SPRING 2024 VOLUME 70 NUMBER 1
PLANT SCIENCE
BULLETIN
A PUBLICATION OF
THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Make plans to be at Botany 2024... p. 76
Art
in the
Botanical
Sciences
(Part 2)
Jump into the #PlantJoy campaign!... p. 82
Spring 2024 Volume 70 Number 1
FROM the EDITOR
This issue of Plant Science Bulletin is our second special issue highlighting the
relationship between science and art. There was such a great response to the
initial call for papers on this topic that it could not be constrained to only one
issue. I am once again delighted to thank the team of guest editors, Patricia Chan,
Rosemary Glos, Ashley Hamersma, Kasey Pham, and Nicolette Sipperly, who put
this fantastic series together and the talented contributors who shared their work.
In this issue you will also find important news from the Publications Team. I will
be stepping down as Editor-in-Chief of Plant Science Bulletin at the end of 2024
when my term ends, and we are in the middle of a search for the next editor. In the
meantime, I’m excited about the features we have lined up for 2024.
Sincerely,
S
tart Planning for
Register Now!
www.botanyconference.org
2023 Gift Membership Drive Winner ...........................................................................................................87
New BSA Sponsorship Opportunities .........................................................................................................87
SCIENCE EDUCATION
Seeking Flora/Field Guide Recommendations to Update BSA’s State-by-State
Botanical Resource Page ...................................................................................................................89
ROOT & SHOOT RCN Developing a New Culturally Responsive Mentoring
Certification Program to Pilot in Fall 2024 ..................................................................................90
PlantingScience Spring 2024 Session Update ......................................................................................91
STUDENT SECTION
Botany360 Webinar: How to Be a Successful BSA Student Representative .......................93
Roundup of Student Opportunities ...............................................................................................................93
Papers to Read for Future Leaders ..............................................................................................................94
IN MEMORIAM
Nels Ronald Lersten (1932–2023) ...............................................................................................................97
BOOK REVIEWS
..........................................................................................................................................................100
5
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
SPECIAL SECTION
Art in the Botanical Sciences:
Past, Present, and Future
Greetings,
We are thrilled to share the second issue in the special anthology, Art and the Botanical Sciences: Past,
Present, and Future. The pieces in this issue continue the conversation started in our Fall 2023 issue:
celebrating and re-examining the historical connections between art and botany, showcasing the varied
experiences of contemporary artist-scientists, and presenting visions for future integrations of art and
the botanical sciences. If you missed the first issue, we highly recommend perusing it (at https://
botany.org/userdata/IssueArchive/issues/originalfile/WebPSB_69_3_2023.pdf) for a vibrant selection
of articles that explore the Venn diagram that is botany, creativity, and art.
In this issue, you will continue to learn about the role of botanical art across histories and traditions,
fruitful contemporary collaborations between artists and botanists, innovative means of merging art
and science in the classroom, and much more.
We are deeply thankful to the authors and reviewers who made this anthology possible. Special thanks
to the PSB editorial staff for inviting us to craft these special issues, trusting us to try something new,
and formatting an unprecedented number of manuscripts (!). We’d also like to thank in particular the
artists who graciously allowed us to use their work for the covers of these issues. Clarissa Rodriguez
created the embroidery piece used for the cover of the first issue, and Sayeh Dastgheib-Beheshti created
the illustration used for the cover of this issue. This is the last issue formally dedicated to this theme, but
we anticipate and encourage future submissions to the Plant Science Bulletin that explore these topics.
If these issues have proven anything, it is that there is huge enthusiasm, interest, and fresh ideas in the
sci-art space. Let’s continue to maintain that energy into the future! We would especially love to hear
that these issues have given people new ideas to try or new collaborators with whom to work. Lastly, if
you see us around (maybe at Botany 2024 or IBC 2024?), please say hi! We love to talk all things science
and art.
Until then, enjoy this issue!
The SciArt Collective
Nicolette Sipperly, Stony Brook University • Rosemary Glos, University of Michigan
Kasey Pham, University of Florida • Patricia Chan, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ashley Hamersma, University of Florida
6
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
Wunderkammer:
Boundaryless Plants
Sandra L. Talbot
Far Northwestern Institute of Art and Science
Alaska Center for Conservation Science
University of Alaska
Anchorage Alaska 99508
Email: akartscience@gmail.com
To the medieval mind, the ‘Order
of Nature’ (Daston and Park, 1998)
was reflected in the ‘typical’ form
and function of natural phenomena.
Anything rupturing this order—the
novel, rare, capricious, ‘uncanny
sports,’ monstrous objects brought
back from distant lands—filled
Wunderkammers (cabinets of
curiosities), the precursors of herbaria
and natural history collections, and
evoked not only a sense of wonder, but
collective terror, or at least trepidation.
Collective terror of ‘uncanny sports’
still resides in some contemporary
minds, as evidenced by response to
fasciation in plants growing near the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear facility
in years following the 2011 disaster
(Fessenden, 2015).
In her exhibition Boundary Plants, Black
(2019) leveraged classically rendered botanical
illustrations of three species to illuminate how
Linnaeus’ taxonomic system obscures the physical
complexities of earth systems. The target species
included fasciated Chrysanthemum leucanthem
[sic](=Leucanthemum vulgare Lam.), the ox-eye
daisy, to illustrate how the varied and cumulative
cellular effects of the industrial age reveals the
permeability of the ‘clean’ Linnean taxonomic
boundaries. However, the levels, frequencies,
and specific causes of ‘natural’ mutations in these
species are unclear; in addition to radiation,
causes include infection by pathogens, hormonal
disruption, and genetic mutations (Iliev and Kitin,
2011). Further, in previously glaciated northern
high latitudes, polyploidy levels and frequencies
increase (Brochmann et al., 2004), masking
cryptic diversity (Brochmann and Brysting, 2010)
and presenting another complexity that weakens
already permeable taxonomic boundaries.
The European native Leucanthemum vulgare
sensu stricto is a diploid (2n = 18) invasive in
North America, and it is closely related and
morphologically similar to the Eurasian tetraploid
(n = 36) L. ircutianum Turcz. (Stutz et al., 2018). In
fact, the taxonomy and associated nomenclature
of Leucanthemum remains unstable (Roskov
et al., 2018). Leucanthemum vulgare has been
globally introduced for ornamentation as well as
phytoremediation, and often escapes cultivation
and establishes viable populations that alter
indigenous plant communities. Ploidy levels in
Alaska, where I live, have not yet been assayed, but
tetraploidy in L. vulgare is reported from various
7
PSB 70 (1) 2024
locales in Canada (including British Columbia;
Mulligan 1958, 1968) and in Washington State.
In North America, tetraploid L. vulgare may
indeed be L. ircutianum, which has also been
introduced to North America but is apparently
less invasive (Stutz et al. 2018). Via ploidy and
collateral changeable taxonomic nomenclature,
morphological variability, and invasiveness, L.
vulgare and other non-native plants (Figure 1)
have become “boundaryless plants” (Black, 2019,
p. 224). They breach the boundaries of classical
Linnean nomenclature, which drew inspiration
from Plato’s ancient call to “carve nature at its
joints” (Plato, 1952, p. 265e); that is, the natural
world is divisible into objective, discoverable
categories. Invasive plants also breach the
ecological boundaries of long-established
indigenous plant communities.
The SciArt exhibition Wunderkammer:
Boundaryless Plants (International Gallery
of Contemporary Art, Anchorage, Alaska,
November 2023) leveraged imagery of artifacts
collected during decades of floristic and plant
community research on the far-flung, remote
islands of the Aleutian Island Archipelago and
allied island groups, such as the Shumagin Islands
in southwestern Alaska. The exhibition explored
issues surrounding instability in taxonomic
nomenclature, levels of ‘natural’ mutation,
community species replacement, and myriad
complexities in the invasive L. vulgare and other
plants introduced during military and ranching
activities. Highlighting the entwined history
between humans and these boundaryless plants
in Alaska, the exhibition used contemporary
botanical art to call attention to the burgeoning
communities of invasive plants in these remote
geographies, where the conservation focus has
been trained on invasive mammals. Thus, the
imagery exposes and examines what Aloi (2019)
referred to as “plant blindness…our cultural
inability to conceive plants beyond the prefixed
cultural schemata…which simultaneously reduces
them to resources or aesthetic objects” (p. xx).
While beautiful (Figure 1), these island invasives
are akin to those disturbing medieval ‘sports’ that
breach the boundaries of known taxonomies,
engendering the rupturing unknown that we have
unwittingly invited in.
Invasive species have traversed the threshold
between ‘introduced’ and a state wherein they
expand into and a novel (to them) environment,
and their ability to cross that threshold relies
not only on their particular inherent biological
characteristics, but also on the deliberate or
passive actions of humans. By definition, invasive
species are those initially introduced to novel
environments by humans. Nevertheless, there
is an argument that humans can (or should) be
considered invasive species (Zielinski, 2011).
Figure 1. Artist: Sandra Talbot. But They Are So Beautiful (Crepis and Leucanthemum). Archival ink printed on Strath-
more paper, 21 × 6.5 inches. 2023. Imagery from photographs of metal collected from the site, locale photographs, and
digitized field press collections of the invasive Crepis tectorum and Leucanthemum vulgare collected from the abandoned
NSGA military site, Adak, Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
8
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Figure 2. Artist: Sandra Talbot. The Pleasure of Natural
Sports: Lusus naturae 3, Plot 9, View 1, ver. 2. 2023. Digital
photograph of field notebook and specimen collection of fas-
ciated ox-eye daisies, sampled from Simeonof Island, Shuma-
gin Island group, Alaska. Top: archival ink printed on metal,
15.6 × 21.6 × 0.2 inches. Bottom: digital imagery showing a
schematic of the original photograph, generated on an iPad
using various applications to provide visual clarity of fascia-
tion less readable in the photograph.
Contemporary biologists largely view invasive
species with trepidation, and perhaps sometimes
not so differently from how the medieval mind
regarded ‘uncanny sports’ that ruptured the Order
of Nature (Figure 2). Referencing the Progressive
Era—the widespread period (1890s–1920s) of
social activism and political reform in the United
States that addressed issues emerging from
immigration, urbanization, industrialization,
and political corruption—historian Philip Pauly
(1996) writes that “attitudes towards foreign
pests merged with ethnic prejudices: the gypsy
moth and the oriental chestnut blight both took
on and contributed to characteristics ascribed
to their presumed human compatriots” (p. 54).
Pauly further states that “…attitudes about foreign
and native organisms were intimately linked…
to views on ‘alien’ and ‘native’ humans” (p. 70).
It is noteworthy that the common name or the
gypsy moth has recently changed to the spongy
moth (ESA, 2023), hopefully decoupling inherent
pejorative assessments and invasiveness.
Whether we view invasive species through
aesthetic, cultural, biological, ecological, or
evolutionary lenses, we judge them from within an
anthropocentric world paradigm. This perpetuates
a hierarchical view of non-native species that
displace others: invasive species are terrible and
we need to kill them, even though (depending
on our deep or recent ancestry) we share certain
characteristics with them. Notwithstanding
controversies emerging from our own invasive-
like characteristics, the history of invasive species is
entangled with that of human history; by tracking
the expansion of invasive species, we can track
the bounding footprints of the human saga. That
includes human footprints on even the remote
Aleutian Islands, targets of myriad accidental and
intentional introductions (Jones and Byrd, 1979;
Ebbert and Byrd, 2002). Those introductions
commenced about 280 years ago, following the
1742 culmination of the ill-fated Bering Expedition
during which the southern coast of Alaska and
the Aleutian Island Archipelago and allied island
groups were ‘discovered’ (from western history’s
perspective), then described by the Expedition’s
naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller.
Almost all the islands landed upon or sailed
past during the Bering Expedition have endured
negative ecological impacts associated with
military, cattle ranching, fox farming, and other
(western) human activities throughout the 19
th
and 20
th
centuries, including the introduction of
non-native plants that have recently crossed that
boundary between introduced to invasive. For
example, following the removal of cattle between
9
PSB 70 (1) 2024
1983 and 1985 from Simeonof Island, in the
Shumagin Islands, ox-eye daisies have spread
beyond the historical ranch house environs
and have become an integral, even dominant,
component of certain nearby plant communities.
A fairly high percentage of those ox-eye daisies
are fasciated, as documented using photography
and digital imagery (Figure 2). The cause of the
fasciation is unknown. Given a parallel to western
colonial expansion into Alaska, such invasive
plant species can be viewed as proxies for human
expansion and community disruption, and
imagery of these invasive plants can communicate
these concepts.
Scientists during the European Age of Discovery
were often competent to highly skilled artists, and
art provided a critical means to communicate that
Age’s scientific discoveries. While a competent
writer whose penned journal provided the
majority of our knowledge of the geographically
vast and historically influential Bering Expedition,
Steller was not a skilled, or even competent,
artist, as he himself acknowledged (Stejneger,
1936). As a precondition of participation in the
Expedition (something he wanted very much),
Steller asked to be accompanied by a competent
artist (Stejneger, 1936). That demand, fulfilled,
recognized the enormous contribution of artists
to scientific expeditions (McAleer and Rigby,
2017), and to science as a whole, during eras prior
to the 19th-century invention of photography that
eventually rendered the competent artist–scientist
dispensable and contributed to the estrangement
of art from science. Wunderkammer: Boundaryless
Plants conflated art and science explorations of
multilayered and complicated, universal issues
played out in a little-known, remote geography.
It demonstrated that digital photography
and image-clarifying software apps on smart
phones and tablets can be used in real time by
contemporary scientists to creatively document
and communicate findings even on remote,
uninhabited islands (Figure 1). Nevertheless,
as suggested by Carlson (2017), while digital
imaging has profoundly expanded potentialities of
scientific research, some capabilities provided by
traditional illustration procedures may be lost due
to “distortions and visual limitations that single-
perspective (i.e., digital or photographic) imagery
produces…revert[ing] the visual representation of
data back to uninformed, surficial ‘snapshots’ of
incomplete objects” (p. 269).
References
Aloi, G. 2019. About this book. In: A. Giovanni [ed],
Why look at plants? The botanical emergence in con-
temporary art, xx-xxv. Brill Rodopi, Boston, Massa-
chusetts, USA.
Black, S. 2019. Boundary plants. In: A. Giovanni
[ed.], Why look at plants? The botanical emergence
in contemporary art, 221–224. Brill Rodopi, Boston,
Massachusetts, USA.
Brochmann, C., and A. K. Brysting. 2010. The
Arctic – an evolutionary freezer? Plant Ecology and
Diversity 1: 181–195.
Brochmann, C., A. K. Brysting, I.G. Alsos, L. Borgen,
H. H. Grundt, A.-C Scheen, and R. Elven. 2004. Poly-
ploidy in arctic plants. Biological Journal of the Lin-
nean Society 82: 621–536.
Carlson, E. S. 2017. Representation and structure con-
flict in the digital age: Reassessing archaeological il-
lustration and the use of Cubist techniques in depicting
images of the past. Advances in Archeological Prac-
tice 2: 269-284.
Daston, L., and K. Park. 1998. Wonders and the Order
of Nature. Zone Books, New York, New York, USA.
Ebbert, S. E., and J. V. Byrd. 2002. Eradications of
invasive species to restore natural biological diversity
on Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. In: C.
R. Veitch, and M. N. Clout [eds], Turning the tide:
The eradication of invasive species, 102–109. IUCN
SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group, IUCN, Gland,
Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
ESA (Entomological Society of America). 2023.
Spongy Moth Transition Toolkit. ESA website:
Spongy Moth Transition Toolkit | Entomological So-
ciety of America (entsoc.org) [accessed 1 September
2023].
10
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Fessenden, M. 2015. Don’t freak out over the
funky flowers that appeared near Fukushima [on-
line]. Smithsonian Magazine July 24, 2015. Website:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dont-
freak-out-over-funky-flowers-appeared-near-fukushi-
ma-180956021/ [accessed 1 March 2023].
Iliev, I., and P. Kitin. 2011. Origin, morphology, and
anatomy of fasciation in plants cultured in vivo and in
vitro. Plant Growth Regulation 63: 115–129.
Jones, R. D., and J. V. Byrd. 1979. Interrelations be-
tween seabirds and introduced animals. In: J. C. Bar-
tonek and D. N. Nettleship [eds], Conservation of ma-
rine birds of northern North America, 221–226. U. S.
Department of Interior, Washington D.C., USA.
McAleer, J., and N. Rigby. 2017. Captain Cook and
the Pacific: Art, exploration and empire. Yale Univer-
sity Press, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Mulligan, G. A. 1958. Chromosome races in the Chry-
santhemum leucanthemum complex. Rhodora 60:
122–125.
Mulligan, G. A. 1968. Diploid and tetraploid chromo-
some races of Chrysanthemum leucanthemum L. s.l.
Naturaliste Canadien 95: 793–795.
Pauly, P. 1996. The beauty and menace of the Japanese
cherry trees: Conflicting visions of American ecologi-
cal independence. Isis 87: 51–73.
Plato. 1952. Phaedrus. Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge, UK.
Roskov, Y. R., L. Abucay, T. Orrell, D. Nicolson, N.
Bailly, P. M. Kirk, T. Bourgoin, et al. [eds]. 2018.
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2018 Annual
Checklist, Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Stejneger, L. 1936. Georg Wilhelm Steller: The pioneer
of Alaskan natural history. Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Stutz, S., P. Mraz, H. L. Hinz, H. Muller-Scharer, and
U. Schaffner. 2018. Biological invasion of oxeye daisy
(Leucanthemum vulgare) in North America: Pre-adap-
tation, post-introduction evolution, or both? PLoS One
13: e0190705.
Zielinski, S. 2011. Are humans an invasive species?
[online]. Smithsonian Magazine, January 31, 2011.
Website: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-
nature/are-humans-an-invasive-species-42999965/
[accessed 15 March 2023].
11
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
Karen L. Wellner
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
2626 E. Pecos Road
Chandler, AZ 85225
karen.wellner@cgc.edu
Scientific Knowledge, Artistic
Creativity and Pedagogical Reform:
The Botanical Wall Chart
Type the phrase “vintage botanical wallchart”
into your browser and a plethora of old-style,
poster-sized plant illustrations appear. A closer
look will reveal original botany wallcharts
from the late 1800s selling for around $1500.
Updated reprints from the 1960s command
anywhere from $200 to $600. Far more money
than one would have spent in 1969 when
Carolina Biological sold the same charts for
$5 (Carolina Biological Supply, 1969).
Regardless of their age, the wallcharts will
show use: nicked corners, folds, taped repairs,
and penciled notes around the edges. While
the resurgence of interest in wallcharts centers
on aesthetics, there is historical significance as
well, because the botany wallchart represents
an early blending of artistry, careful
examination of plant morphology and life
cycles, and teaching pedagogy.
Mainly designed and printed in Germany and
France, wallcharts typically measured 34 ×
45 inches. Wooden dowels were inserted in a
sleeve at the top and bottom of the chart and
from the top roller, heavy string was attached
to hang the wall chart. The instructor only
needed to supply a nail. Botanical illustrator
Heinrich Jung boasted that the size and quality
of his wallcharts were of such high grade that
all students could recognize his plants from
any seat in the classroom (Bucchi, 1998).
Wallcharts occupied a prominent position
as curriculum aids from 1820 to about 1920
(Bucchi, 1998). While many of them hung in
classrooms and laboratories, other wallcharts
helped popularize science in museums and
public lectures. As an alternative way to
view plants, W. Gardiner stated in his 1904
book detailing the Botanical Museum of the
University of Cambridge, “Wallcharts do much
to decorate and liven the whole collection,
12
PSB 70 (1) 2024
which might otherwise stand in some danger
of being deadened and overweighted by the
presence of many dried specimens” (Gardiner,
1904).
German charts were highly valued. There
were few American-made wallcharts available
in the late 1800s, and even with differences
in plant species between the two countries,
American botany departments seemed quite
content with the German wallcharts, even if
they were only accompanied with pamphlets
written in a foreign language.
There are several reasons why botanical
wallcharts proved so popular. First, improved
printing techniques in the early 1800s resulted
in high-quality color wallcharts at affordable
prices. Germany became the market leader,
especially in the late 1800s (Van der Schueren,
2011).
Second, the expansion of European and
American education systems during the 1800s
led to more students in the biological sciences
and natural history. Although the number
of students grew, funds for microscopes,
textbooks, and laboratory materials did not.
Most botany departments could not afford
microscopes for each student, but they could
buy many different wallcharts for the price of
one good scope.
Third, with more students, visual aids became
an important teaching tool. Educational
specialists believed that students should
see and handle objects to better develop an
understanding of their world. Combining
wallcharts and illustrations with lectures was
considered more effective than passive learning
by lecture only. Even though wallcharts were
visual models and not real plants, education
departments (and publishers) strongly
advocated wall chart images to help with
laboratory work.
One of the more popular botany wallchart
series resulted from the collaborative work
of Heinrich Jung, Gottlieb von Koch,
and Friedrich Quentell (hereafter, J-K-Q
wallcharts). Von Koch (1849-1914) was a
natural historian, painter, assistant to artist
and evolutionist Ernst Haeckel, and finally a
biology professor in Darmstadt, Germany. His
work with Haeckel undoubtedly influenced
how von Koch drew plants as an ideal type
(Figure 1). Unlike many detailed plant
illustrations drawn by artists, plant drawings
for educational purposes were manipulated
to create an average view of the specimen
(Fletcher, 2017). The drawings removed
imperfections and simplified tiny anatomic
details. The result was a montage of flowering
plants with an aesthetic appeal (Laurent,
2016).
With von Koch as illustrator, and Quentell
and Jung acting as authors and colleagues,
the three created an impressive number of
botanical illustrations for their 1902 book,
Neuen Wandtafeln für den Unterricht in
der Naturgeschichte (New Wall Charts for
Teaching Natural History). The illustrations
were converted to large wallcharts by the
Formmann and Morian publishing house
in Darmstadt. Formmann and Morian went
out of business after World War II, and
Wilhelm and Marie Hagemann acquired the
publishing rights of the J-K-Q wallcharts. The
Hagemann Company in Düsseldorf updated
and refreshed the J-K-Q charts but kept them
stylistically true to the original wallcharts.
The newer editions were made available in the
1950s through the 1980s.
13
PSB 70 (1) 2024
The J-K-Q wallcharts were unique due to von
Koch’s use of a black background, much like a
blackboard (wandtafel). Artistically, drawings
of large and colorful plants with spacing
between them provide contrast. Combining
spacing with a black background creates more
spatial depth, which makes it easier to see the
plants from a distance.
Wallcharts, however, were not without early
controversy. Naturalists were torn about the
purpose of wallcharts—were they simply
visuals that provided an aesthetic appeal or
was their purpose to help in the pursuit of
botany proper? During the early- to mid-
1800s, some believed that the eye was the
inlet to knowledge. With this view, botanical
wallcharts would help govern learning. Others
felt that the brain was the principal gatherer
of knowledge and could best be aided with
lectures.
Wallchart antagonists declared that charts,
while pleasant to look at, were designed for
superficial learning—too much visual pleasure
took the place of rational learning by reading
and thereby sparked no interest in botany as
a profession. Proponents of wallcharts argued
that the aim of visual materials was for
students to build their observation skills for
the scientific study of plants in the field and
laboratory. This was also the opinion of many
science promoters who gave public lectures
(Secord, 2002).
English botanist Edwin Lee claimed in the
Naturalist in 1838 that potential naturalists
were more apt to be led to the path of science
by using attention-grabbing pictures (Lee,
1838). In response, naturalist Peter Rylands
argued that visuals of plants made students
too dependent on them for classification
and led to unscientific practice. Students,
he argued, should use written descriptions
that required knowledge about technical
plant anatomy terminology. Once mastering
this, good observation skills would follow
(Rylands, 1838).
More in tune with good teaching practices,
many botany instructors did not use wallcharts
to strictly establish a “botany by pictures”
course, but integrated illustrations with actual
specimens. In addition, many instructors
believed that mastering the technical terms
associated with plants was made easier with
Figure 1. Rye grass wall chart (Heinrich Jung, Gottlieb
von Koch, and Friedrich Quentell) showing large and
simplified plant drawings on one poster. Published by
Hagemann, Düsseldorf, Germany, 1960s. [Author’s per-
sonal collection / Photo by author]
14
PSB 70 (1) 2024
wallcharts and other botany illustrations.
By the late 1800s, most science departments
placed pedagogical emphasis on visuals for
student success (Bucchi, 1998).
Over time, wallcharts gave way to lantern
slides, early versions of 35-mm acetate
slides. The slides consisted of hand-painted
images on a piece of large glass. The images
were projected on a screen with the use of a
magic lantern, the forerunner to the modern
slide projector. Wallcharts, though, did not
suddenly disappear. Wallcharts still held an
advantage in that they were less expensive than
slides. The German graphic arts workmanship
continued to produce highly scientific visuals,
and with many countries still recovering from
WWI, educational institutions were seriously
underfunded and stuck with their wallcharts.
Wallcharts also helped with laboratory
work for an obvious reason: since lantern
slide projection required a darkened room,
students had trouble taking notes and could
not review the slide at his or her own leisure
(Noé, 1928). Large charts allowed students to
compare what was seen in the microscope or
dissecting tray to the chart image in a room
filled with light.
American biological supply companies such as
A. J. Nystrom and Denoyer-Geppert continued
advertising J-K-Q charts in the 1950s and
1960s. A Denoyer-Geppert advertisement in
the American Biology Teacher in 1954 assured
teachers that updated J-K-Q botany wallcharts
were still available, with all charts providing
“outstanding combinations of beauty and
instructional effectiveness” (ABT, 1954). The
eventual demise for botany wallcharts was the
emergence of the overhead projector in the
1960s.
Today, wallcharts are collector’s items or still
languishing in storage cabinets, long forgotten
how they contributed to botany and the start
of Anschauungsunterricht–teaching through
images.
References
ABT. 1954. Front Matter. The American Biology
Teacher 16: 99–100.
Bucchi, M. 1998. Images of Science in the Classroom:
Wall Charts and Science Education 1850-1920. The
British Journal for the History of Science 31: 161-184.
