery Plant: Marine algae is cultivated as important food source “Life’s a beach.” That’s what they say.

https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/03/18/the-hidden-value-of-herbariums

The hidden value of herbariums Duke University recently announced plans to close and re-home its century-old herbarium. But with climate change and a looming biodiversity crisis, scientists say these preserved collections of old plants are more important than ever.

This specimen of Clematis terniflora caught the eye of one of our volunteers. This species commonly called Autumn Clematis is non-native to SC and can be somewhat invasive. It looks very similar to our native Virgin's-bower Clematis virginiana which is not nearly as prolific when flowering. Note the elegant positioning of the specimen on the sheet. Achieving a balance between the specimen, its label, fragment envelope and other stamps, etc. is no easy task.

https://www.rockdalenewtoncitizen.com/features/mystery-plant-avocado-persea-americana/article_185f9a4c-d405-11ee-93a9-5ffb09c816f4.html

Mystery Plant: Avocado, Persea americana There are two basic reasons why you should make, and eat, guacamole.

Hmmmm…If you’ve got one, we’d love to make a specimen of it.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/this-genetically-engineered-petunia-glows-in-the-dark-and-could-be-yours-for-29/

Here are two specimens from today’s volunteer session. Dr. Ted Kalutz is working on a beautiful Samolus parviflorus which is an abundant native plant in SC and is part of the Primulaceae family.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado9732

Collections are truly priceless Last month, Duke University in North Carolina announced that it was shuttering its herbarium. The collection consists of nearly 1 million specimens representing the most comprehensive and historic set of plants from the southeastern United States. It ...

Ants in your plants? Botanists are easily excitable when it comes to plants in general, but when Spring arrives just about anyone can find joy in 'Spring Ephemerals'. This random lot of herbaceous perennials is characterized by species which lie dormant throughout hotter parts of the year. During Summer, Fall, and Winter, ephemeral Spring bloomers store energy underground and go largely undetected by woodland walkers. All that energy is later released in a sudden burst of growth and reproductive activity when temperatures hover above the freezing mark and just before the deciduous overstory replenishes its foliage.
One such species that has adopted this lifestyle has a long history of human use, and an even longer history with ants. Bloodroot, or Sanguinaria canadensis L. for the diehard botanists, was possibly first mentioned in European literature by Iacobvs Cornvti (Jaques Cornut) in his 1635 publication Canadensium Plantarum and formally assigned its current scientific name by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 Species Plantarum. As a good scholar, Linnaeus cited Cornuti and Johann Dillenius who quite possibly provided the first illustration in his 1732 Hortus Elthamensis. However, Mark Catesby's Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and Bahama Islands published between 1729-1747 provides a glimpse into the plant's importance among Native Americans. Catesby notes that the "Indians of Carolina [...] daub themselves with Bear's oyl continually from their infancy, mixing therewith some vegetable juices, particularly that of the Sanguinaria." This practice, as you might imagine, would stain the skin owing to the brilliant crimson color of the sap found in Bloodroot's horizontal underground stem (rhizome) - which incidentally is where it gets its common name.
Since then, Bloodroot extract has been used for a variety of 'healing' applications and was for a time a key ingredient in a toothpaste called Viadent which was touted as effective treatment for gingivitis. Fast forward a few decades and turns out this particular formulation was implicated in increased risk of leukoplakia!
While plants that are useful to humans tend to enjoy rather widespread dispersal (i.e. through trade and cultivation), this short-statured perennial actually owes much of its widespread occurrence to a much smaller creature. Myrmechory is a fancy term that means seeds are dispersed by ants. In return for their hard work, Bloodroot rewards their ant-dispersers with a hearty lipid-rich (fatty) treat that is attached to its seeds. The elaisome is typically fed to the ant larvae and the actual seed later discarded nearby benefiting from fertile ground resulting from ants going to the bathroom. But did Sanguinaria 'know' it could strike this deal with these flightless insects and develop a fatty coating on its seed for this purpose? It's more likely that the lipid-rich outer coating of the seeds first evolved as a protective measure derived from existing tissues within the developing fruit. Lipids being non-polar molecules are hydrophobic meaning when placed in water they will float (here we go with some chemistry), and water is a great way to disperse seeds. Now Bloodroot doesn't necessarily grow *in* water, but it is often found in areas that may be prone to occasional flooding.
So there you have it; a little plant with a big history. Next time you see one, count yourself lucky – the flowers won’t last much past 3 days.