Carolina Biological Supply. 1969. Biological Materi-
als 1969-1970. Carolina Biological Supply Company,
Burlington, NC.
Fletcher, N. 2017. Botany on the Prairies: Dr. Regi-
nald Buller’s Botanical Wall Charts at the University
of Manitoba. M.A. Thesis, University of Manitoba.
Gardiner, W. 1904. An Account of the Foundation and
Re-establishment of the Botanical Museum of the Uni-
versity of Cambridge. Cambridge, England.
Laurent, A. 2016. The Botanical Wall Chart: Art from
the Golden Age of Scientific Discovery. Octopus Pub-
lishing, London.
Lee, E. 1838. Observations on the popularity of natural
history. Naturalist 3: 115-123.
Noé, A. C. 1928. The use of charts in the natural sci-
ences. Science 67: 571-574.
Rylands, P. 1838. On the use and abuse of plates of
natural objects. Naturalist 4: 356-357.
Secord, A. 2002. Botany on a plate: Pleasure and the
power of pictures in promoting early nineteenth-centu-
ry scientific knowledge. Isis 93: 28-57.
Van der Schueren, K. 2011. The Art of Instruction:
Vintage Educational Charts from the 19th and 20th
Centuries, Chronicle Books, San Francisco.
15
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
Dornith Doherty
1
Alejandra Vasco
2
Tiana F. Rehman
2
Ana Niño
2
and
Kimberlie Sasan
2,3
1
College of Visual Arts + Design, University of North Texas,
1155 Union Circle #305100, Denton, TX 76203, USA
2
Botanical Research Institute of Texas at the Fort Worth
Botanic Garden, 1700 University Dr., Ft. Worth, TX 76107, USA
3
Author for correspondence: ksasan@fwbg.org
Illuminations: Past, Present, and
Future of Fern Research
This article is about a tripartite environmental
art exhibition is emerging from a research-based
creative collaboration between Dornith Doherty,
artist and professor at the University of North
Texas; Dr. Alejandra Vasco, Research Botanist;
Ana Niño, Librarian; and Tiana Rehman,
Herbarium Director, at the Botanical Research
Institute of Texas (BRIT) at the Fort Worth
Botanic Garden (FWBG). This paper describes the
installed artworks and reflects on the experiences
of developing and presenting an integrated arts-
science exhibition.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Illuminations was on view at BRIT from January
through June 2023. Dornith Doherty was an artist
affiliate with BRIT from July 2021 through January
2023, and during her residency, she worked with
Alejandra Vasco, Ana Niño, and Tiana Rehman
to research primary source materials housed in
the BRIT Library and Herbarium. In the resulting
exhibition, Dornith presented new large-scale
artworks installed in the BRIT Madeline R.
Samples Exhibit Hall and throughout the BRIT
Building.
Accompanying the artworks were vitrines
containing archival materials from the library,
the herbarium, and the Ferns of Colombia
project, a National Science Foundation–funded
collaborative study of fern diversity in Colombia.
The co-exhibition of new artworks alongside the
primary research materials from which they were
derived highlighted the remarkable, irreplaceable
record of botanical diversity captured by the Ferns
of Colombia field research and preserved for the
future by the BRIT Library and Herbarium.
The installation of the artworks onto windows
and projections onto walls in the gallery and
throughout the BRIT research building established
visual proximity to original materials—prompting
dialogue between scientific, archival, and artistic
disciplines. The three sections of the exhibition
can be divided into temporal themes: artworks
that engage with the past, chronicle the present,
and project our possible ecological futures.
Past
On the second floor facing the entrance to the
BRIT Herbarium, large-scale transparencies (6.5
feet high × 14 feet wide) were installed directly
onto existing windows (Figure 1A). Dornith
created these brilliantly colored digital collages by
photographing diaphanized plant slides archived
in the BRIT Herbarium and originally prepared
16
PSB 70 (1) 2024
around 1956 by noted botanist and imaging
specialist Dr. Howard Arnott (Figure 1B). Located
along the corridor nearby are vitrines containing
Arnott’s field journals, original diaphanized plant
slides, and his graduate-level academic writings.
This interdisciplinary presentation of artistic
practice alongside scientific research materials
prompts meditation on the material traces of
botanical life from the microscopic details of
individual leaves to the universal importance of
preserving and studying the world’s plant diversity.
Present
Global biodiversity is threatened by climate change
and accelerating habitat loss, and exceptionally
diverse tropical regions are particularly
vulnerable. Colombia is one of the most biodiverse
countries on Earth, but knowledge about its
biota is taxonomically biased, and many groups
remain poorly understood. Ferns are one of these
conspicuous but understudied groups; despite
having the most species of any country in the
Americas, Colombia lacks a complete fern flora,
and most species remain poorly known.
As the Ferns of Colombia team co-led by
Alejandra works in the field, specimens are
collected and pressed between sheets of
newspapers and archived to be further studied
in the BRIT Herbarium. Inspired by the poetic
possibilities of the chance juxtapositions created
when diverse ferns are pressed to dry on top of the
daily news of Colombia, Dornith created artworks
that mingle the cultural and natural histories of
Colombia—chronicling the present time of urgent
plant discovery in an era of declining biodiversity,
political instability, and the longing for peace.
More than 100 of these plant/news time capsules
were illuminated with light boxes, photographed,
and digitally edited, rendering the dried ferns
into ghostly blue silhouettes floating above the
background of contemporaneous news to create
the 12 final artworks included in the exhibition
(Figure 2). Some of the artworks highlight species
not described by science and species not collected
in over 150 years in one of the most diverse
areas on Earth. The bilingual presentation of all
exhibition materials in English and Spanish invited
cross-cultural dialogue and connections between
art, science, culture, and technology, through
multilingual lectures, social media interactions,
and tours.
Figure 1. (A) Anthenaeum, Dornith Doherty (2023), translucent artwork installed onto alcove windows with Dornith Doherty
(left) and Ana Niño (right) in the foreground. (B) Diaphanized plant slide made by Dr. Howard Arnott.
17
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Future
Completing the tripartite exhibition was a digital
animation Dornith created from DNA sequences
and specimen silhouettes from the Ferns of
Colombia project. The genomic data (DNA
sequences) that the Ferns of Colombia team is
generating are critical for resolving taxonomic
problems and placing Colombian fern diversity in
an evolutionary context. These data are currently
unavailable for most of Colombia’s fern species.
The animation created by Dornith was projected
onto the exterior of the BRIT building, identifying
the building as a site of specimen-focused cutting-
edge research while proposing a future in which
ecosystem rescue and revival is possible through
equitable sharing of knowledge (Figure 3A).
By displaying artworks through three distinct
methods, the exhibition offered audiences
different paths of engagement with the nature
and complexities of botanical research and
preservation—inviting guests to explore spaces
in the building normally only occupied by
researchers.
OUTREACH
Initially, discussions about the intended audience
were generalized to FWBG visitors, school
students, and invited guests attending the opening
reception, consisting of family, friends, botanists,
and business associates of the collaborators. An
estimated 250 to 300 in-person visitors were
expected to view the exhibit. There were two
main challenges to reaching a broad audience in
this research space: weekend closures, and the
tendency for Garden guests to overlook a visit to
the BRIT building. Outreach efforts included an
exhibition brochure and invitation card, YouTube
videos, social media posts, group and self-guided
tours, and two special gallery events: an opening
reception and participation in a city-wide
Spring Gallery Night (Fort Worth Art Dealers
Association, 2023).
A panel discussion was held during the
opening reception where the four collaborators
discussed their experiences in developing this
Figure 2. (A) Parablechnum lechleri | Preparing for the Future, Dornith Doherty (2023). (B) Fern specimen collected
by the Ferns of Colombia project in the artist’s portable digitization studio.
18
PSB 70 (1) 2024
science-art collaboration (Figure 3B). The
discussion was organized by BRIT Librarian
Ana Niño and is available to view on the FWBG
YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=QLEYprXqubA).
More than 400 guests physically visited the
exhibition, of which more than 140 attended
the opening reception and panel discussion. In
addition, an online lecture about the exhibition
was viewed by 100 people; the exhibition
received reviews in magazines (e.g., PaperCity,
Madeworthy, and Patron); and social media posts
(both from personal and institutional accounts)
reached over 8000 impressions.
Audience feedback has been of the highest praise.
The guestbook is filled with comments like
“Wonderful exhibit, beautiful work” and “I love
the pieces – all the interplay of elements!” Visitors
and colleagues alike have also shared many
kind words with collaborators. The exhibition is
documented on the FWBG website (fwbg.org/
events/illuminations-fern/), the Ferns of Colombia
website (fernsofcolombia.com), and the artist’s
website (dornithdoherty.com).
Figure 3. (A) Ferns of Colombia, Dornith Doherty (2023), digital animation projected onto the exterior of the BRIT
building. (B) Panel discussion during opening night.
REFLECTIONS
Dornith Doherty
Artist and Photography
Professor
This project was made possible by the professional
and personal generosity of my collaborators at
BRIT. Their openness to collaboration allowed
me to construct a small temporary studio in the
herbarium and access to the Ferns of Colombia
specimens, the mounted glass scientific slides in
the herbarium, and the archival materials in the
library. Casual lunch meetings filled with open-
ended conversation facilitated reflection and
resulted in a fertile collaborative environment.
I spent several months researching and
photographing unaccessioned specimens in the
herbarium and then worked with those digital files
to create collages and animations in my studio.
Ferns were the dominant lineage of vascular
plants on Earth for millions of years before seed-
bearing plants became the most diverse and
common plants in most ecosystems. As such,
ferns have evolved remarkable adaptations to
extreme conditions. Their resilience in the face of
environmental change, and the hope that resilience
inspires, became a key metaphor for my project.
19
PSB 70 (1) 2024
The biggest challenge I faced was the elimination
of the gallery program at BRIT and the departure
of the curator. This placed extra communication,
budgetary, and planning responsibilities on my
collaborators. A few exhibition ideas were not
possible because the BRIT gallery space was used
for private rental events.
The limitations related to the use of the gallery
space led me to create artistic interventions
throughout the building, which included the data
animation projection onto the exterior of the
building and the installation of the transparent
collages onto the windows. This resulted in a
more dynamic exhibition, which was a positive
experience.
Alejandra Vasco
Research Botanist and Fern
Program Leader at BRIT
The exhibition started as an exploration by
Dornith of the botanical artifacts at the BRIT
Herbarium and Library. She wanted to speak to the
researchers who use these collections, and soon
enough, our interactions and our fern research
wound up inspiring the Present and Future
parts of the exhibition. After arriving from the
NSF-funded Ferns of Colombia field expeditions,
Dornith and I would meet over lunch, and I
would share experiences about field work, the
many intriguing specimens collected, the forests,
the food, the researchers and students, and the
struggles of the people living and preserving their
territories. These lunches catalyzed ideas on how
art could tell the story of research and botanical
preservation, while conveying the urgency of
studying these ecosystems and species in the face
of biodiversity loss and climate change.
It was a delight to interact with Dornith. She is
fascinated and curious about the work researchers
do to document and preserve biodiversity.
It was mesmerizing to see how the Ferns of
Colombia stories and herbarium specimens were
transformed through Dornith’s artworks and to
learn from the many different layers and meanings
physical artifacts of biodiversity preservation have.
During the discussion we had at the exhibition
opening, I also found it interesting how Dornith’s
artworks allowed the public to open up and be
more comfortable asking questions not only about
the art, but also about the science, the collections,
and research in the tropics.
Tiana Rehman
Herbarium Director
Herbaria protect specimens that serve as the
foundation for investigation across spatial and
temporal scales, whose stories are activated by
their users. Dornith’s respectful approach to the
collections quickly established a relationship
of trust, allowing her freedom to explore our
unaccessioned holdings and uncover her own
stories. We were habituated to the sight of
Dornith’s changing studio set-up in the herbarium,
sharing our delight over her discoveries at
our bilingual lunches. Initially, we shared big
ideas for communicating the value of natural
history collections to our community through
an exhibition that reached across FWBG spaces,
and although logistical and budgetary restraints
limited our reach to the interior/exterior spaces
of the BRIT building, the exhibition allowed us to
engage new guests with our collections.
Dornith drew attention to the beauty and utility of
our legacy collections through the Past showcase
of the Howard Arnott microscope slides collection,
whose acquisition itself was a race against time
(acquisition from garage storage, post-collector
retirement). The contrast of all the data, images,
and insight into contemporary botanical research,
with the more investigative work it took to
recreate these connections for the Past portion
of the exhibit, was particularly illuminating. The
concept of the ‘extended specimen’ (Webster, 2017;
Lendemer et al., 2020) connects a single specimen
with other related existing and yet-to-be-created
20
PSB 70 (1) 2024
images, data, analyses, and object resources,
allowing us a more complete understanding of
organisms and their biological communities.
Dornith’s careful documentation of the specimen
origin of these art derivatives adds another layer
to our understanding of these specimens and the
social context in which they were collected.
Kimberlie Sasan
BRIT Research Assistant
Would we do it again? I certainly hope we would
and use what we learned to make the next
exhibition even better, but there is something
special about pulling together and blazing new
trails through the unknown. I remember how it
taxed each of us beyond our expectations, and
how that might make us hesitant to go into such
a project again. Yet, the bond between the artist,
researchers, and librarian is stronger for having
had those challenges and overcome them. I
think they each gained personally more than
the organization did. As an audience member, I
still reflect on the images of the art and how they
humanize the work I do at BRIT every day. I
contemplate the fern specimens I touch being in
newspapers printed and read by Colombians, and
together how we are rescuing ferns, and with them
important ecosystems, without even knowing
each other.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This exhibit received funding from the Ferns of
Colombia NSF grant (Division of Environmental
Biology 2045319), and a Scholarly and Creative
Activity Award from the College of Visual Arts
and Design, University of North Texas. We
also acknowledge funding from the Library,
Herbarium, and Education department of the
Botanical Research Institute of Texas at the Fort
Worth Botanic Garden.
REFERENCES
Fort Worth Art Dealers Association. 25 March 2023.
Spring Gallery Guide.(online). Website:
https://fwa-
da.files.wordpress.com/2023/03/fwada-spring-gallery-
night-2023_brochure_final_webres-1.pdf
[accessed 15
May 2023].
Lendemer, J., B. Thiers, A. K. Monfils, J. Zaspel, E.
R. Ellwood, A. Bentley, K. Levan, K., et al. 2020. The
extended specimen network: A strategy to enhance US
biodiversity collections, promote research and educa-
tion. BioScience 70: 23– 30.
Webster, M. S. [ed. 2017. The Extended specimen:
Emerging frontiers in collections-based ornithological
research. CRC Press.
Other Sources
Dabney, C. 26 February 2023. Fort Worth’s World
Class Botanical Research Institute Uses Plant Art to
Tell a Striking Story of Species Loss: Artist Dornith
Doherty and Renowned Researchers Come Together.
PaperCity. Website: https://www.papercitymag.com/
arts/botanical-research-institute-texas-fort-worth-
showcases-dorinth-doherty-art/.
“The Fort Worth Botanic Garden Is Illuminating Fern
Research.” 10 February 2023. Madeworthy Magazine.
Website: https://tanglewoodmoms.com/community-
news/the-fort-worth-botanic-garden-is-illuminating-
fern-research/
Patron Magazine. 23 February 2023. The Past Present,
and Future of Ferns with Dornith Doherty. Website:
https://patronmagazine.com/the-past-present-and-fu-
ture-of-ferns-with-dornith-doherty/
21
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
The Four Noble Ones: Significant Cultural
Elements Bridging Chinese Painting
and Botanical Sciences
Shengchen Shan
1,3
Abigail T. Uehling
1,2,3
1
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of
Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
2
Department of Biology, University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL, United States.
3
Authors for correspondence: Shengchen Shan
(shan158538@ufl.edu); Abigail T. Uehling (aueh-
ling@ufl.edu)
Plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and
chrysanthemum come together to form the Four
Noble Ones (also known as the Four Gentlemen;
Chinese:
四君子
). These four plants symbolize the
ideal virtues of a person: perseverance, nobility,
righteousness, and humility. The prominent use
of these plants in art forms, including poetry,
literature, and painting, emphasizes their
importance in Chinese and East Asian cultures.
In addition to their use in art, the Four Noble
Ones serve important roles in other avenues of
daily life, such as medicine, building materials,
and traditional cuisine. The Four Noble Ones
represent an excellent example of bridging art and
botany, and they emphasize the significant role
of plants in people’s spiritual life and well-being.
In this essay, we focus on the Four Noble Ones
as recurrent botanical subjects in Chinese brush
painting, discuss their cultural significance and
importance in everyday life as well as efforts to
understand and preserve the biodiversity of these
taxa.
THE FOUR NOBLE ONES IN
CHINESE BRUSH PAINTING
Illustrations of the Four Noble Ones belong to
bird-and-flower painting, a genre that originated
in the Tang dynasty (618–907), reached its peak
in the Song dynasty (960–1279), and continues to
flourish in the present day. The Four Noble Ones
are depicted in two main styles: gongbi (
工笔
; i.e.,
detailed painting) and xieyi (
写意
; i.e., freestyle
painting).
Gongbi uses highly detailed brush strokes and is
often colored. Painting plants in gongbi-style is
similar to that of western botanical drawings, in
that they closely resemble the real morphology of
a plant. Figure 1a shows a gongbi-style painting
of a plum branch by Ma Lin (1195–1264). Given
the detailed depiction, the cultivar of the plum
is presumed to be ‘green calyx’. Figure 1b shows
Ma Lin’s painting of orchid, species Cymbidium
faberi. Figure 1c, titled “Finches and Bamboo”
by Emperor Huizong of Song (1082–1135),
22
PSB 70 (1) 2024
showcases the meticulous style of bird-and-flower
painting. “A Cluster of Chrysanthemums” by an
anonymous artist from the Yuan dynasty (1271–
1368) is shown in Figure 1d; the cultivar names
are noted in the painting, emphasizing the realistic
appearance of plants painted.
Xieyi emphasizes the spiritual aspect of the subject
and often uses monochrome brushstrokes. A
painting done in the xieyi-style may represent an
abstract idea. The plum painting by Wang Mian
(1287–1359) depicts petals using dark ink (Figure
2a); Wang believed that the omission of color
exalts the purity of the plum blossom. Figure 2b
shows a xieyi-style painting of orchid by Zheng
Figure 1 Gongbi-style paintings of the Four Noble Ones. (a) Plum blossom by Ma Lin; (b) orchid by Ma Lin; (c)
“Finches and Bamboo” by Emperor Huizong of Song; (d) “A Cluster of Chrysanthemums” by an anonymous artist
from Yuan dynasty. Image credits: (a) The Palace Museum (Beijing); (b) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(C. C. Wang Family Collection); (c) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (John M. Crawford Jr. Collection);
(d) the National Palace Museum (Taipei).
23
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Sixiao (1241–1318); Zheng used a rootless plant
to symbolize the unjust appropriation of his
homeland’s territory. “Bamboo in Monochrome
Ink” by Wen Tong (1018–1079) is shown in
Figure 2c. Wen invented the genre of ink bamboo
painting and used light and dark ink tones to
distinguish two leaf sides. Figure 2d shows the ink
chrysanthemum by Shen Zhou (1427–1507); the
ink tonal variations impart a sense of weathered
crispness to the blossoms.
Plum Blossom
Plum (Prunus mume; Rosaceae), also known
as mei (
梅
), is a small deciduous tree native to
China that has been cultivated for more than 3000
years (Li and Liu, 2011; Zhang et al., 2012). The
flowers are white, pink, or red, and bloom during
late winter and early spring. Mei’s resistance to
cold weather resembles a person’s perseverance
(Bickford, 1985). An influential contribution to
the history of mei painting is the invention of the
Figure 2. Xieyi-style paintings of the Four Noble Ones. (a) Ink plum by Wang Mian; (b) orchid by Zheng Sixiao; (c)
“Bamboo in Monochrome Ink” by Wen Tong; (d) chrysanthemum by Shen Zhou. Image credits: (a) The Palace Mu-
seum (Beijing); (b) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Zheng_Sixiao_-_Orchid_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg;
(c-d) the National Palace Museum (Taipei).
24
PSB 70 (1) 2024
“ink plum” style (an example is shown in Figure
2a). The ink tonal variation captures the nuances
of color, making “ink plum” highly favored
among the scholar-official class (Bickford, 1996).
In addition to its ornamental values, mei was
cultivated for fruit harvesting. The common mei
products include mei wine, salted mei, and mei
jam (Li and Liu, 2011).
The dedicated efforts to breed plum trees
contribute to the proliferation of mei cultivars.
Mei Treatise by Fan (1186)—the first monograph
of mei in China—noted 10 cultivars. As of 2011,
there are 381 internationally registered cultivars
(Li and Liu, 2011). Recent molecular studies
revealed plum’s diversity and the genetic basis
underlying its hardy character. The genetic
relationships among mei cultivars were evaluated
using molecular markers (Fang et al., 2006).
Zhang et al. (2012) sequenced the genome of
Prunus mume and identified genes contributing to
early dormancy release. Transgenic tobacco plants
expressing the P. mume dehydrin genes showed
enhanced tolerance to cold and drought (Bao et
al., 2017).
Mei gardens exemplify efforts to conserve plum
trees in China. Meihua Hill, located in Nanjing,
covers over 100 hectares and contains more than
40,000 plum trees of over 300 cultivars (Li and Liu,
2011). Meihua Hill is also renowned for hosting
the International Plum Blossom Festival. The East
Lake Mei Garden in Wuhan contains over 200 mei
cultivars and is home to the Mei Flower Research
Center of China and the National Mei Flower
Germplasm Conservation Garden (Li and Liu,
2011).
Orchid
The genus Cymbidium of the family Orchidaceae
includes approximately 80 species of orchids,
which are mainly distributed in the subtropical
and tropical regions of Asia and northern
Australia (Zhang et al., 2021). Flora of China
recorded 49 species, including 19 endemic
species, in China (eFloras, 2008). Many species
have been cultivated as ornamentals for centuries,
including C. ensifloium, C. goeringii, C. sinense,
and C. torisepalum. Nowadays, Cymbidium plays
an important role in the global orchid market
(Yuan et al., 2021).
Orchid represents nobility in Chinese culture (Siu,
2018). The plants grow in the remote forest and
valley, where the flower is known for a pleasant
fragrance. Confucius (551–479 BC) believed that
the characteristics of orchids resemble a noble
person’s self-cultivation, who will not abandon
moral principles even in destitution (Siu, 2018).
Orchid became an independent subject of Chinese
brush painting during the Song dynasty, when
gongbi-style was prevalent. Following the Mongol
conquest of the Song, China entered a turbulent
period (1235–1279). Many scholars refused to
serve in the new regime, and painting of “ink
orchid” became a metaphor for their loyalty and
patriotism.
Recent genetic studies of Cymbidium have used
various markers to understand the diversity
of orchid cultivars (Huang et al., 2010). The
molecular mechanisms of leaf color variation and
floral development have been studied (Yu et al.,
2020; Yang et al., 2022). Two main approaches,
in-situ and ex-situ conservation, have been used
to preserve Cymbidium diversity in China. By
2018, over 2750 nature reserves were established
throughout China, many renowned for their
rich orchid diversity (Zhou et al., 2021). For
example, C. elegans, C. hookerianum, C. tigrinum,
and C. tracyanum are protected in situ at the
Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, and C.
nanulum at the Yachang Orchid National Nature
Reserve. Several botanical gardens in China,
including Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical
Garden and Kunming Botanical Garden, are well
known for their ex-situ efforts to conserve orchids
outside their natural areas. Of the 51 Cymbidium
species surveyed by Liu et al. (2020), 43 are
protected in botanical gardens.
25
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Bamboo
Bamboo, which makes up the subfamily
Bambusoideae of the grass family (Poaceae),
symbolizes righteousness and humility among the
Four Noble Ones (Lai, 2012; Cheng, 2020). Bamboo
originated in southeast Asia, but it is common
across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. There
are currently more than 1400 recognized species
of bamboo (Kelchner and Bamboo Phylogeny
Group, 2013). Bamboo is a cosmopolitan group,
with many species that have been able to adapt to
new environments (Yang et al., 2008). Although
the appearance of bamboo in painting may be hard
to date exactly, Wang (1948) suggests that bamboo
first shows up in the background of religious icons
and figure paintings. Early depictions of bamboo
outline the leaves and stems of the plant with
occasional added color, while later styles painted
stems and leaves with ink but no outline (Wang,
1948).
Bamboo is valued in people’s daily lives because
of its strength and flexibility, as well as its
quick growing cycle (Dlamini et al., 2021). It
is also a useful socioeconomic resource across
many countries in Asia, serving as food and
providing building material for structures such
as scaffolding, bridges, and buildings, as well as
being used to make instruments and utensils
(Yang et al., 2004; Mera and Xu, 2014). Bamboo
has become a popular subject of materials science
research, because scientists are exploring bamboo
composites as an alternative to wood (Nkeuwa et
al., 2022). Xuan paper, made from bamboo pulp, is
popularly used for calligraphy and painting (Yang
et al., 2008). In addition to the many resources
provided by bamboo, it has a long history of being
used as part of classical Chinese gardens, and it
was first recorded as being an essential part of the
early Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) gardens (Yun,
2014).
The depletion of bamboo resources has led to both
ex-situ and in-situ conservation efforts. Bamboo
gardens, as well as the establishment of reserves
such as the Natural Reserve in Xishuangbanna,
are in-situ approaches to conserving native
species in their natural habitats (Yang et al., 2008).
Because of its extensive rhizome system and rapid
growth, bamboo conservation in these areas also
provides many ecological benefits, including
erosion prevention, carbon sequestration, water
conservation, and use as windbreaks (Song et al.,
2011; Tardio et al., 2018; Dlamini et al., 2021).
Botanical gardens such as Zhejiang Bamboo
Botanic Garden, Bamboo Garden of Fuzhou
Arboretum, and Xishuangbanna Tropical
Botanical Gardens are ex-situ efforts to conserve
biodiversity (Yang et al., 2008).
Chrysanthemum
Inflorescences from the genus Chrysanthemum
(Asteraceae) are considered a symbol of nobility,
due to their ability to bloom in chilly autumn
weather (Shahrajabian et al., 2019). There are
approximately 40 species (Liu et al., 2012).
In
ancient China, they were also often associated
with the poet Tao Yuanming (365–427), who was
known to have a small garden of chrysanthemums
and was frequently painted with blooms in his
hand (Yuan, 2009).
This genus is native to China and was first
cultivated in the 15th century BC as an herb
before cultivation of the wild Chrysanthemum
morifolium first took off during the Ming (1368–
1644) and Qing (1636–1912) dynasties (Imtiaz et
al., 2019; Yuan et al., 2020). It has since served as
an important component of traditional Chinese
medicine for the past 2200 years and has been
used for the treatment of fever, headache, sore
throat, and many other common ailments (Yuan
et al., 2020; Hao et al., 2022). The flower head of C.
morifolium has been used as a dietary supplement
26
PSB 70 (1) 2024
for thousands of years in China, most popularly as
tea but also in wine, cakes, and other dishes (Yuan
et al., 2020).
Chrysanthemum’s popularity eventually led
it to dominate the horticulture market as the
second most important floriculture crop after
rose (Shinoyama et al., 2012). Chrysanthemum
breeding has led to many varieties and eight main
cultivars with different geographic origins (Liu
et al., 2012; Hao et al., 2022). Increasing market
demands for new varieties have led to improved
breeding techniques that alter features such as floret
number, petal size, and floral organ (Su et al., 2019).
The worldwide popularity of chrysanthemums
in the floral industry has motivated scientists to
better understand the genetic diversity of cultivars
to promote conservation. Breeders have also tried
to determine cultivars that are least susceptible to
white rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia horiana,
which can easily spread if not contained quickly
(Lu et al., 2018). Efforts to conserve genetic
resources and optimize production systems can
also help promote environmentally friendly
horticulture practices (Zhao et al., 2009).
CONCLUSIONS
The Four Noble Ones are cherished botanical
subjects of traditional Chinese brush painting
that offer insight into the cultural significance of
these four plants in China, as well as many other
Asian countries. Through the use of both gongbi
and xieyi painting styles, artists honor the Four
Noble Ones and the ideal values they represent, in
addition to the many roles they serve in everyday
lives. Modern efforts to conserve the diversity of
these plants take many forms. We hope this essay
has conveyed a meaningful example of the deep
connection between art and botany in Chinese
culture.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the National Palace Museum
(Taipei), The Palace Museum (Beijing), and The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (John M.
Crawford Jr. Collection and C. C. Wang Family
Collection) for their permissions to reproduce
images.
References
Bao, F., D. Du, Y. An, W. Yang, J. Wang, T. Cheng, and
Q. Zhang. 2017. Overexpression of Prunus mume de-
hydrin genes in tobacco enhances tolerance to cold and
drought. Frontiers in Plant Science 8: 151.
Bickford, M. 1985. Bones of jade, soul of ice: the flow-
ering plum in Chinese art. Yale University Art Gallery,
New Haven, Connecticut, USA. .
Bickford, M. 1996. Ink plum: the making of a Chinese
scholar-painting genre. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, UK.
Cheng, J. 2020. The information development process
of wintersweet, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum
in Chinese traditional painting from the perspective of
information philosophy, also on the selection of Chi-
nese traditional painting materials. Proceedings 47: 61.
Dlamini, L. C., S. Fakudze, G. G. Makombe, S. Muse,
and J. Zhu. 2021. Bamboo as a valuable resource and
its utilization in historical and modern-day China. Bio-
Resources 17: 1926–1938.
eFloras. 2008. Flora of China [online]. Website: http://
www.efloras.org/ [accessed 20 May 2023].
Fang, J., T. Twito, Z. Zhang, and C. C. T. Chao. 2006.
Genetic relationships among fruiting-mei (Prunus
mume Sieb. et Zucc.) cultivars evaluated with AFLP
and SNP markers. Genome 49: 1256–1264.
Hao, D. C., Y. Song, P. Xiao, Y. Zhong, P. Wu, and
L. Xu. 2022. The genus Chrysanthemum: phylogeny,
biodiversity, phytometabolites, and chemodiversity.
Frontiers in Plant Science 13: 973197.
Huang, Y., F. Li, and K. Chen. 2010. Analysis of diver-
sity and relationships among Chinese orchid cultivars
using EST-SSR markers. Biochemical Systematics and
Ecology 38: 93–102.
27
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Imtiaz, M., A. M. Khattak, M. A. Khan, F. Jalal, S. Hus-
sain, F. Said, and H. Bo. 2019. Rapid in-vitro propaga-
tion of Chrysanthemum morifolium through shoot bud
explants. Pakistan Journal of Botany 51: 1093–1098.
Kelchner, S. A., and Bamboo Phylogeny Group. 2013.
Higher level phylogenetic relationships within the
bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) based on five plas-
tid markers. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
67: 404–413.
Lai, C. 2012. A study of the bamboo “wuxing” text and
Zisi’s thought. Contemporary Chinese Thought 43:
34–69.
Li, Y., and Q. Liu. 2011. Prunus mune: history and cul-
ture in China. Chronica Horticulturae 51: 28–35.
Liu, H., Z. Liu, X. Jin, J. Gao, Y. Chen, Q. Liu, and D.
Y. Zhang. 2020. Assessing conservation efforts against
threats to wild orchids in China. Biological Conserva-
tion 243: 108484.
Liu, P. L., Q. Wan, Y. P. Guo, J. Yang, and G. Y. Rao.
2012. Phylogeny of the genus Chrysanthemum L.: evi-
dence from single-copy nuclear gene and chloroplast
DNA sequences. PLoS One 7: e48970.
Lu, D., Z. Huang, D. Liu, P. Zhu, S. Lv, N. Li, and H.
Mao. 2018. Transcriptome analysis of chrysanthemum
in responses to white rust. Scientia Horticulturae 233:
421–430.
Mera, F. A. T., and C. Xu. 2014. Plantation manage-
ment and bamboo resource economics in China. Cien-
cia y Tecnología 7: 1–12.
Nkeuwa, W. N., J. Zhang, K. E. Semple, M. Chen, Y.
Xia, and C. Dai. 2022. Bamboo-based composites:
A review on fundamentals and processes of bamboo
bonding. Composites Part B 235: 109776.
Shahrajabian, M. H., W. Sun, P. Zandi, and Q. Cheng.
2019. A review of chrysanthemum, the eastern queen
in traditional Chinese medicine with healing power in
modern pharmaceutical sciences. Applied Ecology and
Environmental Research 17: 13355-13369.
Shinoyama, H., R. Aida, H. Ichikawa, Y. Nomura, and
A. Mochizuki. 2012. Genetic engineering of chry-
santhemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium): current
progress and perspectives. Plant Biotechnology 29:
323–337.
Siu, P. I. 2018. An introduction to Chinese orchid
paintings. In: Y. I. Lee and E. C. Yeung [eds], Orchid
propagation: from laboratories to greenhouses – meth-
ods and protocols, 477–495. Humana Press, New York,
New York, USA.
Song, X., G. Zhou, H. Jiang, S. Yu, J. Fu, W. Li, W.
Wang, et al. 2011. Carbon sequestration by Chinese
bamboo forests and their ecological benefits: assess-
ment of potential, problems, and future challenges. En-
vironmental Reviews 19: 418–428.
Su, J., J. Jiang, F. Zhang, Y. Liu, L. Ding, S. Chen,
and F. Chen. 2019. Current achievements and future
prospects in the genetic breeding of chrysanthemum: a
review. Horticulture Research 6: 109.
Tardio, G., S. B. Mickovski, H. P. Rauch, J. P. Fer-
nandes, and M. S. Acharya. 2018. The use of bamboo
for erosion control and slope stabilization: soil bioen-
gineering works. In: H. P. S. Abdul Khalil [ed], Bam-
boo – current and future prospects, 105-132. IntechO-
pen, London, UK.
Wang, S. 1948. Chinese ink bamboo paintings. Ar-
chives of the Chinese Art Society of America 3: 49–58.
Yang, F., C. Lu, Y. Wei, J. Wu, R. Ren, J. Gao, S. Ah-
mad, et al. 2022. Organ-specific gene expression re-
veals the role of the Cymbidium ensifolium-miR396/
growth-regulating factors module in flower develop-
ment of the orchid plant Cymbidium ensifolium. Fron-
tiers in Plant Science 12: 3386.
Yang, Q., Z. B. Duan, Z. L. Wang, K. H. He, Q. X.
Sun, and Z. H. Peng. 2008. Bamboo resources, utili-
zation and ex-situ conservation in Xishuangbanna,
South-eastern China. Journal of Forestry Research 19:
79–83.
Yang, Y. M., K. L. Wang, S. J. Pei, and J. M. Hao.
2004. Bamboo diversity and traditional uses in Yun-
nan, China. Mountain Research and Development 24:
157–165.
Yu, J., Q. Wang, Q. Q. Shen, B. P. Zhuo, and J. R. He.
2020. Transcriptome analysis reveals genes associated
with leaf color mutants in Cymbidium longibractea-
tum. Tree Genetics and Genomes 16: 44.
Yuan, H., S. Jiang, Y. Liu, M. Daniyal, Y. Jian, C. Peng,
J. Shen, et al. 2020. The flower head of Chrysanthe-
mum morifolium Ramat. (Juhua): a paradigm of flow-
ers serving as Chinese dietary herbal medicine. Jour-
nal of Ethnopharmacology 261: 113043.
28
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Yuan, S. C., S. Lekawatana, T. D. Amore, F. C. Chen,
S. W. Chin, D. M. Vega, and Y. T. Wang. 2021. The
global orchid market. In; F. C. Chen, and S. W. Chin
[eds], The orchid genome, 1-28. Springer, Cham, Swit-
zerland.
v
Yuan, X. 2009. Tao Qian and classical Chi-
nese paintings. Frontiers of Literary Studies in China
3: 479–502.
Yun, J. 2014. A comparative study of bamboo cul-
ture and its applications in China, Japan and South
Korea. Proceedings of SOCIOINT14 – International
Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities in Is-
tanbul, Turkey. Website: https://www.ocerints.org/
Socioint14_e-publication/papers/410.pdf.
Zhang, G. Q., G. Z. Chen, L. J. Chen, J. W. Zhai, J.
Huang, X. Y. Wu, M. H. Li, et al. 2021. Phylogenetic
incongruence in Cymbidium orchids. Plant Diversity
43: 452–461.v
Zhang, Q., W. Chen, L. Sun, F. Zhao, B. Huang, J.
Wang, W. Yang, et al. 2012. The genome of Prunus
mume. Nature Communications 3: 1318.
Zhao, H. E., Z. H. Liu, X. Hu, J. L. Yin, W. Li, G. Y.
Rao, X. H. Zhang, et al. 2009. Chrysanthemum genetic
resources and related genera of Chrysanthemum col-
lected in China. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
56: 937–946.
Zhou, Z., R. Shi, Y. Zhang, X. Xing, and X. Jin. 2021.
Orchid conservation in China from 2000 to 2020:
achievements and perspectives. Plant Diversity 43:
343–349.
29
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
Art Is Not Only About Flowers:
Ferns as a Source of
Inspiration for Artists
FERNTASTIC PLANTS
Van Gogh’s sunflowers, Monet’s water lilies,
Tarsila do Amaral’s manacs, and a whole host of
other flowering plants have been and continue to
be a huge source of inspiration for artwork around
the world. But artists cannot live on flowers alone.
Ferns were the inspiration for the sculptures and
photographs of Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932), a
German artist whose organic ornaments heavily
influenced the world of art and design. The beauty
of ferns was also captured in a breathtaking series
of photographs by Italian photographer Paolo
Marcelo G. Santos
Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Facul-
dade de Formação de Professores, Laboratório de
Biodiversidade. Rua Dr. Francisco Portela, 1470,
Patronato, São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil,
CEP 24435-005
Email: marceloguerrasantos@gmail.com
Monti (1908–1982) titled “Astratte Felci e Foglie”
(Abstract Ferns and Leaves), and the beautiful
mosaic “Mosaiksupraporte Farnkraut” (Fern herb
mosaic overhangs) by Ernst Paar (1953/1954) in a
housing complex in Vienna, Austria. These are just
some examples of fern-inspired artistic expression
around the world.
Ferns also play a central role in the culture and
artistic expression of the Maori, the indigenous
Polynesian people of New Zealand (Figure 1). Their
word for the spiral shape of young unfurling fern
fronds is “koru” and holds immense symbolism in
their culture.
Although there are many interpretations of the
meaning of “koru,” Henry and Pene (2001) wrote
that the basic beliefs at the heart of “koru” revolve
around “Io, The Supreme Being or origin of all life,
from which came Papatuanuku, the earth mother
and Ranginui, the sky father…."
This essay highlights two artworks inspired by
ferns—plants that are often overlooked in favor
of their flower-bearing counterparts. However,
art inspired by these plants goes beyond paintings
to include objects, sculptures, photographs, and
representation in buildings in which they appear.
This subject is vast and will not be exhausted here.
Against a backdrop of the arts, my goal is to evoke
a more poetic perception of ferns that inspires the
adoration these ferntastic plants deserve.
30
PSB 70 (1) 2024
CRAZY ABOUT FERNS!
The Victorian Era, as the reign of Queen Victoria
of England is known (1837–1901), was marked
by so-called “fern fever” or pteridomania, an
obsession with collecting and growing ferns and
owning objects with pictures of them (Duggins,
2015). “The Fern Gatherer” (1877), painted by
Charles Sillem Lidderdale (1830–1895) (Figure 2),
epitomizes this era when fascination for all things
fern reigned.
Are ferns still glamorous? According to
McCulloch-Jones et al. (2021), there is still a
large commercial market for ornamental ferns
Figure 1. Image taken from page 109 of “Illustrations prepared
for White’s Ancient History of the Maori”, 1891. The British
Library, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons.
from Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, with an
estimated annual commercial value of US$150 to
300 million!
FERN FLOWER POWER
The fact that ferns have no flowers or seeds confused
their first observers, who invented a myriad of,
at times highly unlikely, stories to explain the
biology of these plants, especially in European
countries. In these tales, ferns’ flowers and seeds
could only be seen and gathered on certain special
occasions and anyone who possessed them would
be blessed with supernatural powers, invisibility,
extraordinary strength, and wisdom (May, 1978).
Figure 2. The Fern Gatherer, 1877. Charles Sillem Lidderdale.
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
31
PSB 70 (1) 2024
According to the Polish legend “Fern Flower,” wild
ferns produce magical flowers on the evening of the
summer solstice. This popular belief is ubiquitous
in paintings and illustrations in adult and
children’s books across Poland. It was depicted in
the paintings “Kwiat paproci” (Fern Flower, 1900;
Figure 3) by Antoni Piotrowski (1853–1924) and
“Saint John’s Eve” (1875) by Witold Pruszkowski
(1846–1896), among others.
Plant reproduction remains a difficult subject
to understand in botany teaching and scientific
divulgation, largely because of the challenges
involved in observing plant phenomena and the
complexity of the terminology (Barbosa et al.,
2021). I often hear my students say, “Professor, I
always thought those little brown balls (sori) on
fern leaves were fungi or a disease....”
BUILDING BRIDGES
The
art discussed here can lay the groundwork
for dialogue between art, culture, and botany
and two pertinent themes: namely botanical
imperception and plant reproduction. In the first
case, depending on time and space, imperception
can be accentuated in plants such as ferns, which
are often overlooked. Lidderdale’s painting “The
Fern Gatherer” reflects a time in European history
when ferns were revered. In contemplating this
work of art, our thoughts travel to other peoples
who have ferns engrained in their culture, such as
the Maori, and we are enthralled by the captivating
beauty of these plants and learn to admire them.
In terms of fern reproduction, their lack of
flowers, fruits, and seeds still confuses people,
who find it difficult to establish parallels with
plants that have these structures. Piotrowski’s
“Kwiat paproci” (Fern Flower) depicts a cultural
perception of ferns inspired by popular legends
that emerged at a time when little was known
about the reproductive biology of ferns, especially
among laypeople. At the time, their lack of flowers
was explained using other types of knowledge,
which should be reflected on by current admirers
of the work.
References
Barbosa, A. M., E. C. V. Castro, E. C. Prado, J. A. Vieira, and
M. F. Silva. 2021. Ciclo de vida das plantas construindo o
Ciclo de Vida dos grandes grupos vegetais. In D. T. Vasques,
K. C. Freitas, and S. Ursi (orgs.), Aprendizado ativo no en-
sino de botânica. Instituto de biociências, 136-168. USP, São
Paulo.
Duggins, M. 2015. ‘The world’s fernery’. New Zealand, fern
albums, and nineteenth-century fern fever. In: K. Pickles, and
K. Coleborne (eds), New Zealand’s Empire. 102–124. Man-
chester University Press, England.
Henry, E., and H. Pene. 2001. Kaupapa Maori: Locating In-
digenous Ontology, Epistemology and Methodology in the
Academy. Organization 8: 234–242.
May, L. W. 1978. The economic uses and associated folklores
of ferns and fern allies. The Botanical Review 44: 491-528.
McCulloch-Jones E., T. Kraaij, N. Crouch, and H. Fritz.
2021. The effect of horticultural trade on establishment suc-
cess in alien terrestrial true ferns (Polypodiophyta). Biologi-
cal Invasions 23: 3583–3596.
Figure 3. “Kwiat paproci” (Fern Flower), 1900. Antoni Pio-
trowski. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
32
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
The Artist-Scientist Symbiosis:
A Dialogue
The disciplines of art and science have a lot in
common in terms of their practice and research
processes, a sameness that we have observed
and frequently discussed in our artist/mother–
scientist/daughter symbiosis. Symbiosis is an
intimate and often long-term relationship between
two or more organisms, which can range from
mutually beneficial to mutually challenging. Our
artist-scientist symbiotic relationship has been
beneficial, with each of us gaining from the other’s
insights, expertise, skills, and ways of seeing.
The story of art and the story of science is a
story of questions. We are inspired by questions,
which we then explore and research by testing
ideas, gathering data, drawing conclusions,
disseminating ideas, returning to our hypotheses,
and beginning again. We identify a problem,
Gretchen Scharnagl
1
and
Klara Scharnagl
2
1
Artist in Residence 2023 &2024 Deering Estate
Website: https://www.gretchenscharnagl.com
2
Tucker Curator of Lichenology, University & Jepson
Herbaria, University of California Berkeley
Website: https://www.symbiosiscontinuum.com
and we explore ways of solving it. Some of this
exploration involves—requires—play, freedom,
and open-mindedness. In the relationship between
artist and scientist, we each invite the other to look
through a different lens. We each inspire questions
from a realm unfamiliar to ourselve
s.
COLOR THEORY AND
PATTERNS ON TREES
[G.S.] While teaching a course on color theory
for interior designers, I would emphasize
Albert Munsell’s color relationships that occur
frequently in nature. One color relationship,
the split complement, is where you take two
complementary colors, such as red and green, but
split the green into yellow-green and blue-green.
This beautiful color triad could be observed on
the lower trunks of royal palm trees on campus,
but only after the rain. I observed patterns of grays
turning into vibrant reddish-browns, blue-greens,
and yellow-greens: a gorgeous example of color
harmony. I would instruct my students to run out
after a rainstorm to look at these color patterns.
I observed this phenomenon and instructed my
students to observe this phenomenon, without
thinking beyond the pattern of color, or what
it was, or why it changed. Years later, when my
daughter began studying lichens and immediately
sharing what she learned with me, I connected the
dots back to that Color Theory course, realizing that
it was lichens changing color after being hydrated
by rain. My daughter and I have discussed that my
observations in my Color Theory class may have
33
PSB 70 (1) 2024
given her the beginnings of what she now terms
“the lichen eye.” This “lichen eye” is why we see
whole worlds of organisms on the surfaces of
rocks, trees and soil that most people overlook.
One of the common denominators between
scientists and artists is that we are acute observers,
but the difference in the filters of the artist and
scientist is the strength of our relationship.
THE UBER CONVERSATION
[K.S.] During my postdoc in England, I invited
my mom to visit me for a long weekend to see a
particular art exhibit in London and to visit as
many other art museums as possible. To maximize
our time, we took Ubers from one art venue to the
next. Sitting in the back of the Uber, momentarily
freed from any distractions, we could dive deep
into conversation. I began by telling my mom
about what I was working on in my postdoc. I
was attempting to grow lichens in the lab in order
to conduct experiments to better understand the
mechanisms of the lichen symbiosis. Lichens
are complex symbiotic organisms, consisting
of a primary fungal and a primary algal or
cyanobacterial partner. I described to her how we
were growing whole lichens collected directly from
the field, as well as isolated cultures of the fungal
partner and the algal partner. Part of the challenge
of experimental work with lichens is that they
tend to grow very slowly, so I was looking for ways
to promote lichen growth in the lab. I described
how almost anything we tried failed, and how it
defied logic since lichens seem to grow so well in
challenging environments outside the lab. As we
often do, my mom and I began to troubleshoot and
brainstorm ideas on possible solutions to create
growing conditions for the laboratory lichens.
Brainstorming is a valuable tool in both art and
science, because it is an opportunity to explore
possibilities without restraint. My mom’s artistic
practice emboldens childlike and playful questions
of “Why?”, “What if…?”, and “Why not?” While
engaged in brainstorming ping-pong, my mom
and I discussed the potential use of different
substrates and/or media in promoting lichen
growth. Many of the potential substrates we could
test in the lab quickly ran into affordability or
feasibility issues, but the discussion also included
the use of ceramics. Ceramics provide a freedom
of size, shape, and texture at relatively low cost.
My mom’s expertise meant she could share the
uses of different clays, firing techniques, and
impregnating the clays with different materials to
create and test substrates with different properties.
We also discussed the introduction of wind or
other disturbances in the growth chamber—
perhaps you need the chaos and imperfections of
the natural world to make them succeed in the lab.
We even discussed the idea of building a structure
around lichens in situ, but realized that wouldn’t
work because it would alter the in situ conditions.
Each conclusion made us realize we were backing
ourselves into a corner, which then reminded
me of one of my favorite books from childhood
given to me by my mom: The Salamander Room.
The children’s book The Salamander Room by
Anne Mazer tells the story of a boy who finds a
salamander in the woods and brings it home.
But the salamander does not thrive, so the boy
keeps adding things to his room in an attempt to
make it happier: a rock, some leaf litter, a small
pool, some insects to feed on, another salamander
for company—but the more he added, the more
he needed to add to keep everything in balance.
By the end of the book, the boy’s bedroom has
been completely transformed into the forest he
collected the salamander from. The lesson of the
book is that the best place for a salamander to be a
salamander is in its natural environment. For me,
during that Uber conversation, the book became
a useful metaphor to examine what is gained
and lost in our laboratory studies. My mom and
I were brainstorming with such enthusiasm and
gusto that our Uber driver could not help but
also become engaged. He delightedly asked a lot
of questions, and commented on how unique
our mother-daughter, artist-scientist relationship
was. My mom and I simply being ourselves led
34
PSB 70 (1) 2024
to a beautiful interaction with a stranger, and a
productive science communication moment in
the midst of fun.
Following my mom’s visit, I applied a lot of what
we discussed, testing a lot of variables in the lab.
The more I did so, the more The Salamander
Room seemed to ring true, and successfully
growing lichens or their constituents in the
laboratory remains challenging. The artist brings
to the dialogue an irreverent acceptance of failing,
imperfection, or the stray mark. To the artist, the
stray mark is not a lie (or an outlier), it is the truth.
It is part of the picture. The more I thought about
The Salamander Room, the more I wondered
whether there could be organisms, like lichen,
that defy the lab—and not just in terms of rapidity
of growth. If we alter variables enough, have we
taken away the conditions that necessitate or
facilitate the symbiosis of the lichen, such that the
associations we are measuring in the laboratory
are no longer the symbioses we set out to test?
LICHEN POETRY AND THE
CONCRETE BENCH
[G.S.] The tradition in our family each winter
holiday is to gather in Miami, Florida where we
make our annual trips to Everglades National
Park, Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, and
sometimes Deering Estate. My daughter Klara and
I can often be found with our eyes two to three
inches from almost anything, discovering lichens;
their patterns and diversity, their interactions, and
the surprising variety of substrates they grow on—
from the trunks of trees to concrete pavement to
recycled-plastic boardwalks.
I have brought this “lichen eye” with me to my
artist residency at the Deering Estate. The Deering
Estate encompasses the historic home of Charles
Deering and the Richmond family, protection
of indigenous archeological sites, as well the
protected site of threatened south Florida habitats,
including pine rocklands, hardwood hammocks,
and mangroves. These historic, prehistoric, and
natural surroundings have been the subject of
many previous artists in residence. I wanted
to focus on something unseen, overlooked, or
ignored. In the manicured lawn area surrounding
the estate there is a sea wall that juts out into the
bay, lined with rows of royal palms. These royal
palms were also covered in patterns and color,
which thanks to my daughter, I had learned to
recognize as lichens. But it was not until I zoomed
in with my iPhone on Macro settings that I realized
that I was the one overlooking, ignoring, and not
seeing. I began to snap pictures. When I stepped
back and looked at the same lichen with the naked
eye, I could not see what was now visible in the
image on my phone. From these photographs
I print enlarged images on acetate. Using a light
table, I trace what is there. This allows me to
trace without the mental biases that could lead to
drawing what I don’t see, and not drawing what I
do see—a bias that teaching drawing makes you
excruciatingly aware of. The quick tracings done
with script-like gestures and scribbles further free
my mind of potential biases. Through this process,
the patterns and structures of these lichens appear
to expand exponentially, revealing things that
were there in the photographs but hidden from
me. Through my tracings, I discover smaller and
smaller repetitious forms, each iteration leading
to deeper, almost infinite levels of complexity. The
more I see, the more I see (Figure 1).
From the beginning I decided I would trace 100
drawings over a calendar year in a series I call
Lichen Poetry. Approached with only poetic
and artistic considerations, these drawings are
still recognized by my lichenologist daughter
as lichens, sometimes even to the species level.