iDigBio and the Society for Herbarium Curators are pleased to announce an 8-week "Strategic Planning for Herbaria” online course! Applications close March 14! For more info and to apply: https://www.idigbio.org/content/registration-open-spring-2024-strategic-planning-herbaria-course

https://www.news-daily.com/features/mystery-plant-loquat-japan-plum-eriobotrya-japonica/article_81fd105c-f437-5d2c-8292-18789fdfa935.html

Mystery Plant: Loquat, Japan plum, Eriobotrya japonica One of my favorite trees here at the university grows right behind the herbarium. It’s been there for years (the building was constructed about 1974), and is now about 25

Each year this little shrub is all 'aBuzz' with multitudes of native pollinators. The relatively small flowers attract bees and wasps of similar stature. While considered a native species to our area, the 18th-Century explorer/naturalist William Bartram made this observation:
"These are always on or near the banks of rivers, or great swamps, the artificial mounts and terraces elevating them above the surrounding groves. I observed, in the antient cultivated fields, 1. Diospyros, 2. Gleditsia triacanthos, 3. Prunus Chicasaw,* 4. Callicarpa, 5. Morus rubra, 6. Juglans exaltata, 7. Juglans nigra, which inform us, that these trees were cultivated by the ancients, on account of their fruit, as being wholesome and nourishing food.
* The Chicasaw plumb I think must be excepted, for though certainly a native of America, yet I never saw it wild in the forests, but always in old deserted Indian plantations: I suppose it to have been brought from the S. W. beyond the Missisippi, by the Chicasaws."
Prunus angustifolia Marshall. CHICKASAW PLUM

While not good news, this story does appear to be generating a lot of public awareness of herbarium collections. Some important aspects of such decisions that are not typically shared in the press involve the loss of institutional capacity to train future scientists and reduced access to these important collections.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/science/duke-herbarium.html?fbclid=IwAR03aprhTiJ9jD4Pa1QFxwmkjyLGyMi02tRw1O8JmxXQ50Qz5PeeYseLezc_aem_AT4xKVj4bopaPpMCes8eOXBssGd1pZW48MRePpW-yJq0qwwAMA97iexDsyLkj6mi8gU

Duke Shuts Down Huge Plant Collection, Causing Scientific Uproar University officials say they cannot afford to maintain one of the largest herbariums in the United States. Researchers are urging Duke to reconsider.

"HERBARIUM praestat omni icone, necessarium omni Botanico." Carl Linnaeus, Philosophia Botanica, 1751.
Roughly translated, 'A herbarium provides the best illustrations (specimens), and is necessary for every botanist.'
For any herbarium to meet this need, it must be accessible. Recently Duke University
Administration made the decision to 're-home' their herbarium of over 825,000 specimens within the next 2-3 years. Doing so will negatively impact the next generation of botanists who must have access to carefully curated collections such as DUKE. Support your local herbarium!
https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2024/02/duke-university-herbarium-petition-signatures-botany-closing-natural-history-collection

Reminder folks: Botany Walk on the Historic Horseshoe tomorrow February 21, 2024 at 11AM. Meet at steps of McKissick Museum. (Probably won't be quite as cold as it was in this photo from 2021.)

Sabatia kennedyana (Plymouth gentian) blooming last July at the Waccamaw River Heritage Preserve in Horry County 🌸

This species has an unusual distribution, being found only in three places on Earth: coastal plain ponds in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and along the floodplain of the Waccamaw River near the border of North and South Carolina. It is in the gentian family.

📸 Lowcountry botanist Eric Ungberg while documenting a new population of this globally rare species

A few great pictures from Dr. Brown's Spring Flora Class in action at this week's lab, courtesy of Hannah Berberich! The class visited the W. Gordon Belser Arboretum on Tuesday for plant identifications. The arboretum is also open to the public! If you'd like to visit, you can find more information on their page, and here: https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/biological_sciences/research/resources_facilities/arboretum/index.php.