During open studio visits, members of the public
have engaged with the Lichen Poetry, often leaving
with a new appreciation for lichens. These visitors
include local scientists, one of whom days later
texted, “You have me looking at things I’ve never
35
PSB 70 (1) 2024
looked at,” and included images of lichens from his
own backyard. I question who may be the ultimate
audience for this work: the science world, the art
world, or a broader audience.
[K.S.] During my mother’s forays to photograph
the lichens on the royal palm trees at the Deering
Estate, she noticed something on a concrete
bench. This concrete bench was placed at the
end of the arm of the boat basin that juts out into
the salt water bay. There were lichens growing
on the bench, bright orange ones. Because I had
recently begun looking at lichens that grow on
concrete, particularly sidewalks, my mother sent
me a photo of it. After looking at her photograph,
I got really excited and asked her to send me
more photographs and samples. This appeared to
be a lichen that is known to grow on rocks and
concrete, but was not previously recorded in south
Florida. I am in the process of sequencing the
DNA of this lichen to confirm its identification.
In pursuing her art and collaborating with me, my
mother has potentially found a new locality record
for a lichen. This opens up many new questions
in my study of lichens on concrete, as well as an
ongoing curiosity about the role of salt in fungal
ecology.
Figure 1. Lichen Poetry #15, #65, #24, #26. Series of 100 drawings, 2023-2024, 8.5 x 11 inches. Mixed media on
75-year-old student engineer graph paper.
36
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Figure 2. Suburban Ledgers (from series) 6.75 × 3.75
inches, 2017-2019. Mixed media on 50-year-old Bur-
dines notebook paper.
My mom and I have become lichen influencers,
which proves that the most beneficial part
of the artist-scientist symbiosis is a broader
communication of ideas. In a seminar I recently
gave, I talked about lichens that grow on sidewalks
and other concrete surfaces. I have since been
approached by multiple attendees of the talk who
tell me that they have now taken a much closer
look at the sidewalks and concrete near their
homes, observing lichens there! Both my mom
through her art, and I through my science, have
inspired others not only in our own fields and
each other’s fields, but to a larger audience—new
ways of seeing and exploring the world.
THE LICHEN LINE
[K.S.] During a research trip to the Andes in Peru,
I noticed a phenomenon that I have termed “the
lichen line.” The lichen line occurs on any substrate
or landscape where there is a visible edge between
where lichens grow and where they do not grow.
In the Peruvian Andes, the alpine glaciers are
melting so fast that the lichens cannot colonize
the newly exposed rocks fast enough. This has led
to a stark difference between the rocks covered
in lichens, which appear almost black from a
distance, and a kilometer or so of bare rocks,
appearing pale or beige, leading up to the glacier. I
ran a transect along the ridge and sampled lichen
communities leading up to the lichen line, and
lichen communities between the lichen line and
the receding glacier. The data clearly show that
there is a dramatic difference in lichen presence
and cover on one side of the lichen line versus the
other. When I took photographs of this lichen line,
it was difficult to capture the whole landscape in
a single shot, and the topography and shadows
made the lichen line not appear as stark as it
looked in person. Frustrated, I told my mom this
story, and shared the photographs with her that I
had taken. At that time, my mom was delving into
the idea of visuals that describe climate change.
Melting glaciers are challenging to depict in a
two-dimensional image. From my story and the
photographs, my mom was able to create a visual
that told both of our stories; glacial recession
and the lichen line. I felt that her visual properly
captured the starkness of the actual edge of the
lichen line, eliciting a more dire and emotional
response than my photograph or data may have
done (Figure 2).
CONCLUSION
Through these stories, we have demonstrated the
benefits of the artist-scientist symbiosis through
the sharing of insights, expertise, skills, and ways of
seeing. Our mother-daughter symbiosis facilitates
uncomplicated occupation of the liminal space
between the spheres of art and science, whilst
remaining rooted in our respective disciplines.
Just like in lichens, the value of the particularity
of symbiosis is the continuous exchange of that
which is beneficial to the other, without the design
37
PSB 70 (1) 2024
of becoming the other. The strength of the artist-
scientist symbiosis is in the volleying of questions
and hypotheses from two distinctive and often
opposite ways of seeing. Both the scientist and
the artist benefit from having one foot positioned
in proven steps of exploration, and the other foot
skipping along in play.
SUPPLEMENTAL
INFORMATION
Everglades National Park encompasses 1.5
million acres, protecting a variety of south
Florida ecosystems including freshwater
sloughs, tropical hammocks, pinelands,
cypress domes and prairies, mangrove
forests, marine and estuarine, as well as many
threatened and endangered plants and animals.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden was
established in 1938 by a group of botanists and
environmentalists including its namesake, Dr.
David Fairchild. It encompasses 83 acres with
a focus on tropical and subtropical plants with
human uses, and includes a natural history
collection, library, and archives. Fairchild
Garden supports active research on botanical
biodiversity, ecology, and applications.
Deering Estate is a historic landmark in south
Florida encompassing 450 acres preserving
historic architecture, indigenous histories
(including burial sites, middens, shelters,
and historic hunting grounds), and native
ecosystems. Deering Estate includes the following
designations: National Registry of Historic
Estates, Miami Dade County Environmentally
Endangered Lands, Natural Areas Management,
The Cutler Fossil Site, Paleo-Indian Archeological
Site, Florida Fish and Wildlife, Department of
Environmental Protection Agency, Natural Areas
Management.
38
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
Attempts at Convergence of
Science and Art That Blossomed
Amidst Korea’s Tragic History
Abstract
The Japanese colonial era and the Korean War
left many scars on the Korean Peninsula, and
nationalistic and ideological conflicts resulting
from them remain. But even in this turbulent time,
Korean scientists made important contributions
to biology. Among them were a few people who
attempted to use taxonomic illustrations that fused
biology and art. Bong-Syup Toh (1904–?) was one
of the first Korean botanists and pharmacologists.
Hyewoo Shin
Email: hyewooshin@naver.com; www.hyewoo.com
His wife Chanyoung Jung (1906–1988) was a
well-known painter and supported and assisted
the botanical endeavors of her husband. The
entomologist Pok Sung Cho (1905–1971) was one
of the first zoologists in Korea. He was also a skilled
scientific illustrator and provided an incredibly
detailed and accurate set of butterfly drawings
that demonstrated his scientific knowledge.
Korea adopted modern taxonomy (Linnean
system) relatively late, and therefore the work of
the few taxonomic illustrators was exceptional.
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the
outstanding nature of and to bring awareness to
their contributions, which have been virtually
unknown until recently. Understanding their
achievements and lives is also the beginning of
understanding the history of modern Korean
biology.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
After 500 years of rule, the Joseon Dynasty on
the Korean Peninsula collapsed due to the forced
opening of ports (1876) by foreign pressure.
Subsequently, the Korean Empire (1897–1910),
the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945), and
the Korean War (1950–1953) all contributed to a
history of suffering on the Korean Peninsula. As the
traditional Korean social order began to change,
Western culture, including modern science, began
39
PSB 70 (1) 2024
to have more influence. Around the time that
Korea opened its harbors, modern taxonomy was
first introduced from the West. Although colonial
countries had previously developed their own
scientific fields, during the period of imperialism
they were indoctrinated into or believed that
Western-style modern science was essential to
an advanced and strong nation. The Linnean
taxonomic system also spread around the world
after the 18th century in concert with imperialism,
whose influence increased in the name of ‘modern
universality’. During the Japanese colonial era,
modern taxonomy was introduced by Japan into
Korea to deliberately investigate natural resources
in the name of colonial civilization. Additionally,
Japanese scholars sought to promote Japan’s
scientific capabilities to the world by reporting on
the biology of the Korean Peninsula. Japan trained
Koreans to aid their goals, but limited Koreans’
access to high-level science and technology. On
the other hand, colonial Koreans thought that
their country could become strong, developed,
and independent if it had modern science and
technology similar to what existed in Japan and
Western countries. Some Koreans cooperated with
Japanese scientists to learn science and technology,
whereas others resisted and pursued independent
studies. At that time, the relationship between
Japanese and Korean scientists took on various and
complex aspects such as cooperation, exchange,
oppression, discrimination, consideration, and
competition—all having an impact on everyone’s
life (Kim, 2005). It was very difficult for Koreans
to become taxonomists and very few succeeded.
This is because Korea’s traditional academic and
education system, before the opening of ports,
was completely different and during the Japanese
colonial period, Japan systematically restricted
and discriminated against Koreans from receiving
modern education. Korean universities were
also limited, and it was not until 1926 that the
first university was opened and only a very small
number of Koreans studied internationally.
Biological illlustration is a field that unites science
and art, drawing pictures based on scientific
study. Therefore, the situation for Koreans at the
time to learn this field was worse than studying
biology alone. Moreover, traditional Korean
paintings up to that time were very different from
biological illustrations. Confucianism dogma was
the traditional field of study and the principle of
social order in the Joseon Dynasty, and it was also
the foundation of art. Although several genres
of painting were practiced, most of them were
based on the Confucian concept. Some paintings
depicted living things realistically, but the objects
and composition of these paintings were symbolic
or decorative and were not intended to identify
species. Since they are Eastern paintings, they
did not depict identification keys to distinguish
living things and were often patterned or had
artificial compositions. Although they depicted
living things, they were an effort to contain
philosophical meaning. Biological illustrations
were naturally introduced to the Korean
Peninsula through biology-related books, but a
scholarly understanding of this multidisciplinary
field was lacking. There was not enough time and
manpower to produce illustrations, and there was
no educational institution to support the topic.
Old records contain illustrations commissioned
by painters without scientific knowledge or
copies from foreign documents. There were few
direct attempts by taxonomists, and professional
and high-quality illustrations are extremely rare.
The three Koreans introduced here were the
starting points of Korean biological taxonomy
and biological illustration during these turbulent
times, and they were the people who created the
framework of current Korean biological taxonomy
that still has influence today
.
40
PSB 70 (1) 2024
BONG-SYUP TOH AND
CHANYOUNG JUNG: A WORK
CREATED BY THE LOVE OF A
BOTANIST AND A PAINTER
Bong-Syup Toh (also written as Pong-Shyup Toh,
Bong-Shyup Toh, and Bong-sup Toh) was one
of the few of the colonized who took the elite
course during the colonial era. He studied at the
University of Tokyo in Japan and became the first
Korean professor of the Gyeongseong Pharmacy
College, which was the only pharmaceutical
education institution in Korea during the Japanese
colonial period. After liberation, he served as the
Dean of the Private Seoul College of Pharmacy. As
a colonized Korean, the process through which
he could conduct scientific research was never
easy
.
At that time, there was only one university in
Korea, Keijo Imperial University, with no science
departments. In addition, Japan restricted science
education for Koreans, including limiting the
number of Korean students studying science and
making it difficult to qualify for entrance exams
for Japanese universities. Toh graduated from
Japanese schools twice to qualify for the entrance
exam to the University of Tokyo. In 1919, there
was the March 1st Movement in Korea, a strong
national resistance movement against Japanese
colonial rule. Afterwards, Japan slightly eased
its oppression of Korea and Toh was able to
enter university thanks to the added luck of the
relaxed education policy at that time. It was very
unusual that his outstanding talent and diligence
overlapped with his wealthy family and fortunes
caused by social upheaval. He is the first botanist
of great importance in Korean plant taxonomy
for his active plant collection and taxonomic and
distributional research. His representative book
is
韓國植物圖鑑: 草本部
(Korean Flora: Second
Volume for Herbaceous Plants, 1956), one of Korea’s
first botanical illustrations and a compilation of all
Korean herbaceous plants. In 1933, he organized
朝鮮博物硏究會
(Joseon Natural History Research
Group) with Korean naturalists and made a
considerable effort to educate and disseminate
science in colonial Korea. Together with the
organization’s naturalists, he published
朝鮮植
物鄕名集
(Vernacular Names of Joseon Plants,
1937), a list of plant names with Korean names.
He also published or participated in several other
books and academic papers (Lee, 2012). He was
abducted by North Korea during the Korean War
and never saw his family again.
Chanyoung Jung, Toh’s wife, was a pioneer,
becoming an established painter during a time
when it was rare for a Korean woman to do so.
She won several awards at
朝鮮美術展覽會
(Joseon Art Exhibition, an art contest held during
the Japanese colonial period) and painted lyrical
works with detailed depictions of natural objects.
Her representative works include paintings of
birds such as egrets, chickens, and peacocks, and
paintings of flowers such as water lilies, peonies,
irises, and chrysanthemums, which are traditional
Eastern paintings. She developed the field of
color painting within the context of mainstream
ink-and-wash landscape painting and pursued
the formative beauty of living things. In the late
1930s, she gave up painting because her second
son died of illness and her eyesight deteriorated,
working instead as a middle- and high-school art
teacher. Her achievements were mostly forgotten,
especially the taxonomic illustrations that she
did for her husband’s botanical research. After
their daughter Toh Chung-ae published books
that depicted their achievements in 2001 and
2003, their collaborations received recognition
by the Korean botanical and art academia and
were displayed to the public. Representatively,
Jung drew all 64 plant illustrations in Toh’s co-
authored book,
朝鮮植物圖說: 有毒植物 編
(Taxic
Plants in Korea, 1948). The illustrations are black-
and-white line drawings, like those in current
botanical illustrations or papers, and include
partial diagrams of botanically important roots,
fruits, and flowers. She also painted botanical
41
PSB 70 (1) 2024
drawings in her color painting style, which were
also made into large hanging scrolls for the
education of students. Jung’s plant illustrations
are unique in that they express Toh’s botanical
knowledge while incorporating her own painting
style at the time. She preserved the manuscript of
Toh’s illustrated plants of
韓國植物圖鑑: 草本部
(Korean Flora: Second Volume for Herbaceous
Plants, 1956) during the Korean War, making its
publication possible after the war (Bae, 2019)
(Figure 1).
POK SUNG CHO:
A COMBINATION OF
OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC AND
SCIENTIFIC TALENTS
Pok Sung Cho had been interested in animals since
his youth
.
He was educated by Doi Hironobu (
土
居寬暢
), a natural history teacher who recognized
his talent when he was at
平壤高等普通學校
(currently a middle and high school established as
part of the Japanese colonial education policy in
Pyongyang, four-year school). After graduation,
he attempted to study entomology at a Japanese
Figure 1. (Left) Bong-Syup Toh and Chanyoung Jung. © Toh Chung-ae, Seoul, Korea. (Right) Illustrations for plant
taxonomy by Chanyoung Jung were known to the public through an exhibition Rediscovery of Korean Modern Art-
ist 1: When Brushes Are Abandoned at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art at Deoksugung
Palace in 2019.
university, but he ran into policies and institutional
problems that discouraged higher education
for Koreans during the colonial period, and he
eventually became an elementary school teacher.
Professor Mori Tamezo
(
森爲三
) of Keijo Imperial
University, who came to lecture at the elementary
school where Pok Sung Cho works, recognized
Pok Sung’s insect specimens and extensive
morphological knowledge and helped him
conduct entomological research. After working
as an elementary school teacher for six years, Cho
became an assistant at Keijo Imperial University
and began research in earnest. He became an
entomologist because of the mentoring and
support of two Japanese scholars who recognized
his talent. At that time, cases like Cho’s were very
rare and fortunate. He was able to conduct his
studies across the entire Korean Peninsula as well
as Taiwan, China, and Mongolia with the support
of his Japanese teacher. After liberation, he served
as the director of the National Science Museum and
professor at Korea University and Sungkyunkwan
University. Through many field studies, he
collected, classified, and reported various types of
insects, including butterflies, moths, beetles, and
42
PSB 70 (1) 2024
dragonflies. He studied the ecology and habitat
of insects and organized the names of insects
and entomological terms. He also conducted
research on animals other than insects and
published the first biology and zoology textbooks
in Korean. He was the first Korean to publish an
entomology paper
鬱陵島産鱗翅目
(Lepidoptera
from Ulleungdo Island) in 1929 and published 83
papers throughout his life. Beginning with
原色朝
鮮の蝶類
(Colored Butterflies from Korea, 1934),
he also published 22 books, including university
textbooks, encyclopedias of insects, and science
books for the public. In these works, he was able to
distinguish himself and prove his talent to Japanese
scholars via his artistry. All the butterfly paintings
in
原色朝鮮の蝶類
were drawn by him, and the
paintings in his papers and books are presumed
to be his (Kim, 2008). Cho’s original butterfly
illustrations were very small because they were
drawn in the size of actual butterflies, which is
different from the current general style of enlarged
illustrations so that the shapes of small insects
can be clearly seen. However, even at their small
sizes, he produced detailed and scientific drawings
sufficient to identify the species with excellent
drawing skills and a wealth of morphological
knowledge. He also wrote books for children and
teenagers, such as
곤충이야기
(Story of Insects,
1948) and
곤충기
(About Insects, 1948), which
confirms his passion for education and his aspect
as a creator. Text and illustrations for books and
papers for the public are different from those for
academic reporting. In particular, he made books
for children and teenagers easy to understand and
interesting. He personified the characteristics of
insects, chose topics that would interest readers,
and wrote terminology to suit the reader’s level.
He attached illustrations showing the ecological
characteristics and anatomical structure of insects
(Jin, 2019) (Figure 2).
Figure 2. (Left) Pok Sung Cho © 관정장학위원회. (Right)
Original illustration of butterflies drawn by Pok Sung Cho.
REBORN AS A PIONEER
THROUGH GENIUS
IN A TRAGIC SITUATION
As modern biology was introduced late in Korea, it
was very urgent to investigate and organize living
things throughout Korea. The research materials of
Toh and Cho are the foundation of Korean biology,
and later scholars have added to or modified
them based on their research. They gave Korean
names to native Korean organisms and produced
educational materials in Korean to train younger
generations. In Europe, where modern biology
began early, many living things were investigated
and drawn in the 17th and 18th centuries. However,
in Korea, which only accepted modern biology in
the 1900s, the current level of biology was reached
without that process. Photographs were used
rather than drawings, and there was a rush to
keep up with the flow of the world by embracing
new experimental technologies. During the
turbulent times, a lot of data were lost, and much
remains buried because of widespread ideological
conflict. The multidisciplinary creative art that
these three attempted is a significant discovery
in Korea, where it has only recently begun to be
widely recognized as an independent field. Their
pioneering results were judged to be of value as an
auxiliary necessity in biology, but they need to be
43
PSB 70 (1) 2024
newly illuminated in the arts and multidisciplinary
fields. Jung’s paintings demonstrate her unique
style that combines oriental painting and
scientific illustration. Cho can be considered
the first Korean biologist to draw pictures at the
level of a professional scientific illustrator. Their
illustrations are an important asset in Korean
biology, but they are also an important asset in art
and multidisciplinary fields. The efforts of these
pioneers without interdisciplinary training need
to be studied along with those of similar pioneers
in other countries.
References
Bae, W. J. 2019. Chung Chan-young, modern female
painter, the color painting on flowers and birds. Korean
Bulletin of Art History 53: 7-33.
Jin, N. Y. 2019. A Study on Jo Bok-seong’s Insect-re-
lated Books Published in 1948: Focused on Story of
Insects and About Insects. Journal of the Korean Soci-
ety for Library and Information Science 53: 267-294.
Kim, G. 2005. The emergence of modern scientific
technology manpower in Korea. Seoul: Moonji Pub-
lishing.
Kim, S. W. 2008. The context of a Korean naturalist’s
career-building in colonial Korea: Cho Pok Sung as an
example of colonial entomologist. Journal of the Ko-
rean History of Science Society 30: 353-382.
Lee, J. 2012. Contested botanizing in colonial Korea
(1910-1945), conflicting visions of modernity emerg-
ing through colonial interactions between Korean and
Japanese researchers. PhD dissertation, Seoul National
University, Seoul.
44
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
How Scientific Illustration Impacts
Presentation and Understanding of Plant
Adaptations at Multiple Scales
Sayeh Dastgheib-Beheshti
1*
Zane G. Long
2
Gemma R. Takahashi
3
and
Rachel W. Martin
2,3*
Abstract
Scientific illustration is an integral part of how
scientists communicate work to colleagues,
students, and the public. Historically, the
connection between biology and art was widely
recognized, because naturalists had to make
drawings to document their observations in the
field. However, despite its continued importance,
modern scientists generally receive little to no
formal training in effective visual communication.
On the other hand, artists, even those who are very
well equipped to produce accurate and attractive
representations of plants, may not appreciate all
of the subtle or even microscopic features that are
important to scientists.
Here, we discuss the interplay between art and
science using the example of a carnivorous
plant, Drosera capensis. We present strategies for
promoting effective communication between
1
Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York
University, Toronto, Canada
2
Department of Chemistry, University of California,
Irvine, CA, 92697-2025, United States of America
3
Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry,
University of California, Irvine 92697-3900
*Corresponding authors: rwmartin@uci.edu,
sayehdb@yorku.ca
artists and scientists, with examples of art
illustrating important features at different scales.
We also discuss how artists and scientists can
collaborate to engage the public and disseminate
results in an accessible manner.
Keywords
botanical drawing, carnivorous plant, chemically
specific imaging, in situ chemical analysis,
metabolites, protein structures, scientific
communication
INTRODUCTION
In scientific articles, illustrations and graphics
draw attention to particular features, simplify
complex systems, and reify abstract concepts.
High-quality visual elements can greatly enhance
the readability of scientific work, potentially
drawing students and colleagues to a study
species and widening scientific circles. Further,
effective scientific communication can engage the
public, enabling scientists to achieve goals such
as recruiting for community science projects,
promoting conservation efforts, or simply sharing
the joy of discovery and the beauty of nature. Even
though high-quality visualizations are central to
effective communication, very few scientists are
trained to produce them. Further, many scientists
do not know how to commission art on a practical
level, and connections between scientists and
artists may be difficult to forge because of the lack
of overlap between these communities.
45
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Here we discuss some strategies for addressing
these issues, using the example of the carnivorous
plant Drosera capensis L. (Slack, 1979). Drosera
capensis, a native of the Cape region of South
Africa, grows in wet environments with poor
soil. Its long, strap-like leaves are covered with
glandular trichomes, each of which is tipped in a
drop of sticky mucilage. Once an insect is trapped,
trichomes adjacent to the contact area curl to cover
and further trap the insect. In cases where the
insect is larger and continues to struggle to escape,
the leaf blade itself curls around the prey, further
immobilizing it and maximizing surface area for
digestion. The digestive process is fascinating from
a molecular perspective; unlike in animals, plant
digestion takes place in the open, under ambient
environmental conditions, and in competition
with bacteria and fungi that cannot only steal the
nutrients from the prey, but potentially infect the
plant, causing disease. The plant manages these
difficulties using biochemistry. When stimulated
by prey acquisition via the jasmonic acid pathway,
the leaf secretes hydrolytic enzymes that break
down insect tissue, as well as antimicrobial peptides
that protect against infection. These processes are
mediated by a host of small-
molecule signals.
Thus, D. capensis presents a challenging variety of
adaptations to illustrate, spanning a range of length
scales from the macroscopic to the molecular.
CROSS-POLLINATION
The first obstacle to communication between
scientists and artists is that they often simply do
not know each other. Academic communities are
often fragmented or siloed, and making trans-
disciplinary connections is difficult. Further, field-
specific norms for how original work is presented
and credited can make it difficult for academics
in different fields to collaborate. Initiatives such
as this special issue of the Plant Science Bulletin
provide opportunities for joint work, but it is still
necessary for collaborators to find each other. We
have found in-person or online hobby groups
useful for this purpose: S.D.-B. and R.W.M. first
met in an online group devoted to growing African
violets; we then worked together on a series of
articles published in Chatter, the newsletter of the
African Violet Society of Canada. Hobby groups of
this type are excellent for introducing people with
very different backgrounds, but with a common
interest in plants. They attract a mix of hobbyists,
practitioners (e.g., professional horticulturists and
landscapers), and other members of the public.
We do not endorse any specific social media sites
here because their popularity waxes and wanes,
but online groups are often very active and can
have diverse members from all over the planet.
Another model for successful interaction is one
where scientists commission artists to produce
compelling visualizations for their publications
and presentations. Informal discussions with
other scientists (by R.W.M.) have revealed that
many do not know how to find an artist to work
with, believe the costs to be prohibitive, and/or
find the process of commissioning custom art
intimidating. Although hiring an artist as a full-
time member of the team is indeed beyond the
budget of most research labs, many offer one-
time commissions at affordable prices. Depending
on the agency, these expenses can sometimes be
covered by the communications budget of a grant,
or unrestricted funds can be used. Artists can be
found on online social networks, where those who
are open to performing work for hire will generally
indicate this with a “commissions open” tag on
their profiles. Websites designed for creators to
find patrons (e.g., Patreon, Etsy, or guru) offer
another way to hire artists for specific projects.
Producing artwork is time-consuming and may
require multiple rounds of editing; therefore, it is
important to commission the drawings as early
in the writing process as possible in order to
minimize the time to submission.
After finding an artist whose style fits the desired
work, the next step is to inquire about price. It
is important to be as specific as possible about
the subject of the piece, the required size, any
particular features that should be emphasized,
and what it will be used for. The latter question
46
PSB 70 (1) 2024
is critical, since
many artists only allow certain
types of usage or charge different fees for
different types of licensing. For example, a
design that will be used in a scientific paper
may have a different price than one that will
be used as a logo for a commercial website.
It is best to discuss all potential use cases
up front to avoid misunderstandings. For
scientific papers and presentations where the
artist is not a co-author, the best practice is to
acknowledge them for creating specific figures
or parts of figures in the acknowledgments.
DRAWING ON THE HERITAGE OF
BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATION
Before the advent of high-quality photo and video,
botanical illustration was essential for sharing
knowledge about the discovery, basic morphology,
and ecological context of new plant species. Most
students did not have the opportunity to travel to
see their study species and had to make do with
dried herbarium specimens. Detailed drawings
helped fill the gaps between the preserved
specimens and the living plant. Although
humans have been drawing plants since before
recorded history, botanical illustration, along with
preserving specimens in herbaria, became more
systematized in the 18th century, particularly
after Carl Linnaeus introduced his classification
system, the Systema Naturae (Thiers, 2020; Blunt,
2021).
Because drawing was considered a suitable
occupation for young women in a time when
their options were otherwise limited, this is an
area where women could participate in science
before they were allowed to do so in other ways.
For example, Elizabeth Blackwell, better known
for her status as the first female physician in the
U.S., published an illustrated book of medicinal
plants in order to finance her husband’s release
from debtors’ prison (McDowell, 2023).
IMAGING ACROSS MULTIPLE
LENGTH SCALES
One of the biggest challenges in imaging plant
samples and conveying the information we learn
is that the key features occur on very different size
scales. Just as the earliest botanists did, we need
to show pictures of the whole plant, preferably
in the context of its habitat, but also close-ups
of individual organs such as leaves and flowers.
We need systematic protocols for showing all of
these things in the diagrams. In addition to the
accuracy of the representation, selecting and
editing appropriate features and characteristics
play an important role in drawing the reader in,
generating enthusiasm for the study species and
supporting conservation efforts.
Features of interest are sometimes difficult to
notice in even a high-quality photo without
visual cues to draw attention to them. For
example, D. capensis is a relatively large, showy
plant with long, dramatic flower scapes (Figure
1), but many of its important features (e.g., the
trichomes bearing sticky mucilage), are very
small. Further, a typical plant will not display all of
the significant characteristics, such as blooming,
seedpod formation, or trapping and digesting
insects, all at the same time; therefore, creating an
illustration that showcases these characteristics at
the same scale is extremely useful for providing a
holistic overview of D. capensis. Figure 2 shows a
botanical illustration of D. capensis created with
Adobe Illustrator vector-based digital illustration
software using live plants and pictures for
reference. Although this diagram is traditional
in most respects, it also includes structures of
proteins that were discovered from the D. capensis
genome (Butts, 2016) and are thought to be
important during feedin
g.
Vector-based graphics
use shapes, curves, and lines that do not lose
resolution when enlarged. In the past, S.D.-B. has
used traditional media (paper, graphite pencils,
and watercolor) to draw botanical illustrations
with the final illustration scanned and stored as
a raster image, comprising individually colored
47
PSB 70 (1) 2024
pixels that limit the final resolution
and possible
edits. The highly detailed and repetitive
features of D. capensis as well as the need for
constant communication with the scientists
during the generation of the imaging process
diagrams led to the selection of the non-
traditional vector-based illustration tool for
this collaboration. Figure 3 illustrates how
vector-based software allows for enlarged
views of details without the loss of resolution,
as well as enabling details such as colors to be
changed easily.
Figure 1. Photo of several Drosera capensis plants in cultiva-
tion with a U.S. penny for scale.
Figure 2. Traditional botanical drawing with additional
features of varying length scales, including proteins pro-
duced by the plant.
Figure 3. Detail of Figure 2B, with a leaf wrapped
around a fly. This expanded image shows how the vec-
tor-based software allows for enlarged views of details
without the loss of resolution and enables adjustment of
the colors for different purposes.
48
PSB 70 (1) 2024
VISUALIZING THE INVISIBLE
The length scale problem is even more pronounced
when we focus on chemical adaptations. Plants
are talented and prolific biochemists: they have
produced many of our medications, from the
earliest (e.g., salicylates from willow bark) to the
most sophisticated (e.g., taxol) (Verpoorte, 1998;
Lautié, 2020). These molecules have fascinating
structures and play important roles in our society,
yet our representation systems for displaying
them are complex and difficult for non-experts
to appreciate. A study of cultural overlap among
different fields has found that molecular biology is
highly intellectually isolated from other disciplines
because of the barriers presented by its specialized
terminology (Vilhena, 2014). Carefully chosen
visualizations can help bridge this gap, from
highlighting important parts of molecules to using
visual analogies to explain molecular function.
To explore the challenges of communication about
complex scientific concepts, we chose to illustrate
the example of plant tissue imaging conducted
using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization
mass-spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI),
which was recently applied to D. capensis (Long,
2023). This chemical imaging method maps
the spatial distribution of molecules on the leaf
surface. Figure 4 shows the process of generating a
scientifically accurate schematic of the experiment.
The creation of this diagram required extensive
discussion. First, R.W.M. provided a general
description of how the experiment works, with
molecules being extracted from the leaf surface
and sorted by mass. S.D.-B. then drew the diagram
in Figure 4 (top). The scientific team (R.W.M.,
Z.G.L., and G.R.T.) then discussed the image and
concluded that it did not accurately represent the
experiment, as molecule collection and separation
happen in discrete steps (Figure 4, center). Finally,
S.D.-B. incorporated this feedback to create the
final image in Figure 4, bottom. The fact that
the scientific and artistic collaborators are not in
the same physical location added an additional
challenge; this was addressed using a combination
of videoconferencing, photos of the experimental
apparatus, and sketches of the desired image.
CONCLUSION
Artwork has always been central to the practice
and dissemination of botany. Accurate and
evocative drawings not only enable scientists
to show and highlight important plant features,
but also generate interest in and respect for
their study species. Collaborations between
scientists and artists can improve the quality of
scientific communication while also forging new
connections across disciplinary boundaries.
Author Contributions
R.W.M. designed the study. R.W.M. and S.D.-B.
wrote the first draft of the manuscript. S.D.-B.
created all vector graphics. Z.G.L. provided small
molecule data, took the photo in Figure 1, and
contributed to image design. G.R.T. provided
protein sequence data and contributed to image
design. All authors edited the manuscript.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a Graduate Proposal
from the Undergraduate Research Opportunity
Program at University of California, Irvine, to
Z.G.L.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
49
PSB 70 (1) 2024
McDowell, M. and J. S. Tyson. 2023. A curious herbal: Eliza-
beth Blackwell’s pioneering masterpiece of botanical art. Ab-
beville Press Publishers, New York, USA.
Slack, A. 1979. Carnivorous plants. MIT Press, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, USA.
Thiers, B. M. 2020. Herbarium: The quest to preserve and clas-
sify the world’s plants. Timber Press, Portland, USA.
Verpoorte, R. 1998. Exploration of nature’s chemodiversity:
The role of secondary metabolites as leads in drug develop-
ment. Drug Discovery Today 3: 232–238.
Vilhena, D. A., J. G. Foster, M. Rosvall, J. D. West, J. Evans,
and C. T. Bergstrom
.
2014. Finding cultural holes: How struc-
ture and culture diverge in networks of scholarly communi-
cation. Social Science 1: 221–238.
Figure 4. Illustration demonstrating the process of making a diagram showing how chemically specific imaging is performed to map
the spatial locations of small molecules on a leaf. This diagram required edits for accuracy. (A) Initial diagram of the experiment
drawn by S.D.-B. based on a description from R.W.M. (B) Sketch by Z.G.L. showing how introducing the molecules into the instru-
ment happens in a separate step from sorting them by size. (C) Final schematic showing the key experimental steps.
References
Blunt, W., and W. T. Stearn. 2021. The art of botanical illus-
tration. ACC Art Books, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, UK.
Butts, C. T., J. C. Bierma, and R. W. Martin. 2016. Novel pro-
teases from the genome of the carnivorous plant Drosera
capensis: Structural prediction and comparative analysis.
Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics 84: 1517-
1533.
Lautié, E., O. Russo, P. Ducrot, and J. A. Boutin. 2020. Un-
raveling plant natural chemical diversity for drug discovery
purposes. Frontiers in Pharmacology 11: 397.
Long, Z. G., J. V. Le, B. B. Katz, B. G. Lopez, E. D. Tenenbaum,
B. Semmling, R. J. Schmidt, F. Grün, C.T. Butts, and R. W.
Martin. 2023. Spatially resolved detection of small molecules
from press-dried plant tissue using MALDI imaging. Applica-
tions in Plant Sciences 11: e11539.
A
B
C
50
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
An Abstract Scientist: Embracing
Art as a Tool for Science Education
Patricia Leyva
Art is essential for the spread of scientific
knowledge. In botany, for instance, anatomical
illustrations of plants are imperative to
understanding the physiology, morphology, and
evolution of diverse plant species. Before the
invention of cameras and the advanced imaging
we have today, botanists relied on the precise
illustrations of plants. Sixteenth-century German
herbalist Leonhart Fuchs states in his publication,
De historia stirplum, “Those which are explained
and depicted to the eyes on panels or paper adhere
to the mind more deeply than those described
by bare words” (Kusukawa, 1997). Fuchs's work
was highly influential and set a high standard for
botanical illustrations. Understandably, scientific
illustrations must be accurate and meticulous.
For instance, illustrations in herbal books, like
that of Fuchs, were used to correctly identify
medicinal plants. In the 16th century the accurate
identification of medicinal plants was a matter of
life and death. However, because of the advanced
imaging of today, scientific illustrations can now
serve a different purpose.
I believe that art can be used as an outlet to
process and express complex science ideas. My
career goal is to be an educator; however, as a
person with attention deficit disorder (ADD), it is
challenging for me to process and communicate
complex ideas using words. Through art, I use
my imagination and creativity to overcome this.
As both a scientist and an artist, I enjoy creating
drawings that defy the laws of nature. For instance,
my ideas for drawings of herbs are far from
accurate. I envision turmeric as a sunset whose
rays of light penetrate the soil forming a glowing
web. The sunset, for me, represents the color of
turmeric and the penetrating rays of light into the
soil remind me of the benefits of turmeric for the
skin and as an antioxidant. As an undergraduate
taking biochemistry, I would study the ten steps
of glycolysis by visualizing a candy bar going
through a conveyor belt and being broken down
to its different components.
I am currently working on earning a PhD in plant
biology, and my work focuses on the transport of
organic acids in plants to aid in the resistance to
metal toxicity. My drawing The Gateway into the
Cell (Figure 1) is of a cell membrane transporter
51
PSB 70 (1) 2024
as a massive gate made of unique blocks that
affect what passes in and out of the cell. I instruct
a botany laboratory course for undergraduates,
and I advise them to study by thinking of creative
connections among the course material. Also, I
want to communicate the purpose of my research
in a meaningful and unique way to my students.
In my drawings, I see the beauty of a biological
process, which validates my work’s meaning.
Biology is an art, and that captivates me. I want
people to be intrigued by an eccentric drawing
of cellular transport and curious about how the
process works and why it is essential. My goal as
an educator, scientist, and artist is to sow a creative
seed in the scientific minds of my students.
Figure 1. Leyva, Patricia. The gateway into the cell. 2023 Ink draw-
ing. “Drawing of a plant cell with a membrane transporter resembling
a gate for which selected substrates pass through the lipid bilayer into
the cell.”
References
Kusukawa, Sachiko. 1997. Leonhart Fuchs on the Importance
of Pictures. Journal of the History of Ideas 58: 403–427.
52
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
Three Plants, Three Practices:
Botanical Allies and the Creative Process
I’m a non-traditional scientist. I didn’t get my start
as a fresh-faced teenager with a science degree;
I meandered and took back alleys and talked to
plants, arriving at the start of my botany Master’s
degree with silver streaks visible at my temples. I
have neurodivergencies that prevented me from
walking a straight line, and a queerness that never
let me belong there anyway. These experiences
allowed me to merge creative practices with the
world of plants and opened the doors for me
to their realm. Over the course of three plants,
I’ll discuss the ways three different art and craft
practices enabled me to develop bonds with
plants and the importance these non-quantifiable
connections have for our mental health, our sense
of belonging, and our connection to the plants.
Peri Lee Pipkin
I. DRAWING: SAGEBRUSH
The great silence of Oregon’s high desert caught
me off guard. A hushed expansiveness only
interrupted by a snapping twig, the footsteps of
the group, the occasional grove of flustered aspen.
I had never seen an openness like this before. I’d
arrived only days earlier from a city crawling with
vines and air thick with the aroma of fried food
and exhaust, with movement a constant, and I was
now waist-deep in sagebrush. I’d never carried a
hiking pack before, and I’d never been around so
many loud and confident Americans, but I was
thirsty to join the pack. Very rapidly, it was made
clear I wasn’t going to make the cut. I talked too
fast or didn’t talk at all, I wasn’t from there, wasn’t
interested in boys, was too different. The list of
lacking went on. I’d spent most of my life as an
outsider, a foreigner, and here I was in the place
that was advertised as this land that accepted all,
and I didn’t belong here either.
As the trip went on, the nights in the tent began
to feel like eternities. At dusk, we were supposed
to be reflecting and journaling, but dwelling on
the experiences of the day felt suffocating. I’d
stopped sitting near the group, sore from their
slicing comments and instead would slink off into
the sagebrush and lay low. At dusk, a habit began
to settle in: pick the slender flowering tops of the
sagebrush, only the softest. Climb into the hand-
me-down sleeping bag. One bundle of leaves and
flowers under one armpit, another under the
other, for freshness. One small bundle to hold
and to smell. Roll onto stomach, open notebook.
53
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Mechanical pencil to scrappy notebook paper.
From there, small lobed leaves sprouted between
notes and half-finished thoughts. Detail, detail,
detail. The curve of the leaf tips, the tiny flowers,
the texture of bark, small things that made the jeers
of the group anchor under my skin less deeply. It
made the human world, a world proving to me
more and more unforgiving with its boundaries
of acceptance, fall out of view. In a way, sitting
with sagebrush and moving my pencil across
the pages was where I first learned to meditate.
That plant spoke to my teenage loneliness, its
continued presence becoming a friend. It was in
that tent that I learned that botanical drawing is
an experiment in intimacy with the plant world.
It forces you to notice the small details, and it
forces you to be present with the plant. It elevates
your experience with a plant from just something
of interest growing in the landscape to an entity.
Maybe this is just the first step in seeing the plant
world outside of the linear boxes so many of us
have drawn and fit ourselves into.
II. PIGMENTS: POKEWEED
Keep moving. Throughout my early 20s, those
words felt like excellent advice. Hitch a ride, try
a city out for a while, hop a train, meet some new
people, admire some weeds. I felt as if I stopped
moving, my blood would stop flowing. To be
honest, I don’t know how many houses I lived in
during this time, or if some of those structures
even counted as houses. All I knew was that there
wasn’t really anywhere in particular I belonged
to, and there wasn’t anywhere in particular I was
headed. In Oakland, I moved into a dilapidated
punk house and impulsively enrolled in a
community college course called “Alpine Labs.”
Before I knew it, I was in a well-loved rental van
headed to the Eastern Sierra in a group of Bay
Area community college students. I had slept
outside many times since my last backpacking
trip as a teenager but hadn’t officially been tent
camping since then. Memories of that trip flooded
in, and I felt a heightened anxiety and impulse to
isolate myself and turn to the plants. However, I
quickly realized that aspiring botanists are equally
as interested in focusing on the plants, so I was in
good company. Throughout that week, I got the
opportunity to slow down and sit with the plants
and some of the people that love them.
Returning to the city, I felt a less urgent sense to
go. I thought about the plants I’d walked right past,
without the opportunity to get to know them.
I thought about all the places I’d fled based on
narratives I’d constructed for myself. That’s when
I noticed it: glowing magenta berries hanging in
neat clusters. The lanky plant reached through the
chain link fence of an abandoned lot filled with
the ruins of smashed electronics, dangling their
fruits across my path. I stopped and inspected
the berries. “Poison!” My roommates warned.
“But a nice ink!” Another added. Intrigued, I
clipped some clusters and brought them home
to experiment. After smashing them in a mortar
and pestle, I added vinegar and salt—the advised
binders and preservatives. From my paintbrush
flowed a color so saturated and unrealistically lush
that I felt like I had unlocked a secret. What colors
were hiding in the plants? What would the plants
show me if I slowed down long enough to listen
to them? Did they tell their stories in colors and
aromas rather than through sounds and words?
By slowing down and taking the time to work
with the plants, the plants can reveal their hidden
stories through their language of pigments. If
such vibrancy can find its way up through a trash-
filled empty lot, how can I let my own vibrancy
rise through my own personal challenges? Maybe
rooting somewhere long enough to learn the
colors of the landscape can help us ground when
we feel groundless.
54
PSB 70 (1) 2024
III. DYEING: CREOSOTE
Of all things to finally tie me down, it was the
Mojave Desert and the smell of creosote during
the rain. From my window in the Mojave, my
world was composed of the scattered shrubs,
ephemeral desert dandelions, and cactus wrens
calling from their fortresses of cholla cacti. I
didn’t want to be anywhere where the grounding,
calming aroma creosote wasn’t. In a moment of
what was either extreme clarity or the beginning
of a mental break, I realized if I just soaked all my
clothes in creosote, that aroma could follow me
throughout the day. From this evolved a practice of
natural dyeing. Sitting with the plants, simmering,
soaking, fermenting, experimenting. Mordant?
No mordant? Less plant material? More time?
Once an energetic herbalist told me that creosote
essence shines light into our darkest corners, and
as I sat over the steaming bath of leaves, I thought
about the dark corners of myself that could stand
to be illuminated and sun-baked.
There is no scientific backing for her statement
or for my experience, but through this time
experimenting with the plant in an intuitive
way, I felt a new boldness and acceptance when
considering my anxieties and alienation. I suppose
creosote is colloquially called “The Governess”
for more than one reason. Wearing the sun-hued
fabric dyed with the creosote made me feel like I
was walking with the strength of the high winds of
the desert and energy of the flash floods. I felt like I
could walk with the plants that spoke of unbearable
heat and untempered resilience. This outfit of
botanical armor I’d created through dyebaths and
my friend the creosote bush taught me that the
plants are here for us, they are part of us. They are
here despite us. The plants disrupt the neat boxes
society constructs for both them and us. Plants
are energetic, sensual, magnetic, mysterious. They
encourage us to explore past what we know to
be true and don’t always offer us reasons why we
should. As plant scientists, we define exploration
as systematic testing, experimentation, and
observation—but what about the non-quantifiable
experiences with plants? How can we measure the
way a vegetal fragrance or certain shade of ochre
makes us feel? Is our unspoken sense of belonging
among the plants something to hide from our
scientific peers? Is a relationship with the plant
off-limits? Craft and art can bridge the gap. The
title “scientist” doesn’t mean the paintbrush is a
forbidden tool or that bending a willow branch
into a basket is a baseless act. Ultimately, there is no
singular creative practice that forges a connection
with the plant world; it’s simply the presence of a
creative practice that admits us passage between
worlds. Cultivating these creative practices and
being open to where these practices lead us is
critical to understanding the interwovenness of
being a human on this planet, and illuminating
this interwovenness is critical in working to
conserve a biodiverse future.
55
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
Plant Motifs Depicted in Kutch Embroideries
and Its Integration in Sci-Art Collaborative
Educational Models in the
Indian Educational System
Kruti Dholakia, Ph.D
Associate Professor, Department of Design Space,
National Institute of Fashion Technology, Gandhinagar,
Gujarat, India
Email: krutidholakia@yahoo.com
Abstract
India holds evidences of the oldest civilizations;
the country has an abundance of the traditional
knowledge and intangible cultural knowledge
to take account of. In present times of rapid
technological advancements and urbanization,
there are chances that if not documented and
integrated in right directions, we may lose the
treasure of intangible cultural knowledge and
traditional knowledge of the country. Thus, in
the present study the attempt has been made to
document and conduct visual analysis of plant
motifs depicted in Kutch embroideries; the out-
come of the analysis is further used to suggest the
path to integrate such important knowledge and
skills into formal education system at all levels
considering the national education policy.
Keywords
Craft, intangible cultural heritage, national
education policy, traditional knowledge
“Knowledge and practices concerning nature
and the universe include knowledge, know-
how, skills, practices and representations
developed by communities by interacting with
the natural environment” (UNESCO, 2023).
This kind of thought process is expressed through
various mediums such as language, oral traditions,
and memories. A community’s relationship with
nature also influences its values and beliefs, which
may in turn be the source of its social and cultural
practices and rituals. Included in this category of
knowledge and practice is the wider spectrum of
traditional knowledge, including of local flora and
fauna (UNESCO, 2023). Since evolution, plants
and humans have long maintained a symbiotic, yet
complex, relationship (Pandey, 2020). Not only are
plants a source of oxygen, sustaining human life,
but also as a source of food, medicine (Bamin and
Gajurel, 2015), and other useful resources such
as a source of dye for cloth and body decorations
with flowers (Romph, 2023). Humans have
interwoven plants into their culture and rituals,
56
PSB 70 (1) 2024
especially in India, where there is a tradition to
worship nature and plants (Swaminathan, 2015;
Nath and Mukherjee, 2015). Many parts of plants,
whether leaf, stem, roots, fruits, or flowers, are
an important part of several Indian customs and
rituals (Bamin and Gajurel, 2015; Kumar and
Kumar, 2005). Studying the relationship between
human and plant, as well as humans’ influence on
and influence by the plant world is an important
branch of research known as “ethnobotany,” where
“ethno” refers to the people, culture, a culture’s
collective body of beliefs, aesthetic, language,
knowledge, and practice, and “botany” refers to
the study of plants (Humphrey, 2022).
Indigenous communities, apart from ritualistic
inclusion, celebrate and value nature’s treasure,
such as plants and fauna, by paying respect to
the natural world in various ways. For instance,
plants’ forms and shapes are depicted in many
art and craft forms in stylized renditions by these
communities. Various plant forms are widely
seen in forms such as cave paintings, metal and
stone carvings, and printed textiles (Prajapati
and Tiwari, 2021). These depictions have been a
way to pass on knowledge of useful and culturally
important plants to the next generations.
With the aim to document the knowledge and
creative depiction of plant knowledge of artisans
in these communities, efforts have been made to
study the various parts of plant-inspired motifs
depicted in embroidery, as an integral part of the
cultural and social identity of Kutch communities
(Sabnani and Frater, 2012). For these communities,
the embroidery, though simple, can be symbolically
interpreted as a medium to express emotional
bonding with children, a welcoming gesture to
daughter-in-law and son-in-law, or as a token of
infinite affection for grandchildren. The artists
creating this embroidery can also be understood
and appreciated much beyond their fine-motor
skills—their craft is a demonstration of their
fabulous representational capabilities, which turn
botanical forms into a piece of art—which from
a memory-stored image transforms into stylized
renditions through these artisans’ imagination
and creativity. Above all, artists’ work may be
interpreted as their love toward nature, which is
translated into embroidery and then transformed
into, for example, a reflection of a mother’s love
to her children and family members. Based on
this visualization, representation, imaginative,
creative, and reflective peripheries, the second
part of this article attempts to describe and discuss
the relationship between art and science, the
application of such handicraft techniques to teach
and document practices and species in the areas
of science and technology, and its implications for
incorporation into education pedagogies.
ABOUT COMMUNITIES
OF KUTCH
Kutch is known as a plethora of crafts, including
embroideries. Table 1 explains the details of the
communities who practice embroidery. These
communities migrated from various Middle
Eastern regions and from other regions of India in
the distant past to settle in Kutch. They continued
practicing this beautiful craft even after migration.
Many communities also exchanged embroidery
styles and cultures either during migration or
cohabitation.
Methods and Tools
Secondary research was conducted by referring
to various online and offline sources. Interviews
coupled with observation and photographic
documentation were used to collect data regarding
plant motifs embroidered by various communities
through purposive sampling technique for
conducting primary research. Visual analysis
was conducted following the principles of art and
design to interpret or correlate with the source
of inspiration or the plant of resemblance. The
outcome of the visual analysis has been co-related
with the particular area of science and technology
57
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Sr.
No.
Community
Region of Migration
Region of Habitats in Kutch
1.
Halayporta
Sindh
Banni
2.
Raysi potra
3.
Pathan
4.
Mutwa
Banni, Nakhatrana
5.
Node
Iran
Banni
6
Darbar
Sindh and Rajasthan
Makhatrana, Abdasa, Lakhapat
7.
Meghwar
Banni, Bhuj
8.
Sindhi memon
Sindh
Bhachau, Rapar
9.
Jat
Baluchistan
Banni, Nakhatrana, Lakhpat
12.
Ahir
Mathura
Bhuj, Anjar
15.
Rabari
Jaisalmer via Baluchistan and
Afghanistan
Bhuj, Anjar
Table 1. Kutch Communities’ region of migration and current regions of habitats (Pandya and Dholakia, 2013).
for putting forward the ideas of integrating sci-art
in teaching learning models.
Results
The analysis of the data revealed the fact that the
communities took inspiration from the various
parts of the plants, which were rendered stylistically
or metaphorically. Flowers, fruits, vegetables,
leaves, and stems served as an inspiration. Figure 1
represents various plant-inspired motifs depicted
in distinct styles.
Observations and Interpretations
The majority of the floral motifs that were depicted
with white color may indicate the original color
of the flower that was a source of inspiration, or
may indicate that the actual color of the flower was
forgotten, with white used as a standard filling.
There is also the chance that, considering the
scarcity of dyeing material, colored threads were
avoided because of their high cost. However, it is
difficult to be convinced that all the communities
drew inspiration from the same source, or that
the overlap in imagery was a mere reflection of
cohabitation and copying the motif and depiction
from each other. Another prominent fact that
comes across is many of the floral motifs’ sources of
inspiration were unknown, which may be another
reason to depict the flower motifs in white—a
conscious decision taken by communities to not
misguide the viewer. The stylization of the motif
form may have taken place to match with the
particular embroidery style, overall look, as well
as the stitches used in the particular embroidery;
ultimately it would have been resultant of the
artisan’s creativity and imagination.
Depiction of floral motifs such as Bhori ful clearly
shows the imagination capabilities of the artisans,
where they knew the art of stylizing the motifs
according to the space available. The motifs also
serve as a sampler to demonstrate creativity; as
with the same core form, infinite renditions were
observed across the communities.
Visual analysis of all the motifs clearly shows
that the artisans possessed explicit and implicit
knowledge of elements and principles of design
and geometry. Perfect divisions of the available
space to create motifs and balanced color palettes
were evidence of the same. Certain motifs such as
depiction of Farai, Kharek, Jhad, or Aambo were
58
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Figure 1A. Visual and textual details of plant-inspired motifs.
59
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Figure 1B. Visual and textual details of plant-inspired motifs.
60
PSB 70 (1) 2024
the best example of abstract stylization of the
motifs, where the inspirational source has been
depicted metaphorically.
SCIENCE-ART COLLABORATION
AND ITS INTEGRATION IN
EDUCATIONAL MODELS IN
INDIAN CONTEXT
Emei Ma has defined sci-art as “any creative
expression where the intent of the artist is to
convey an observable understanding of the
physical universe.” Application of art to depict
scientific forms is as old as the works of Leonardo
de Vinci, who used techniques from both of
the fields to develop and understanding of the
world (Pappas, 2021). Art is thought of as more
related to the processes of ‘creativity-imagination-
visualization’; similarly, science learners imagine
abstract forms and formulas while learning
about scientific concepts. Collaboration between
the two fields makes the scientific concepts of
the world understandable (Powers, 2020). Such
concerted collaborative residency models and
platforms are already in function across the globe
(Beeton, no date; Benko, 2020), where scientists
and artists work together to develop science-
based artistic 2D and 3D models that can help in
improving the understanding and interpretation
of both the fields. Taking directions from such
examples, it is highly important to integrate
India’s traditional knowledge system and heritage
into the formal education systems of the country,
especially now when India is implementing
the National Education Policy-2020 with focus
on holistic, integrated, enjoyable and engaging
learning pedagogies (National Education Policy,
2020). A pilot project can be conceived, keeping
in mind these floral embroideries or similar
motifs and the artisans of such art forms, which
can be incorporated in educational pedagogies
at all levels of education starting from early
education level to adult education. Art forms,
traditional knowledge, or indigenous practices
attracting specific age group or demographic
populations should be selected to make science
and mathematics concepts and theories-related
learning more relatable, which will further foster
encouragement, motivation, and enthusiasm
to study particular subjects. Additionally, such
initiatives will encourage the artisans through
economic empowerment and will motivate their
next generations to continue crafts. Moreover,
such models of education will further impact
classroom absenteeism positively (National
Education Policy, 2020) with increased interest
and motivation among learners to attend class
with more keenness and concentration.
To quote an example, a color trend workshop
was organized by National Institute of Fashion
Technology (NIFT) Gandhinagar in 2014 at a
national craft fair and summit (Joshi and Chopra,
2014), in which I (author) was a part of the team.
The aim of the workshop was to make Indian
traditional crafts artisans aware of how design
houses plan and execute new designs based on
forecasted trends. Tuning with artisans’ mindsets
and way of thinking, the workshop had put up
European forecasted stories transformed into an
Indian context and more specifically made so
that it would be closely related to the artisans.
The workshop also hoped to show them ways to
forecast and create their own trend stories. As an
extension of this outreach, a rural women’s cluster
to whom SOACH, a nonprofit that works to
impart skills, was also invited to participate. One
of the exercises in the workshop was to choose
one poster (from a series of posters), comprising
a collage of images that contained farms, natural
sceneries, local flora/fauna, etc. and pick a palette
of colors from the images, in the order of their
color dominance. After returning to the village,
SOACH asked the women for their learnings and
observations. One of the women commented
on how many different whites there are in the
color white. This was an especially perceptive
observation that even most design students miss.
Following this response, Ms. Jaai Kakani, founder
61
PSB 70 (1) 2024
of SOACH, asked the cluster to identify all the
things white in their village and integrate them in
their work, creating a series of hand-embroidered
pieces of all things white in the village. Ms. Kakani
during an in-person conversation explained that
“this had a twofold transformative impact. Firstly
it encouraged the women to lead their creative
process by observing and seeking inspiration from
their environment and experiences rather than
repeating old traditional craft identities. It also
inspired them to look at and create a whole new
vocabulary of design motifs and color palettes.
The series was a delightful treasure trove of
hand-embroidered whites—from rice and cotton
in the fields, to clouds, rain, ducks, garlic, the Jasmin
flowers, and more! It was also a big departure from
the normative colorful bright vistas of the artisans.
Yet, the very urban and contemporary fondness
for white looked equally at home in this bucolic
rural landscape because it truly was from that
environment. Design principles and trends are
most often difficult to aesthetically grasp and can
look awkward and borrowed even for veterans; but
when they emerge from the depth of experience
and observation, they can be transformative, both
for the creator and the observer.”
In higher education, a research-based approach
can be adopted, taking motifs depicted in the
current study as a reference; a team of embroidery
enthusiasts and botany researchers can also
undertake research to identify similarities in
depicted motifs and the plants grown from the
regions of these communities’ migration and
across the route they have followed to reach India.
CONCLUSION
Stylistically depicted plant-inspired motifs in Kutch
embroidery serve the purpose of documentation
of plant species and may also serve as a clue
to botanical knowledge for future generations,
although a gap of uncertainty of sources of
inspiration can be bridged by combined research
from both fields. For a country like India, which
on one hand possesses evidence of ancient cultural
and intangible heritage and on the other hand is
an emerging technological hub (especially with
the implementation of its National Educational
Policy), the boundaries between art and science
are again merging. Holding multidisciplinary
expertise is a dire need during this time. There
is no doubt that sci-art for education and sci-art
initiatives have a huge scope in the future. It is
believed that the suggested examples in the present
paper will surely be helpful in implementing sci-
art–based teaching learning models in India and
around the world.
References
Bamin, Y., and P. R. Gajurel. 2015. Traditional use and con-
servation of some selected plants used in festivals and rituals
in Apatani plateau of Arunachal Pradesh, India. International
Journal of Conservation Science 6: 189-200.
Beeton, B. (n.d.). Sci art; communicating science through art.
Website: https://sciart.com.au/.
Benko, R. C. 2020. Why science needs arts. Website: https://
www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natu-
ral-history/2020/04/15/why-science-needs-art/.
Humphrey, S. J. 2022. Ethnobotany - A Relationship between
People and Plants. Website: https://botanicalatelier.co.uk.
Joshi, R., and N. Chopra. 2014. Report on NIFT Trend fore-
cast pavilion & workshop for crafts. Gandhinagar [unpub-
lished report].
Kumar, N., J. I., H. S., & Kumar, R. N. 2005. Aesthetic val-
ues of selected floral elements of Khatana and Waghai forests
of Dangs, extreme northern part of Western Ghats, India. In-
dian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 4: 275-286.
Nath, D., and S. K. Mukherjee. 2015. Evaluation of plants in
Hidnu Mythology, Festivals and Rituals and their conserva-
tional aspect. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Re-
search and Bio-Science 3: 310-326.
National Education Policy. 2020. New Delhi: Ministry of
Human Resource Development, Government of India.
Pandey, A. 2020. Vegetation in Indian Art. Shabdkosh: Jour-
nal of Visual and Performing Arts 1: 24-30.
Pandya, A., and K. Dholakia. 2013. Historical overview of
Kutch embroideries. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowl-
edge 12: 524-529.
Pappas, M. 2021. What is Sci art? Website: https://www.
emergingcreativesofscience.com/post/what-is-sciart
62
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Powers, A. 2020. Why art is vital to study of science? Web-
site: https://www.forbes.com/sites/annapowers/2020/07/31/
why-art-is-vital-to-the-study-of-science/?sh=6bba52ca42eb.
Prajapati, P., and D. S. Tiwari. 2021. Indian Traditional Mo-
tifs: Symbolism of Indian culture and heritage with reference
to floura, fauna and ancient architecture. International Jour-
nal of Creative Research Thoughts 9: a29-a33.
Romph, M. D. 2023. Symbolism of Indian Flowers. Website:
https://thursd.com/posts/symbolism-of-indian-flowers.
Sabnani, N., and J. Frater. 2012. Art as Identity: Social mo-
bility through traditional textiles in Kutch. International
Conference Northern World Mandate. Helinski: Cumulus.
Swaminathan, L. 2015. Hindu’s respect for Trees and forests.
Website from Tamil and Vedas: a blog exploring Tamil and
vedic literature: https://tamilandvedas.com.
UNESCO. 2023, May 4. Knowledge and practices concern-
ing nature and the universe. Website: https://ich.unesco.org/
en/knowledge-concerning-nature-00056
63
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
Art-Making and Plant Biology as Synergistic
Learning Tools: Reflections on a
Sci-Art Undergraduate Course
About Climate Change
Avery Maltz
Lucy Grant
Carolyn Sicbaldi
Marge Poma Alarcon
Zoe Cloud
Abigail Dustin
Virginia Griswold
MJ Kabongo
Emma King
Katie Rahaim
Chase Ryan-Embry
Clara Sorensen
Iz Thompson
Sam Tower
Silas Weden
and
Jess Gersony
Smith College, Northampton, MA
We are a group of 15 undergraduate students
and one assistant professor at Smith College
who participated in an experimental, upper-
level course, “Understanding Climate Change
through Plant Biology and the Arts.” Launched
in Fall 2022, this botanical sci-art initiative used
interdisciplinary ways of knowing to deepen our
understanding of climate change by integrating
plant biology and art. Students read papers
about drought-induced tree mortality, arctic
shrubification, CO
2
fertilization, and urban plant
ecophysiology. We then engaged with the content
by each creating three artistic “processing projects”
over the semester, writing a corresponding two-
page artist statement related to the scientific
content for each, and discussing the projects in
class in a workshop format. These projects unified
science and artistic expression to create a unique
learning environment that facilitated community
building and emotional connection to the subject
matter.
As we deepened our relationship to plants and
climate change, students created songs, digital
art pieces, comics, poems, sculptures, posters,
chlorophyll prints, and multimedia installations
that we then presented as an art show open to the
local community. Figure 1 shows a sample of the
art pieces made in class, with an accompanying
description. (Please explore the other art pieces at
this link: https://tinyurl.com/3pkvx9dm.)
The goal of this class was to redefine the way
students engage with botanical learning. By
exploring their own personal connections to
the natural world, students were able to more
thoroughly interact with course content and build
relationships with nearby communities. When
asked about their experience with the class, Virginia
Griswold, wrote that “creating art allowed [her]
to unravel complex physiological and ecological
64
PSB 70 (1) 2024
processes and transform them into forms that [she]
most resonated with.” In addition to integrating
art, this course also engaged with environmental
justice issues, as well as centered papers that
focused on traditional ecological knowledge,
written by indigenous scholars. Another student
expressed that “imperialist scientific practices
attempt to divorce humans from the natural world
Figure 1. (A) “Portrait of a Dawn Redwood in the Dusk of the Anthropocene” by Avery Maltz AC ‘25 — The Dawn Redwood was
believed extinct for 150 million years until it was discovered alive in China in the 1940s. Our redwood is shown in a wood photo
transfer with handmade varnish from the resin of a neighboring Cypress, a testament to hope and community care. (B) “Protector”
watercolor painting by Marge Poma Alarcon ‘23 — This piece, painted using transpired water, is inspired by the Prunus tree out-
side the artist’s apartment complex in New York City. It evokes incompleteness and discomfort in the absence of trees in residential
communities, since their cooling effects are crucial to combatting the urban heat island effect. (C) “Circle Back” collage piece by
Lucy Grant ‘23 — Positive feedback loops driven by overconsumption and capitalism are incredibly harmful to ecosystems, and
they can completely shift one biome into another. Although these shifts occur slowly, they inflict massive damage to entire popula-
tions of plants and animals. (D) “Hydraulic Failure” sculpture by Virginia Griswold ‘23 — A sculpture and reflection of the stress
responses of trees, specifically cavitation of vascular tissue and mortality in severe natural droughts. The piece captures the moment
when the last water molecules (beads) leave the trees and ground in extreme drought. (E) “Spirit Power” by Carolyn Sicbaldi AC
‘25 — This piece is an exploration of forest fire ecology and traditional ecological knowledge upheld to generate successful regrowth
of important vegetation. The title is a translation of the Interior Salish word suméŝ, used to describe those who are responsible for
managing fire treatments.
around us to everyone’s detriment, especially the
poor, Indigenous peoples, and people of color. This
work feels like a step towards practicing science
more ethically and holistically.” Through these
approaches, the students reflected that they had
a better understanding of the course content and
felt a deeper connection to the material presented
in class.
65
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
The Botanist and the Illustrator:
A Long-Standing Partnership
Douglas C. Daly
1
Bobbi Angell
2
1
B.A. Krukoff Curator of Amazonian Botany, Center for
Biodiversity and Evolution, The New York Botanical Garden
2
Botanical Illustrator, The New York Botanical Garden
Collections, research, descriptions, publications,
photographs, and ultimately illustrations have
fueled a synergistic partnership between botanist
Douglas Daly and botanical artist Bobbi Angell
for over 35 years at the New York Botanical
Garden. Daly, as principal author, has described
ca. 100 new taxa in the Burseraceae family and
15 new taxa in the Anacardiaceae, the latter co-
authored with John D. Mitchell. Daly has provided
the raw material—herbarium specimens, field
photographs, liquid-preserved flowers, rough
sketches and descriptions—and Angell has
depicted all but two of the new taxa with detailed,
accurate, and revealing illustrations in pen and
ink.
The Burseraceae (Torchwood and Frankincense
family) and Anacardiaceae (poison ivy and mango
family) are sister families in the order Sapindales,
which also includes the citrus (Rutaceae) and
mahogany (Meliaceae) families. The pantropical
Burseraceae comprise around 800 species of trees
and shrubs, including the biblical myrrh and Balm
of Gilead. Anacardiaceae, also with 800 species,
includes many economic plants including lacquer,
mango, pistachio, and cashew. Both families are
important components of many of the world’s
floras and ecosystems, especially in the tropics.
Despite the fame and value of these two families,
significant parts of their diversity had remained
undescribed or misunderstood until recently. In
the Anacardiaceae this is true even for genera
(e.g., Mitchell et al., 2023), whereas in the
Burseraceae, Protium and Commiphora contain
at least 50 undescribed species each (D.C.D., pers.
obs.; M. Gostel, pers. comm.), and almost half of
Canarium’s estimated 115 taxa are unnamed Asian
species (pers. obs.).
Daly has collected ca. 15,000 plants under his
number series, along with twice that many during
fieldwork with others. His travels have focused
on the regions rich in Burseraceae, including
Amazonian Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia,
Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and
Vietnam.
Conditions are ideal when a botanist and
an illustrator can collaborate long-term on
a particular group of plants, both gaining
familiarity with key characters, as with Daly
and Angell’s collaboration on the Burseraceae
and Anacardiaceae (e.g., Daly 1992, 2020). A
centerpiece has been the Burseraceae genus
Canarium in Madagascar. Canarium has been
P
ho
to cr
edi
t: P
ao
lo L
ab
ia
k
66
PSB 70 (1) 2024
long known to comprise an important structural
component of eastern Madagascar’s moist forests,
but Daly’s recent work revealed that the genus
comprises significant diversity there as well. Only
two species of Canarium had been believed to
exist there since the 1940s, but after Daly and two
collaborators (one a Malagasy botanist) studied
the genus intensively in the field and at several
herbaria for several years, the taxonomic revision
of Canarium on that island revealed 33 species, of
which 27 were illustrated by Angell and published
as new to science (Daly et al., 2015) (Figure 1).
With knowledge of the plant group, botanists
contribute carefully chosen specimens along
with a thorough description and diagnosis and
sometimes sketches and field photos. All of this
input flags key characteristics that the illustrator
can highlight through composition and dissection.
Angell need not be a specialist in the taxonomic
groups she illustrates, because she has a strong
background in morphology (Pell and Angell,
2016) and she understands what structures are to
be depicted and how they vary. Pen and ink have
been the standard type of illustration for some
time because they have the great advantage that
they can reveal features that are hidden or simply
Figure 1. (Left) Canarium scholasticum. (Right) Canarium scholasticum holotype specimen.
too small to be conveyed by scans or photographs,
although photomicrography has improved in
recent years.
Something both the illustrator and botanist need
to possess and cultivate is the ability to work in
different dimensions. The botanist may have seen
the species in the herbarium (2D) and must visually
“flesh out” a search image to recognize it in the
field (3D). At least as remarkably, the illustrator is
obliged to concatenate a 2D specimen, 2D images,
and (if lucky) 3D plant parts rehydrated from 2D
plant parts, and portray a 3D plant in 2D with
correct disposition of the parts (e.g., orientation
of an inflorescence).
An illustration is begun by roughing out a basic
‘habit’ from a representative herbarium specimen,
showing as much as possible of the entire plant,
often a leafy branchlet. Elements including upper
and lower leaf surfaces and unobscured leaf
nodes are arranged to display as many features as
possible. Details of foliage, flower, fruit, and seed
are drawn based on discussions with the author.
Angell works with a dissecting microscope to view
details on herbarium specimens (Figure 2). A
micrometer in the lens is essential, as are accurate
67
PSB 70 (1) 2024
Figure 2. Microscope setup for illustrations.
rulers and dividers. Details are drawn at a scale
appropriate to their complexity and importance,
which might be a fruit enlarged to 2×, anthers
at 10×, and multicellular hairs at 40×. If liquid-
preserved material is not available, flowers can
often be re-hydrated by gentle boiling in water with
a drop of glycerin and then dissected, although
only with sufficient material and permission.
With the sketch reviewed by the botanist and then
altered as needed, the plate is inked in. Angell uses
a crowquill nib and Pelikan Tusch black drawing
ink on Strathmore Bristol Board, with paper size
equal to herbarium specimens and proportional
for reduction to the format of journals.
The value of an illustration increases when it is
multi-purposed: reproduced in floras and other
publications and increasingly linked to herbarium
specimen records along with field photographs,
maps, phylogenies, molecular sequences,
and other digital information as components
of “virtual herbaria.” Millions of images of
herbarium specimens and many thousands of
field photographs are available online in virtual
herbaria or image banks, but these are of variable
quality. Reputable botanical journals require
that new taxa be portrayed; some permit high-
resolution photographs or scans of herbarium
specimens, and it is often possible to obtain very
good results from photomicrographs of flowers.
Illustrations continue to be optimal, however.
Studying the systematics of a group of plants
is not a rapid-fire enterprise, but the synergy
between the two present authors plus John
Mitchell over 35 years is a highly satisfying and
productive effort that has yielded 115 taxa new to
science—and counting—with Angell continuing
to lovingly illustrate new species of the two sisters,
Burseraceae and Anacardiaceae.
References
Daly, D. C. 1992. New taxa and combinations in Protium
Burm.f. Studies in neotropical Burseraceae VI. Brittonia
44: 280-299.
Daly, D. C. 2020. New species of Protium sect. Tetragastris
from the Andes, the Brazilian Cerrado, and Amazonia. Stud-
ies in Neotropical Burseraceae XXVIII. Brittonia. https://
doi.org/10.1007/s12228-020-09616-x
Daly, D. C., J. Raharimampionona, and S. Federman. 2015. A
revision of Canarium (Burseraceae) in Madagascar. Adanso-
nia (sér. 3) 37: 277-345.
Mitchell, J. D., D. C. Daly, L. Calvillo-Canadell, and R. O.
Perdiz. 2023. Two new genera and a new species of Anacar-
diaceae from northern South America. Brittonia 75: 1–18.
Pell, S. K., and B. Angell. 2016. A Botanist’s Vocabulary.
Timber Press, Portland.
68
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
Arthur Domingos-Melo
Laboratory of Floral Biology and Pollination Ecology, De-
partment of Biosciences, Federal University of Sergipe - Prof.
Alberto Carvalho Campus, Itabaiana – SE, 49506-036, Brazil
E-mail: arthur.dom@academico.ufs.br
Floral Acoustic Signaling in Bat Pollination
Demonstrated by Percussive Folk Music
from the Northeast of Brazil
Samba de Coco is a folk music from the Northeast
of Brazil that has a significant presence in the
Caatinga region, a dry forest known for its high
proportion of bat-pollinated species — a unique
pollination system where sound serves as a form
of floral signaling. This essay explores how the
unlikely combination of Samba de Coco and
bat pollination led to a successful science-art
connection that used music as an analogy to
demonstrate the role of sound in plants.
FLORAL ACOUSTIC SIGNALING
IN BAT POLLINATION AS A
REMARKABLE EXAMPLE OF THE
ROLE OF SOUND IN PLANTS
Plants can produce many different sounds, from
the generic rustle of thousands of leaves swaying
in the wind in a forest to the unique snap of a
calyptra exploding from sphagnum moss, but their
sound characteristics are rarely discussed. This
scarcity is largely due to the inherent challenge of
comprehending the biological functions of plant
sounds without specialized theoretical knowledge
and a creative approach to disseminating this
information to a broader audience. Despite this
challenge, some studies have shown that sound
is a crucial factor in many biological processes
in plants (Demey et al., 2023). Science-art
approaches are an effective way to make botanical
content more accessible and interesting to society
(as demonstrated throughout this Plant Science
Bulletin sci-art compendium), and music is a
particularly successful artistic expression for
explaining the sounds produced by nature (Shirley
et al., 2020; Andima et al., 2021; Nguy, 2022).
The role of sound in plant-animal interactions
is exemplified by the acoustic signaling in bat-
pollinated flowers. These flowers take advantage
of bats’ echolocation sense to attract them. When
using echolocation, bats emit high-frequency
sounds and interpret the reflected echoes to detect
objects and navigate through the environment.
Chiropterophilous flowers (i.e., pollinated by
bats) have specialized echoic concave parts that
make them acoustically conspicuous. When bats
emit sounds that reach these floral parts, a strong
and multidirectional echo with a recognizable
invariant signature is produced (Simon et al., 2011,
2021). This unique characteristic is combined with
other peculiarities present in chiropterophilous
flowers, such as large flowers, emission of sulphur
69
PSB 70 (1) 2024
volatile compounds (unpleasant garlic or cabbage
smells), and copious nectar production, making
bat pollination an astonishing and unique process
(Domingos-Melo et al., 2023).
Although bat pollination plays a crucial ecological
role, it remains relatively unknown to society
(Boero et al., 2022). This lack of awareness is
exemplified in the Caatinga, the largest seasonally
dry tropical forest in South America, where the
significance of bat pollination as a global hotspot
is unrecognized by the citizens (Domingos-
Melo et al., 2023). This is not surprising given
the region’s lack of biodiversity awareness and
educational neglect (Vieira et al., 2022). However,
the Caatinga boasts a rich and unique artistic
tradition, including various types of folk music
such as Forró, Baião, and Xaxado, as well as Samba
de Coco, which was created by Afro-descendants
and native indigenous people.
Paulo Freire, widely regarded as one of Brazil’s
most influential pedagogues, emphasized the
role of ethics and aesthetics in education through
his concept of Boniteza (which translates to
beauty in English) and stressed the importance
of incorporating local artistic elements into the
teaching and learning process (Freire, 2021). In this
regard, incorporating cultural movements unique
to the Caatinga into the study of its ecological
processes represents an important exercise in the
science-art interface. Upon contemplation of this
matter, I was invited to give a lecture on Science
Dissemination at the 4th Brazilian Pollination
Symposium in Garanhuns, PE on October 18,
2022. As a researcher in bat pollination and an
amateur Brazilian folk music player, I took this
opportunity to organize a workshop where we
used Samba de Coco to explain the functioning of
acoustic signaling in chiropterophilous flowers. By
combining science and art in this way, we hope to
promote greater appreciation and understanding
of our study systems in pollination biology.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS: THE
UNUSUAL MIX BETWEEN BAT
POLLINATION AND FOLK MUSIC
The Samba de Coco originated in several localities
throughout northeastern Brazil, and its name
varies depending on its place of origin. Some
examples include Coco de Beira de Praia, de
Roda, de Ciranda, de Umbigada, and de Raiz,
which reflect the unique dance style, instruments
used, and meter of the verses. Mestre Lula Calixto
(1942–1999), a musician and cultural promoter
from Arcoverde-PE in northeastern Brazil, created
the Coco Trupé style, which is characterized by the
percussion created by tapping wooden rustic clogs
against a platform (Figure 1A). Other instruments
used in the style include the triângulo, pandeiro,
surdo, and ganzá. A significant portion of my
research on bat pollination has been conducted in
the Catimbau National Park, Northeast Brazil (e.g.,
Domingos-Melo et al., 2020, 2022; Domingos-
Melo, 2021), which is located a few kilometers
from Arcoverde. During 2021 and 2022, I had the
opportunity to reside in Arcoverde and immerse
myself in the rich cultural profusion that the
‘Samba de Coco’ represents in this city (Coco
Raízes de Arcoverde, 2018; Coco Trupé, 2020).
Given my background as an amateur Maracatu
player (another folk music genre from Northeast
Brazil), this experience particularly enchanted and
inspired me to embark on an experiment merging
art and science.
In preparation for the presentation, I collaborated
with one of the local groups from Arcoverde called
Samba de Coco Eremin (Figure 1F). During our
meetings, we exchanged ideas and knowledge: I
taught them about bat pollination in the Caatinga,
while they taught me about Samba de Coco. They
also took me to visit the Culture Center of Samba
de Coco Raízes de Arcoverde and the Atelier of
Mestre Assis Calixto (brother of Lula Calixto),
who was honored by the State Government with
the title of Living Cultural Heritage of Pernambuco
in 2019 (Franco, 2019). Additionally, the clogs
70
PSB 70 (1) 2024
used in the presentation were purchased from his
studio and handcrafted by himself.
During our collaborative sessions, we drew an
analogy between the percussive sound of clogs
and the pulses emitted by bats that are reflected
by flowers. Gonzalez-Terrazas et al. (2016)
demonstrated that bats use echolocation to
locate flowers, emitting a series of calls during
their approach (Figure 1B). Once the flowers are
identified and the bats are in close proximity,
they emit a long terminal call group before
visiting a flower (Figure 1C). Similarly, in Trupé
performances, the clogs can be played in various
ways (Coco Raízes de Arcoverde, 2019), including
(1) Parcela rhythm, characterized by slower
and more cadenced tapping (Figure 1D), and
(2) Trupé rhythm, in which the tapping speed
Figure 1. Utilization of the Northeast Brazilian folk music "Samba de Coco" as an analogy for acoustic signalling
in bat-pollinated flowers. (A) Traditional wooden clogs used as percussion instruments. (B) Echolocation is used by
bats during their search for flowers. (C) This process is here symbolized by the "parcela rhythm," which exhibits slower
and more rhythmical tapping (visual representation of sound waves in green). (D) During the floral visitation, a long
terminal call group is produced just before the bat approaches the flower and is represented by the "trupé rhythm."
(E) This rhythm is characterized by tapping that gradually accelerates until it reaches the fastest tempo achievable by
the performer. (F) Meeting with the Samba de Coco Eremin group to develop the idea, and (G–H) presentation and
workshop held at the 4th Brazilian Pollination Symposium in Garanhuns, PE on October 18, 2022.
71
PSB 70 (1) 2024
progressively increases until it reaches the fastest
tempo possible for the performer (Figure 1E). We
used the Parcela rhythm to represent echolocation
during the search for flowers, whereas the Trupé
rhythm represents the long terminal call group
that occurs just before visiting the flower.
THE PRESENTATION:
RESEARCHERS
CHALLENGED TO ROLEPLAY
BAT-POLLINATED FLOWERS
During the Science Dissemination lecture, the
Coco-Eremin group performed various songs
featuring the Parcela and Trupé rhythms as
examples of how bats echolocate when searching
for and visiting flowers (Figure 1G). This was
followed by a workshop in which a group
of volunteer researchers from the audience
participated. Coco-Eremin members taught
them how to play the rhythms with their feet,
and then an impromptu roleplay was performed,
with a Coco-Eremin player simulating a “bat
echolocating during foraging” while the volunteers
acted as “flowers” and replicated the percussion
to simulate the echoes (Figure 1H). The group
followed the Parcela rhythm at first, and in some
moments increased the speed to the Trupé rhythm
(simulating a floral visit), with the researcher
volunteers following suit. It was humorous to
watch the researchers on stage attempting to
match the speed of the skilled Coco player. After
a couple of rounds, the “flower that best reflected
the sound of the bat” was declared the champion.
The audience found this playful exercise amusing
and exciting.
PERSPECTIVES: USE OF MUSIC
TO BUILD ANALOGIES
ABOUT THE ROLE OF
SOUND IN PLANTS
Expanding on our successful endeavor, there’s
compelling potential to explore further aspects
of ecoacoustic signaling in chiropterophilous
plants. The rich complexity of this process offers
numerous avenues for science-art experiences,
complemented by the creative potential of
Samba de Coco. Extending this interdisciplinary
approach to educational settings such as schools
and non-formal learning environments could
broaden its impact and foster curiosity among
diverse audiences.
The recent shift in the terminology from “plant
blindness” to “plant awareness disparity,” while
addressing the ableism inherent in the former,
also emphasizes the extensive consequences of
neglecting plants on our attitudes, knowledge,
and interest in them (Parsley, 2020). As we
move away from a metaphor that exclusively
centers on visual processes, it is appropriate to
acknowledge the importance of other sensory
modalities in educating about plants. In this
context, we demonstrate that music can be a
compelling alternative for creating intricate
analogies that highlight the role of sound in
plants. Such analogies not only serve to illustrate
the importance of sound in the life of plants, but
also stimulate an emotional connection with
nature that can motivate people to study them.
In our case, with a touch of poetic imagination,
one might envision the Caatinga as a nocturnal
dance floor, where thousands of chiropterophilous
flowers sway to the beat of a joyous Samba de
Coco, in a mesmerizing performance rhythmed
by the bats’ echolocation.
72
PSB 70 (1) 2024
References
Andima, R., R. Sumarmin, Y. Ahda, H. Alberida, and A.
Razak. 2021. The Relationship between Multiple Intelligences
and Biology Learning Outcomes of Student. Jurnal Penelitian
Pendidikan IPA 7: 625-631.
Boero, M. L., K. Agostini, and A. Domingos-Melo. 2022. Po-
linização por morcegos e sua importância. In Ghilardi-Lopes,
N. P., and Zattara, E. E (eds), Ciência Cidadã e Polinizadores
da América do Sul, 73-80. Cubo Multimídia São Carlos, SP.
Coco Raízes de Arcoverde. 2018. Samba de Coco Raízes de
Arcoverde Concert [Video]. Ressonâncias Rupestres Youtube
Channel. Website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_
vwMFhgt4c&t=2584s [accessed 10 February 2024].
Coco Raízes de Arcoverde. 2019. Samba de Coco Trupé Les-
sons [Playlist]. Coco Raízes de Arcoverde Youtube Channel.
Website: https://www.youtube.com/@cocoraizes3109/fea-
tured [accessed 10 February 2024].
Coco Trupé. 2020. Music Videos [Playlist]. Remix Cul-
ture Youtube Channel. Website: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=_bMFsCiD3PM&list=PLy5LmiKZYBIYu9JzXn
oa9-2fsH_mSL2UA [accessed 10 February 2024].
Demey, M. L., R. C. Mishra, and D. van der Straeten. 2023.
Sound perception in plants: from ecological significance to
molecular understanding. Trends in Plant Science 28: 825-
840.
Domingos-Melo, A., P. Milet-Pinheiro, D. M. A. F. Navarro,
A. V. Lopes, and I. C. Machado. 2020. It’s raining fragrant
nectar in the Caatinga: evidence of nectar olfactory signaling
in bat-pollinated flowers. Ecology 101: e02914.
Domingos-Melo, A., V. L. Garcia de Brito, A. N. Sersic,
A. A. Cocucci, K. Lunau, and I. C. Machado. 2021. Shin-
ing bright in the dusk: How do bat-pollinated flowers reflect
light? Ecology 102: e03416.
Domingos-Melo, A., A. A. Cocucci, M. Tschapka, and I.
C. Machado. 2022. A negative association between nectar
standing crop and pollen transfer suggests nectar functions
as a manipulator of pollinating bats. Annals of Botany 131:
361-372.
Domingos-Melo, A., S. Albuquerque-Lima, U. M. Diniz, A.
V. Lopes, and I. C. Machado. 2023. Bat pollination in the
Caatinga: a comprehensive review of studies and peculiari-
ties in the largest and most diverse Seasonally Dry Tropical
Forest in the Neotropics. Flora 305: 152332.
Franco, D. 2019. New living heritage of Pernambuco, mas-
ter Assis Calixto dedicates honor to his brother [Newspaper
report]. TV Asa Branca – Globo. Website: https://g1.globo.
com/pe/caruaru-regiao/noticia/2019/07/19/novo-patrimonio-
vivo-de-pernambuco-mestre-assis-calixto-dedica-honraria-
ao-irmao.ghtml [accessed 10 February 2024].
Freire, A. M. A. 2021. A palavra boniteza na leitura de mun-
do de Paulo Freire. Editora Paz e Terra. São Paulo, SP.
Gonzalez-Terrazas, T. P., C. Martel, P. Milet-Pinheiro, M.
Ayasse, E. K. Kalko, and M. Tschapka. 2016. Finding flow-
ers in the dark: nectar-feeding bats integrate olfaction and
echolocation while foraging for nectar. Royal Society Open
Science 3: 160199.
Nguy, A. 2022. A Music Composition Through the Use of
Animal Sounds. Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects.
941. Website: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors/941.
Parsley, K. M. 2020. Plant awareness disparity: A case for
renaming plant blindness. Plants, People, Planet 2: 598-601
Shirley, E. A., A. J. Carney, and M. A. Pereira. 2020. Teach-
ing soundscapes in the Brazilian Pantanal: Benefits of inte-
grating music and science education. In 34th World Confer-
ence on Music Education, p. 499.
Simon, R., K. Bakunowski, A. E. Reyes-Vasques, M. Tschap-
ka, M. Knörnschild, J. Steckel, and D. Stowell. 2021. Acous-
tic traits of bat-pollinated flowers compared to flowers of oth-
er pollination syndromes and their echo-based classification
using convolutional neural networks. PLoS Computational
Biology 17: e1009706.
Simon, R., M. W. Holderied, C. U. Koch, and O. von Hel-
versen. 2011. Floral acoustics: conspicuous echoes of a dish-
shaped leaf attract bat pollinators. Science 333: 631-633.
Vieira, R. M. D. S. P., M. F. Sestini, J. Tomasella, V. Marche-
zini, G. R. Pereira, A. A. Barbosa, F. C. Santos, et al. 2020.
Characterizing spatio-temporal patterns of social vulnerabil-
ity to droughts, degradation and desertification in the Brazil-
ian northeast. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators 5:
100016.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks to Valderlan A. F. Baltazar,
coordinator of the Raizes do Sertão and Coco
Eremin Cultural Group, as well as its members,
for their collaboration on this project. To Master
Assis Calixto for crafting the clogs used in the
presentation. To Dr. Natan Messias Almeida and
Dr. Cibele Cardoso de Castro for their invitation
and support of the presentation at the 4th
Brazilian Pollination Symposium in Garanhuns,
PE, on October 18, 2022. To Dr. Antônio Felix for
the logistic support. This research was funded by
FACEPE (Foundation for the Support of Science
and Technology of Pernambuco) through research
grants (DCR-0031-2.03/21; APQ-0226-2.03/21).
73
From the PSB Special Issue on Art in the Botanical Sciences
Cross-Pollination: Building a Co-Taught
Course to Examine Art and Sex Through
the Lens of Botany
Christopher T. Martine
1
Anna Kell
2,
and
Diamanda A. Zizis
1
1
Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewis-
burg, PA 17837
2
Department of Art and Art History, Bucknell Univer-
sity, Lewisburg, PA 17837
Nearly a decade ago, Bucknell University—a
small, private, liberal arts institution in central
Pennsylvania—instituted a new sophomore-
level requirement titled Integrated Perspectives
(IP). Taught by instructors from two different
disciplines, courses under the IP umbrella are
meant to introduce students to an area of study
through the combined efforts of professors whose
disparate academic backgrounds meet in a sort of
pedagogical “sweet spot.” When successful, this
approach challenges both the students and the
professors in often unexpected ways, with varying
degrees of both discomfort and engagement that
can engender impactful learning outcomes.
Driven by overlapping interests in plants, art,
and diversity in sex expression, Anna Kell
(Department of Art and Art History) and Chris
Martine (Department of Biology) developed a
course that integrates the perspectives of a visual
artist and a botanist. Art & Sex Through the Lens
of Botany seeks to impart the importance of
making connections across disciplines and the
value of visual literacy across academic lines. The
course introduces foundational concepts in each
field and encourages students to integrate and
explore these different systems of knowledge and
their intersections.
In addition to developing fluencies related to
both general botany and studio art, the goal of
the course is that students demonstrate a variety
of new strengths including (1) the ability to
recognize, construct, and evaluate connections
among different intellectual methods, ways of
learning, and bodies of knowledge; (2) the ability
to identify the various parts of a flower and discuss
their significance and role in sexual reproduction
in plants; (3) increased awareness of visual forms
of communication, including artistic expression,
data visualization, and observation; and (4) a
broader understanding of the role of sexuality
in the science of biology and in the formation
of cultural beliefs and biases. Through these
approaches, students engage in cultural dialogue
regarding our perceptions of normativity in sexual
expression—often using the flower (including
its depiction in art) and the wide variation in
angiosperm sex expression as a starting point.
By examining the impressive diversity of sexual
systems and forms present in flowering plants
(through dissections, microscopy, comparative
approaches, and artistic representation), students
are consistently challenged to question what is
“normative” when considering the myriad means
by which organisms (including our own species)
“do” sexuality.
74
PSB 70 (1) 2024
As they build their botanical acumen, students
are then challenged to create artworks applying
their evolving knowledge and understanding to
their own perceptions and experiences related
to sexuality, gender expression, and other
sociocultural issues or cultural phenomena they
identify as important to them. The hope is that
this interdisciplinary approach to botany and
art not only gives students a new (or initial)
appreciation and understanding for each academic
discipline, but also gives an awareness of the ways
these students might contribute meaningfully
to cultural dialogue (including on topics related
to human sexuality) through the integration
of science and art.
The pedagogical mission of the course is largely
achieved through hands-on lab experiences
and creative projects, each requiring extended
course periods and ample teaching/work space
for the typical enrollment of 24–30 students. The
current iteration of the class meets twice a week
for 80 minutes and occupies two adjacent lab
classrooms with large open bench spaces; there
is also dedicated space in our nearby collections
spaces for storage of in-process and completed
assignments. Students in the course complete
a number of “sci-art” projects, including the
following examples:
1. Wearable plant-pollinator interaction
art pieces in which the pollination pro-
cess is performed and recorded in short
video clips. Done in groups, this activity
promotes an understanding of coevolu-
tion, coadaptation, and biological inter-
actions. For example, a group of students
majoring in Math, Neuroscience, Studio
Art, and Management constructed cos-
tume pieces that were worn as part of a
greenhouse-based “ballet” performance
in which the Math student (also minor-
ing in Dance) played a Trochetia black-
burniana flower visited by the Neurosci-
ence student acting as a day gecko.
2. Repeated pattern wallpaper designs
inspired by plant reproductive strategies
including, in one case, a treatment reflect-
ing on the deception associated with bee
orchid (Ophrys) pollination and, in an-
other, the sex-changing and thermogenic
habits of skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus
foetidus)
.
3. Projects using herbarium paper as a
canvas, including:
Ǎ Artistic documentation of floral
dissections using various species
and reproductive morphologies,
with attention to representations
of “maleness,” “femaleness,” and
cosexuality.
Ǎ “Cultural specimen” sets express-
ing a
particular feeling, place,
personal experience, or wider
cultural phenomenon. As an ex-
ample, one Biology student cut a
Pride flag into scraps and then re-
assembled them into specimens
of national flowers for countries
in which being gay is considered
a crime. These were then mount-
ed as herbarium specimens with
labels identifying the countries
and the sentencing associated
with the “crime” of homosexual-
ity.
Ǎ Bio-cultural commentaries built
around scraps of textiles featur-
ing floral motifs. For example,
student Sophie McQuade (Figure
1) chose a swatch of fabric featur-
ing a bleeding heart (Dicentra) in
flower as an inspiration for a re-
flection on queer identitie
s.
75
PSB 70 (1) 2024
At the conclusion of each semester of the course,
Bucknell’s Rooke Science Center becomes a gallery
space where students in Art & Sex Through the
Lens of Botany display their work as part of a
short-term exhibition—with the entire campus
community invited to the opening. Some of
Figure 1. “Bleeding Hearts” by Sophie McQuade, 2021, gouache on herbarium paper. A bio-cultural commentary
created around a single round piece of cloth (upper right) with a floral motif representing a bleeding heart (Dicentra).
Artwork completed as part of the Art & Sex Through the Lens of Botany course at Bucknell University (Lewisburg,
PA, USA) and included with permission from the artist (Instagram @sophiemcquaideart).
the pieces have now hung in hallways, labs, and
classrooms for years, alongside research posters
and bulletin boards displaying journal articles and
campus flyers—a daily reminder that creativity
and art have a place in the teaching of science.
Botany 2024!
Featured Speakers
Colin Khoury
Plenary
Address
Kaya DeerInWater
Regional Botanist
Jenny Xiang
Incoming
BSA President
Mark Merlin
Distinguished
Ethnobotanist
Cynthia Jones
Kaplan Lecture
Joyce Gloria Onyenedum
BSA Emerging Leader
David Tank
Incoming ASPT
President
Kathleen Kay
Annals of
Botany
Morgan Ruelle
SEB Mid-Career
Award
Belong in Botany Panel Discussion
Perspectives on Success in the Biological Sciences
Moderated by Karolina Heyduk
Josh Felton
Katherine
Toll
Charles
Bush
Joyce
Navarro
Ana Flores
PSB 70 (1) 2024
77
Botany 2024!
Workshops and Field Trips
Have Some Fun and Learn Something new!
West Michigan’s Natural Communities Sampler
Sphagnum Bog, Oak Barren and more
Flower Creek Dunes Nature Preserve
Kellogg Biological Station
Ferns and Lycopods of Yankee Springs
Nature Journaling Science and Art
Hudsonville Nature Center
Frederick Meijer Garden and Sculpture Park
White Water Rafting
Introduction to Phylogenetic Comparative Methods in R
Data Analysis and Visualization In R
SNPs, genes, genomes: using assembled genomes for answering
evolutionary questions
Biodiversity data wrangling: Linking large phylogenies with species
traits and ecologies
Common methods in leaf gas-exchange research: an introduction
to measurements, theory, and data analysis
How to Tackle Teaching Plant Life Cycles
Winter twig and fruit identification
Conservation through Ethnobotanical Relationships
SISRIS: Supporting Inclusive and Sustainable (collections-based)
Research Infrastructure for Systematics
Genome Skimming: A Bioinformatics Approach to Assembly-Free
Analysis of Genomic Information
Traditional Cyanotype Printing with Jessie Swimeley
Ethnobotany, natural products, and microbiomes through a One
Health collaboration
3D Printing for Science: From Design to Optimize
Seeing Seeds: An Artistic Investigation
Planting Inquiry in Biology Classrooms
A Full Slate of Workshops
Full Day
Half Day or Two Hour!
Sign up on the
Conference Website
PSB 70 (1) 2024
78
78
SOCIETY NEWS
SEARCH FOR NEW
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF FOR
AJB AND PSB
The BSA has been very fortunate to have Dr.
Pamela Diggle as the Editor-in-Chief of the
American Journal of Botany (AJB) and Dr.
Mackenzie Taylor as the Editor-in-Chief for
the Plant Science Bulletin (PSB) for almost 10
years! Both Pam and Mackenzie will complete
their second 5-year terms in December 2024.
A search committee to recruit new Editors for
these important BSA publications was formed
in February 2024 and includes Emily Sessa
(Chair), Eugenio Larios, Nora Mitchell, Andy
Schnabel, Mackenzie Taylor, Amy McPherson,
and Richard Hund.
The committee launched the search process
during the week of February 26, with
an application deadline of April 5, 2024.
BSA Publications Updates
Interviews will take place in late April into
May, and a recommendation to the Board will
be made by early June. Ideally, offers will be
extended to candidates for both publications
before the Botany meeting in mid-June, but
otherwise by the end of July. The terms for the
new EiCs will begin in January 2025.
AJB AND APPS OPEN
CALL FOR ASSOCIATE
EDITORS
In late August 2023, the BSA publications team
launched an open call for Associate Editors for
AJB and Applications in Plant Sciences (APPS),
with the goals of adding depth of expertise
and improving diversity on our editorial
boards. We strongly encouraged applicants
from underrepresented groups and regions to
apply; by the end of September, we received
83 applications from over 20 countries. AJB
invited 13 and APPS invited 9 applicants
to join our editorial boards as Associate
Editors; other applicants were encouraged to
become or remain engaged with the journals
as authors and reviewers (and Early Career
Advisory Board or Publications Committee
members). Most terms began in November
2023, and the new AEs will be assessed after 1
year to determine whether the arrangement is
working well for both parties.
By
Amy McPherson
BSA Director of
Publications
E-mail:
amcpherson@
botany.org
PSB 70 (1) 2024
79
New AJB Associate Editors, as a result of the
Open Call: Liming Cai (University of Texas-
Austin), Myong Gi Chung (Gyeongsang
National University, South Korea), Andrés
J. Cortés (Colombian Agricultural Research
Corporation, Colombia), Lucía DeSoto
(Complutense University of Madrid, Spain),
Carole Gee (University of Bonn, Germany),
Brenda Grewell (
USDA ARS and University
of California Davis), Eugenio Larios
(Universidad Estatal de Sonora, Mexico),
Elena Lopez Peredo (Rochester Institute of
Technology), Giacomo Puglielli (University of
Seville, Spain), Susan Rutherford (Wenzhou-
Kean University, China), Yuval Sapir (Tel Aviv
University, Israel), Elizabeth Stacy (University
of Nevada Las Vegas), and Juan Carlos
Villarreal A. (Université Laval, Québec,
Canada). For a list of the entire editorial
board, see https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.
wiley.com/hub/journal/15372197/homepage/
editorialboard.
New APPS Associate Editors, as a result of
the Open Call: Rob Baker (National Park
Service), Mario Blanco-Sánchez (Netherlands
Institute of Ecology, The Netherlands),
Gordon Burleigh (University of Florida),
Vadivelmurugan Irulappan (University of
Missouri, Columbia), Gianalberto Losapio
(University of Lausanne, Switzerland),
Giuseppe Diego Puglia (National Research
Council of Italy), Dustin Ray (University of
Minnesota-Duluth), Aarón I. Vélez-Ramírez
(Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México),
and Yunjian Xu (Yunnan University, China).
For a list of the entire editorial board, see
https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/
journal/21680450/homepage/editorialboard.
APPS RECRUITING
EDITOR
Applications in Plant Sciences held an open
call for a new Recruiting Editor in October-
November 2023 and received 11 applications
from a geographically diverse pool (4
applicants from Europe, 2 from the US, 2
from Pakistan, 1 from India, 1 from Malaysia,
and 1 from Mexico). After interviews and
careful consideration, Tilottama (Tilo) Roy,
of Missouri Western State University, was
offered the position and began working with
the journal in early February 2024.
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE AND
PUBLICATIONS:
GUIDELINES
At the Botany meeting in Boise, the editors of
AJB, APPS, and PSB, along with the Director-
at-Large for Publications, met and discussed
the challenges and opportunities that artificial
intelligence (AI) will potentially offer to
science. An ad hoc committee, chaired by
Theresa Culley (University of Cincinnati),
was formed in September 2023 to discuss how
generative AI is changing publishing and what
guidelines we should be providing for authors,
reviewers, and editors. The committee is
meant to have a one-year lifespan, roughly
September 2023 to June 2024. In addition
to drafting guidelines, the committee will
produce an article for the Plant Science
Bulletin that relates their findings about the
AI landscape and what it means for BSA
publications. Stay tuned!
PSB 70 (1) 2024
80
In February 2024, Duke University announced
the closure of its 100-year-old herbarium,
the second-largest private herbarium in the
United States. The decision led to protests
from university scientists and researchers
from around the globe. Home to 825,000
specimens, including vascular plants such as
flowers and trees, to a large collection of algae,
lichens, fungi, and mosses, the herbarium
was deemed too expensive to maintain.
BSA President Brenda Molano-Flores, on
behalf of the Society, joined other scientific
leaders by contacting the leadership at Duke to
express the following thoughts, and to prompt
reconsideration of their decision.
I am writing on behalf of the Botanical
Society of America, a professional scientific
society representing 3,000 botanical scientists
worldwide, to emphasize our deep concern
regarding the planned closure of the Duke
University Herbarium and relocation of its
collection. We urge you to reconsider this
decision which will have dire consequences
for the second largest private herbarium in
the United States, its invaluable collections
of vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, fungi
and algae, and for current and future scientific
researchers.
The Duke University Herbarium serves as
a crucial repository of botanical diversity,
providing researchers with essential resources
BSA Leadership
Responds to News of
Duke University’s Herbarium Closure
for studying plant taxonomy, distribution,
ecology, and evolution. These collections
represent a tangible record of our planet’s
botanical heritage and are indispensable for
advancing our understanding of the natural
world. The closure of the Duke University
Herbarium and relocation of its specimens
would not only represent a loss of scientific
resources but also hinder efforts to address
the most pressing scientific issues of our
time: climate change and global biodiversity
loss. Without access to these invaluable
collections, especially for plant scientists
in the Southeastern United States which is
the most biodiverse region of the country,
researchers would be deprived of essential
tools for understanding and combating the
environmental challenges we face.
With this divestment and dispersal of a
world-renowned scientific collection, Duke
is ceding its position as a top research center
and strongly indicating it no longer values the
support and training of the next generation of
scientists. Generations of outstanding plant
biologists have been trained through the
Duke Herbarium. Duke undergraduate and
graduate students in Agriculture, Biology,
Environmental Science and Policy, and Earth
and Climate Science will lose access to a world-
class archive of plant biodiversity that has
supported student research and training for
over a century. We encourage you to continue
the Duke legacy in biodiversity science by
supporting this critical resource.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
81
We understand the financial constraints
that institutions often face. The long-term
funding of a Herbarium and its curators is
not insignificant. However, we believe that
the long-term benefits of maintaining the
Duke University Herbarium far outweigh
the cost. We urge you to explore alternative
solutions and potentially a combination of
solutions, such as increased funding (Duke’s
endowment consistently ranks as one of the
largest at US universities), partnerships, or
community and crowd-funded support,
to ensure the continued operation of this
important herbarium. Rather than scattering
these collections, we must invest in them and
maximize access to the wealth of knowledge
they hold about the past, present and future
of our planet.
Demonstrate that you value biodiversity,
research and the training of our next
generation of top-notch plant scientists and
preserve the world-class scientific collections
you have while keeping them in their home at
Duke. The Botanical Society of America stands
ready to support your efforts to maintain the
collection at Duke and looks forward to a
positive resolution to this matter. Thank you
for your attention to this urgent issue.
Sincerely,
Brenda Molano-Flores
President on behalf of the BSA Board of
Directors Botanical Society of America
PSB 70 (1) 2024
82
82
By
Amelia Neely
BSA Membership &
Communications
Manager
E-mail: ANeely@
botany.org
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Brenda Molano-Flores, the current BSA
President, would like to invite you to share
your
#PlantJoy
to help create a community-
wide celebration of how plants and botany
bring us joy. As you may remember,
“Finding the joy—tall tales of a plant
lover” was her Incoming Presidential
lecture at last year’s Botany conference
(a recording is available at https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=sBt3Xn7AevM!).
#PlantJoy Campaign
How can you share the ways plants bring
you joy?
• Share stories and videos on social me-
dia with the hashtag:
#PlantJoy
• Email PlantJoy@botany.org with items
you would like to share on the #Plant-
Joy landing page: https://botany.org/
plantjoy.html
• You can also add to the word cloud on
the #PlantJoy landing page at https://
www.menti.com/alkfotz2c5gk!
To get started, take a look at Brenda’s #PlantJoy
introduction video (https://youtu.be/S3
H5dH0fKlA?si=2a9YaGHneuQBRRDG),
and hopefully you will be inspired to share
how you find joy in your botanical research,
interaction with plants, nature, and more!
Thank you, in advance, for sharing how you
find joy in your relationship with plants. If
you have any questions, email plantjoy@
botany.org.
BOTANY360 UPDATES
Botany360 (home/
resources/botany360.html) is a series of
programming that connects our botanical
community during the 360 days outside of
Botany conferences. The Botany360 event
calendar is a tool to highlight those events.
The goal of this program is to connect the
PSB 70 (1) 2024
83
plant science community throughout the year
with professional development, discussion
sessions, and networking and social
opportunities. To see the calendar, visit www.
botany.org/calendar. If you want to coordinate
a Botany360 event, email aneely@botany.org.
Upcoming Botany360 Virtual Events
• Fulbright US Scholar Program: In-
sights from an Alumni Ambassador
https://botany.org/calendar/display/
date/20240429/viewtype/event/eid/44
April 29, 2024, 2–3 pm EST
• Longwood Gardens Fellows Program
Informational Webinar [sponsored
event]https://botany.org/calendar/
display/date/20240508/viewtype/
event/eid/45 May 8, 2024, 1–2 pm EST
Recent Botany360 Event Recordings
• Applying to Graduate School Q&A
Panel (September 26, 2023)
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=ETdaLo7Hwd8
• Reviewing Papers for Scientific Jour-
nals (December 13, 2023)
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=8mwBWvY0gR8
• Getting Involved in Service
to BSA and Beyond (January
8, 2024) https://youtu.be/kh-
btx0L9c4?si=dSARRUiG2Jj8S01l
Other Recordings of Interest Related to the
Upcoming Botany Conference
• Ace It! - Write a Better Title (March
2, 2022) https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=e2_CkFtBcI4
• Ace It! - Write a Better Abstract
(March 23, 2022)
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=dbPGAr9_GyE
• Making the most out of Botany
2023 - A Student Conference
Guide (May 26, 2023)
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=1CiRBSs45kw
PSB 70 (1) 2024
84
BSA SPOTLIGHT SERIES
The BSA Spotlight Series highlights early-
career and professional scientists in the BSA
community and shares both scientific goals
and achievements, as well as personal interests
of the botanical scientists, so you can get to
know your BSA community better.
The latest member spotlights:
Find the following profiles at https://botany.org/home/careers-jobs/careers-in-botany/bsa-
spotlight-series.html.
• Shweta Basnett, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Maryland, College Park
• Blaire M. Kleiman, Graduate Student, Florida International University
• Francis J. Nge, Systematic Botanist, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney,
Australia
• Trinity Tobin, Undergraduate Student, SUNY Cortland
• Jaqueline Alves Vieira, Graduate Student, São Paulo State University
(IBILCE/Unesp - Brazil)
Would you like to nominate yourself or another BSA member to be in the Spotlight
Series? Fill out this form:
https://forms.gle/vivajCaCaqQrDL648
.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
85
BSA PROFESSIONAL
HIGHLIGHT SERIES
In 2023, we included a BSA Professional
Member Highlights section each month in
the Membership Matters newsletter. Starting in
2024, both Professional and Early-Career BSA
members will be highlighted in the Spotlight
Series. If you want to be part of this year’s
spotlight series, email
aneely@botany.org
.
Dr. Jennifer Ackerfield
Head Curator of
Natural History
Collections and
Associate Director of
Biodiversity Research
Website: https://
jenniferackerfield.
weebly.com/
Jennifer coordinates the growth and
improvement of the natural history collections,
supports biodiversity research efforts, and
manages herbarium staff and volunteers
working with the collections. Throughout
her career, Jennifer has traveled extensively
throughout Colorado documenting its rich
floristic diversity. This extensive knowledge
led her to write the Flora of Colorado, with
the goal of helping anyone identify the plants
of Colorado with ease. Jennifer also leads a
research program focused on documentation
of biodiversity through targeted floristic
inventories, systematics and taxonomy of
western North American groups such as
native thistles (Cirsium), and unraveling the
origins of plant diversity in the Southern
Rocky Mountains through biogeographic
studies. Jennifer regularly collaborates with
organizations and agencies across the state,
leads field trips and workshops, and initiates
community participatory science campaigns.
She also loves teaching and sharing her
passion for botany to students of all ages.
Dr. Hong Ma
Professor of Biology
at the
Pennsylvania State
University
Dr. Hong Ma is a
professor of biology
and holder of the
Huck Chair for Plant
Reproductive Development and Evolution,
at the Pennsylvania State University. He has
worked with students, post-doctoral scientists,
and collaborators to understand the molecular
mechanisms regulating plant reproduction
and to reconstruct angiosperm phylogenies
using nuclear genes, with an aim to learn
about factors that shape plant evolution and
diversity. Among the angiosperm groups
he and his colleagues have studied are large
families, including Asteraceae, Orchidaceae,
Fabaceae, Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Rosaceae,
Solanaceae, and Cucurbitaceae. He is actively
involved in the education and training of
students at different levels, particularly
undergraduate and graduate students, to help
them prepare for their careers in a variety of
fields. He is especially happy to meet with
young conference attendees and share some
thoughts and experiences related to career
development.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
86
Dr. Ingrid Jordon-
Thaden
Director of Botany
Garden & Greenhouses
in the Department
of Botany at the
University of Wisconsin
Madison
X (formally Twitter):
@IThaden
Websites:
https://jordonthadenbotany.weebly.
com/
and
https://jordonthaden.botany.wisc.edu/
Ingrid is directing a team that cares for a
living collection of plants for teaching in
the Department of Botany at the University
of Wisconsin Madison. As Director of the
Botany Garden and Greenhouse she helps
provide the live plants for many courses,
gives tours, and ensures it continues to be a
prominent botanical education facility on
campus and in southern Wisconsin. She is
currently teaching botany for non-majors at
the University of Wisconsin Madison and is
a Research Associate of the Florida Museum
of Natural History. Her research aims to
explore questions regarding speciation
processes and adaptations in plant species at
the nexus between population genomics and
phylogenetics. In particular, she is fascinated
with the myriad of modifications during
gametophytogenesis in plants and how
that affects the survival and adaptation of a
species. Ingrid is also currently serving as the
Secretary of ASPT.
BSA LEGACY SOCIETY
Thank you to all of our Legacy Society
members for supporting BSA by including
the Society in your planned giving. We
look forward to hosting you at this year’s
Legacy Society Reception at Botany 2024
in Grand Rapids, Michigan. If you are
interested in joining the Legacy Society, you
are welcome to come to the event and sign
up in person or by filling out this form at
any time:
https://crm.botany.org/civicrm/profile/
create?gid=46&reset=1
.
We would like to welcome the following new
2023-24 Legacy Society members:
Erika Jeannine Edwards
Steven and Joan Handel
Lena Struwe
Qiuyun (Jenny) Xiang
1 Anonymous Member
The intent of the Botanical Society of
America’s Legacy Society is to ensure a
vibrant society for tomorrow's botanists,
and to assist all members in providing wisely
planned giving options. All that is asked is
that you remember the BSA as a component
PSB 70 (1) 2024
87
in your legacy gifts. It’s that simple—no
minimum amount, just a simple promise to
remember the Society. We hope this allows all
BSA members to play a meaningful part in the
Society's future. To learn more about the BSA
Legacy Society, and how to join, please visit:
https://botany.org/home/membership/the-bsa-
legacy-society.html
2023 GIFT MEMBERSHIP
DRIVE DRAWING WINNER
Thank you to everyone who purchased
gift memberships during the 2023 Gift
Membership Drive (October through
December 2023), and congratulations to the
Botany 2024 registration drawing winner,
Stephen Mills, a student at Purdue University.!
You can purchase one- or three-year gift
memberships at any time for both students
and developing nations’ colleagues. Want
to donate a gift membership to students or
developing nations’ colleagues instead? Simply
put an X in the name and email recipient
fields. Visit
crm.botany.org
to get started.
NEW BSA SPONSORSHIP
OPPORTUNITIES
Do you know a business or organization that
would benefit from being in front of over 3000
botanical scientists from over 70 countries,
and over 60,000 followers on social media? The
BSA Business Office has many opportunities
for sponsorship, including:
• Sponsored Membership Matters news-
letter articles and footer ads
• BSA website banner ads
• Hosting Botany360 events
• Botany360 event logo advertisement
during event, a slide before/after
event, or time to discuss product at
beginning or end of event
• Sponsored social media ads
• Advertisement space in the Plant
Science Bulletin
Because we value our community, the above
opportunities are limited with the hope of
being informative without being intrusive.
Sponsorships will allow BSA to fulfill our
strategic plan goal of being financially
responsible during this time of economic
shifts.
To find out more about sponsorship
opportunities, email
bsa-manager@botany.org
.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
88
FROM THE
PSB
ARCHIVES
60 years ago
The Plant Science Bulletin was nearly shelved 10 years after its first issue. This note from the
editor goes on to explain the results of the study to reevaluate the economics of PSB. There is
only one issue of PSB from 1964 in the BSA archives, possibly due to this ongoing study.
“Sometime last year, while I was 9,000 miles away from home in the Philippines, I received
a most unnerving bit of communication from a colleague back home: Plant Science Bulletin
was on the verge of being scotched, or at best it would be emasculated. Pressure was being
put on the powers that be in the Society to introduce drastic economies which might
decrease its stature, reduce it to the category of a hand-out, or even eliminate it entirely!
[. . . ] your editor saw bloody red and immediately dashed off a scathing letter saying in
effect: Don’t touch P. S. B.; I knew it when it was a fledgling; it should not be cheaply printed;
its founders were friends and mentors of mine; I knew why it was begun; it has served a
great and noble purpose; it is not a chit-chat sheet; etc. Letters came back saying cool off
old boy; the situation is in hand; we will wait until you return; no one is going to junk
P. S. B. summarily and without a chance for a hearing. In short, President Alexopoulous
wisely appointed a committee to examine P. S. B. and “to study the whole matter . . . and to
make ... recommendations . . . to the Council at its Boulder meeting in 1964,” and to give
special attention to how “the cost of production ... [might] be reduced” and to “a general
re-evaluation of the Bulletin.”
-
Stern, William L. 1964. A note from the Editor. PSB 10(1): 4-5
50 years ago
“The first biographical sketch that appeared [in PSB] was the one of Charles Edwin Bessey
published in volume four, issue five, which was also the first issue edited by Harriet B.
Creighton who succeeded Professor Fuller. The first obituaries, those of Harley Harris
Bartlett and Ezra Jacob Kraus, were published in volume six. Since then biographical
notes have appeared in every volume, except volumes ten and fifteen. The peak volume
was number seven, with eleven biographical notes. In order that information in these
biographical notes may be more readily accessible to the Botanical Society of America
members, scholars, and historians, the accompanying index has been prepared.”
-Stuckey, Ronald L., and W. Louis Phillips. 1974. Biographical Sketches and Obituaries in
Publications of the Botanical Society of America — An Index. PSB 20(1): 5-6
40 years ago
“The 2nd International Wetlands Conference will be held in Trebon, Czechoslovakia June
13-23, 1984. The meeting is sponsored by the INTECO Wetlands Working Group, SCOPE,
UNESCO/MAB, and the Institute of Botany, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
-Meetings and Courses 1984. PSB 30(1): 5
PSB 70 (1) 2024
89
89
SCIENCE EDUCATION
By Dr. Catrina Adams,
Education Director
Jennifer Hartley,
Education Programs
Supervisor
The BSA Education Committee is seeking
to update the state-by-state resource lists
available on the botany.org website. We’re
looking for information about up-to-date
floras and field guides, academic programs
(where in your state can people pursue a
botany-related degree?), organizations, and
quality, durable web resources focused on
the botany of the state or region. To start, we
are focusing on U.S. states and territories, but
we may expand this project to cover other
regions where BSA members live and work
if this project is successful and members find
the information useful.
The Committee’s starting goal is to have
the most comprehensive undergraduate
student-appropriate state flora/field guides
listed for each state. This resource will be
Seeking Flora/Field Guide
Recommendations to Update
BSA’s State-by-State
Botanical Resource Pages
useful for faculty who want to refer students
to their local flora, or for botanists moving
from one region to another. We appreciate any
help you can provide in creating this useful
resource that doesn’t appear to be easily found
elsewhere.
It should take less than 5 minutes to submit
your resource(s), which will be vetted by the
Education Committee and then added to the
botany.org website. To submit a resource,
please use this link: https://forms.gle/
VjpHPYM9pVKJ4dmh9.
“USA-based BSA members:
Which flora or field guide
would you recommend un-
dergraduates use to iden-
tify plants in your state or
region?”
PSB 70 (1) 2024
90
ROOT & SHOOT RCN
DEVELOPING A NEW
CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE
MENTORING
CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
TO PILOT IN FALL 2024
A new working group has been established by
the ROOT & SHOOT RCN to create a culturally
responsive mentor certification program for
plant scientists. The working group holds a
large group meeting once a month, and weekly
smaller meetings with various subgroups. All
working group members receive stipends.
The plan is to create/compile a pilot cohort-
based mentor certification program to be
ready to be evaluated in Fall 2024. There
will likely be opportunities to participate in
piloting the new program announced in late
summer on the ROOT & SHOOT website
(https://rootandshoot.org) and advertised
in future BSA newsletters and via social
media. More information on the charge and
structure of this working group is available
on the ROOT&SHOOT website: https://
rootandshoot.org/working-group-on-
culturally-responsive-mentoring/
The working group includes a diverse group
of 23 members in total with a wide range of
experiences related to culturally responsive
mentoring. The working group members were
recruited from the seven ROOT & SHOOT
participating societies. Thanks to the 13 BSA-
affiliated members representing our society in
the working group!
Jordan Argrett
Summer Blanco
Cael Dant
Caitlyn Elliot
Amy Faivre
Ian Gilman
Laura Gough
Juliana Harden
Janet Mansaray
Renee Petipas
Cierra Sullivan
Jess Szetela
Mariana Vazquez
ROOT & SHOOT RCN
SPONSORED BYSTANDER
INTERVENTION
WORKSHOPS OFFERED IN
MAY FOR BOTANY 2024
ATTENDEES
Many BSA members took advantage of free
Bystander Intervention Training workshops
last spring in advance of the Botany 2023
conference in Boise. The ROOT & SHOOT
RCN is offering these workshops again
in 2024 for members of the RCN who are
PSB 70 (1) 2024
91
planning to attend Botany 2024 in Grand
Rapids, MI. The workshops are again provided
by the ADVANCEGeo partnership (https://
serc.carleton.edu/advancegeo/workshops/
topics.html). This year’s spring workshop is
scheduled for May 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
EDT.
The RCN is also offering an “advanced” 1-hour
practice-heavy “refresher” version of the
training for those who attended the workshop
last year, or who are looking for more practice.
This refresher workshop will be held on May
28 from 3 to 4 p.m. EDT.
Learn more about these workshops and sign
up to participate at: https://rootandshoot.
org/2024-bystander-intervention-workshops/
PLANTINGSCIENCE
SPRING 2024
SESSION UPDATE
The Spring 2024 session of PlantingScience is
in full swing right now. We were so pleased
with the enrollment this session—we had
20 teachers apply to participate! This was
especially positive because about half of
these teachers were past participants and
the other half were new to us. In total, the
session has engaged 540 students across
147 inquiry projects, comprising a nice mix
of middle- and high-school students, and
even one undergraduate class in India! The
topics studied in this session include seed
germination, tissue structure and behavior,
photosynthesis, C-fern development, and
genetics. Many thanks to our wonderful
cohort of liaisons this session, and the 102
mentors who have stepped up to work with
our student teams!
PlantingScience also received a pleasant
surprise when we learned we had been
featured in an article with our service provider
and website host, HubZero. Leading up to the
Digging Deeper F2 research initiative during
our Fall 2023 session, the PlantingScience
team and HubZero worked together to update
and improve our platform. Read more about
these updates at http://bit.ly/pshzfeature.
We are now looking ahead to the continuation
of the Digging Deeper F2 research with the
Fall 2024 cohort. Applications for the Fellows
opportunity for early career scientists have
closed and we are making selections, which
will be announced soon! We’re pleased to
report that our mentor pool has increased by
over 100 mentors since August of 2023, but
we anticipate another big session this coming
fall. If you or anyone you know is interested,
please join us! Visit https://plantingscience.
org/getinvolved/mentor to learn more.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
92
Curious about the Conference Logo?
A lot of thought goes into the Botany Conference logo each year. The logo for Botany 2024 – Resil-
ience in a Changing World was informed by our desire to select plants that are native to Michigan and
exemplify resilience in various ways.
Arnica cordifolia Hook. - Heartleaf Arnica:
The showcased plant is Arnica cordifolia Hook., the heartleaf arnica. A member of the Asteraceae, this
perennial species is endangered in Michigan but thrives across western and northern North America.
Known for its adaptability to both shade and sun, moderate fire resistance, and a potential need for
disturbance in order to be successful, the heartleaf arnica has a long history of medicinal use.
Zizia aptera (A.Gray) Fernald - Prairie Golden Alexanders:
The plant with yellow-flowers in flat-topped umbels is Zizia aptera (A.Gray) Fernald, also known as
Prairie golden alexanders, Heartleaf golden alexanders, or Meadow zizia. While this species in the
Apiaceae is threatened at the state level, it maintains globally security as a short-lived perennial, rely-
ing on re-seeding for its persistence.
Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb. - Yellow Lady’s Slipper:
The yellow lady’s slipper, Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb., is a familiar orchid that is widespread
across North America with several varieties commonly recognized. The yellow lady’s slipper is glob-
ally secure with a conservation status of least-concern.
Woodwardia areolata (L.) T. Moore - Netted Chain Fern:
In the background of the logo is the beautiful Woodwardia areolata (L.) T. Moore (= Lorinseria areo-
lata (L.) C.Presl), the netted chain fern. Native to the southeastern United States, this globally secure
member of the Blechnaceae ranges northward along the eastern coast and has a historical presence
in Michigan, last seen in Van Buren county (southwest of Grand Rapids) in 1880. Although it hasn’t
been seen in Michigan for over a century, it is presumed to be present, so keep a keen eye while enjoy-
ing any conference field trips—and document any sightings with photos—as the rediscovery of this
species during our conference botanizing would be a remarkable event.
Conference logo designed by Melanie Link-Perez and Johanne Stogran
PSB 70 (1) 2024
93
93
STUDENT SECTION
By Eli Hartung and Josh Felton
BSA Student Representatives
We were excited to lead a Botany360 webinar
earlier this year on “How to be a Successful
BSA Student Representative.” If you missed it
and would like to access the slides from the
presentation, go to https://bit.ly/40IrhdB,
and be sure to email us at feltonjosh@icloud.
com and elishartung@gmail.com if you have
any questions. (For more information on the
Botany360 series, see the Membership article
in this issue.)
Botany360 Webinar:
How to Be a Successful BSA
Student Representative
ROUNDUP OF STUDENT
OPPORTUNITIES
It’s that time of the semester where you start to
compile every opportunity you want to apply
to into one list. To make this easier for you,
we have compiled a list of all the opportunities
we know about. Even if the deadline of
this application cycle is passed for this
academic year, make sure to check by the
end of this year for the next application
cycle and expect that the deadline for the
next year will be around that date. We
have divided these into categories for easy
browsing that include the following: BSA
Grants and Awards, Fellowship, Research
Awards, Broader Impacts, Short Courses and
Workshops, Job Hunting, and ways that may
help you to travel to Botany 2024. The list is
long! So we’ve provided a link that you can
use to access funding opportunities: http://
tinyurl.com/2024bsaopportunities.
Of course, all the grants and awards
information will also be announced and
reminded via the BSA social media, so make
sure to follow us on Facebook (Botanical
Society of America), X (@Botanical_),
BlueSky (@botsocamerica.bsky.social) and
Instagram (@botanicalsocietyofamerica) and
stay updated! Also feel free to reach out to your
PSB 70 (1) 2024
94
BSA student representatives Josh (feltonjosh@
icloud.com) and Eli (elishartung@gmail.
com) if you have questions about the listed
opportunities, or any questions or comments
about BSA.
PAPERS TO READ FOR
FUTURE LEADERS
As we continue in our careers, we hope to
see the academic culture shift to be healthier
and more inclusive. Below are a few papers
we think you should read if you hope to lead.
We hope to continue to recommend “Papers
to Read for Future Leaders” to BSA student
members, so if you have papers you would like
us to include, please share it with us via this
Google form: https://tinyurl.com/y5dp8r4m!
Previously shared papers include:
• Allen, K., J. Reardon, Y. Lu, et al.
2022. Towards improving peer review:
Crowd-sourced insights from Twit-
ter. Journal of University Teaching &
Learning Practice 19.
• Ålund, M., N. Emery, B. J. Jarrett, et
al. 2020. Academic ecosystems must
evolve to support a sustainable post-
doc workforce. Nature Ecology & Evo-
lution 13: 1-5.
• Asai, D. 2020. Race Matters. Cell 181:
754-757.
• Baker, K., M. P. Eichhorn, and M. Grif-
fiths. 2019. Decolonizing field ecology.
Biotropica 51: 288–292.
• Brown, N., and J. Leigh. 2020. Able-
ism in Academia: Theorising expe-
riences of disabilities and chronic
illnesses in higher education. Lon-
don: UCL Press. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.14324/111.9781787354975.
• Caviglia-Harris, J., K. E. Hodges, B.
Helmuth, et al. 2021. The six dimen-
sions of collective leadership that ad-
vance sustainability objectives: rethin-
king what it means to be an academic
leader. Ecology and Society 26: 9.
• Chaudhury, A., and S. Colla. 2021.
Next steps on dismantling discrimina-
tion: Lessons from ecology and con-
servation science. Conservation Let-
ters 14: e12774.
• Chaudhary, V. B., and A. A. Berhe.
2020. Ten simple rules for building
an antiracist lab. PLoS Computational
Biology 16: e1008210.
• Claire Demery, A. J., and M. A. Pip-
kin. 2021. Safe fieldwork strategies for
at-risk individuals, their supervisors
and institutions. Nature Ecology &
Evolution 5: 5-9.
• Cooper, K. M., A. J. J. Auerbach, J. D.
Bader, et al. 2020. Fourteen recom-
mendations to create a more inclusive
environment for LGBTQ+ individuals
in academic biology. CBE - Life Sci-
ence Education 19:es6: 1-18.
• Cronin, M. R., S. H. Alonzo, S. K.
Adamczak, et al. 2021. Anti-racist
interventions to transform ecology,
evolution and conservation biology
departments. Nature Ecology & Evolu-
tion 5: 1213–1223.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
95
• Dewa, C. S., K. Nieuwenhuijsen, K. J.
Holmes‐Sullivan, et al. 2020. Introduc-
ing plant biology graduate students to
a culture of mental well‐being. Plant
Direct 4: e00211.
• Ellis, E. C., N. Gauthier, K. K. Gol-
dewijk, et al. 2021. People have shaped
most of terrestrial nature for at least
12,000 years. PNAS 118: e2023483118.
• Emery, N. C., E. K. Bledsoe, A. O. Hal-
sey, et al. 2020. Cultivating inclusive
instructional and research environ-
ments in ecology and evolutionary
science. Ecology and Evolution 11:
1480-1491.
• Gewin, V. 2021. How to include Indi-
genous researchers and their know-
ledge. Nature 589: 315-317.
• Gin, L. E., N. J. Wiesenthal, I. Ferreira,
and K. M. Cooper. 2021. PhDepressi-
on: Examining how graduate research
and teaching affect depression in life
sciences PhD students. CBE—Life
Sciences Education 20.
• Hamilton, P. R., J. A. Hulme, and E. D.
Harrison. 2020. Experiences of higher
education for students with chronic il-
lnesses. Disability & Society 38: 21-46.
• Herz, N., O. Dan, N. Censor, et al.
2020. Opinion: Authors overestimate
their contribution to scientific work,
demonstrating a strong bias. PNAS
USA 117: 6282–6285.
• Huyck, J. J., K. L. Anbuhl, B. N. Bu-
ran, et al. 2021. Supporting Equity
and Inclusion of Deaf and Hard-of-
Hearing Individuals in Professional
Organizations. Frontiers in Educati-
on DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fe-
duc.2021.755457.
• MacKenzie, C. M., S. Kuebbing, R.
S. Barak, et al. 2019. We do not want
to “cure plant blindness” we want to
grow plant love. Plants, People, Planet
1: 139-141.
• Maestre, F. T. 2019. Ten simple rules
towards healthier research labs. PLoS
Computational Biology 15: e1006914.
• McDaniel, S. F. 2021. Bryophytes are
not early diverging land plants. New
Phytologist 230: 1300-1304.
• McGill, B. M., M. J. Foster, A. N. Pru-
itt, et al. 2021. You are welcome here:
A practical guide to diversity, equi-
ty, and inclusion for undergraduates
embarking on an ecological research
experience. Ecology and Evolution 11:
3636-3645.
• Nocco, M. A., B. M. McGill, C. M.
MacKenzie, et al. 2021. Mentorship,
equity, and research productivity: les-
sons from a pandemic. Biological Con-
servation 255: 108966.
• Parsley, K. M. 2020. Plant awareness
disparity: A case for renaming plant
blindness. Plants, People, Planet 2:
598-601.
• Poodry, C. A., and D. Asai. 2018.
Questioning Assumptions. CBE - Life
Sciences Education 17: es7, 1-4.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
96
• Ramírez-Castañeda, V., E. P. Westeen,
J. Frederick, et al. 2022. A set of prin-
ciples and practical suggestions for
equitable fieldwork in biology. Pro-
ceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences 119: e2122667119.
• Schell, C. J., C. Guy, D. S. Shelton, et al.
2020. Recreating Wakanda by promo-
ting Black excellence in ecology and
evolution. Nature Ecology & Evolution
4: 1285-1287.
• Simoneschi, D. 2021. We need to im-
prove the welfare of life science traine-
es. PNAS 118: e2024143118.
• Tilghman, S., B. Alberts, D. Colón-
Ramos et al. 2021. Concrete steps
to diversify the scientific workforce.
Science 372: 133–135.
• Tseng, M., R. W. El-Sabaawi, M. B.
Kantar, et al. Strategies and support
for Black, Indigenous, and people of
colour in ecology and evolutionary
biology. Nature Ecology & Evolution 4:
1288–1290.
• Woolston, C. 2022. PhD students face
cash crisis with wages that don’t cover
living costs. Nature 605: 775-777.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
97
97
ANNOUNCEMENTS
IN MEMORIAM
NELS RONALD LERSTEN
(1932–2023)
To lose a friend and colleague like Nels is never
easy. However, good memories have a way of
lessening the loss. That is how I remember
Nels. He joined the Iowa State University
Botany & Plant Pathology Department as an
assistant professor in the early 1960s after
obtaining his PhD at UC-Berkeley under the
mentorship of Professor Adriance S. Foster, a
renowned, published plant anatomist, and a
past president (1954) of BSA. Nels was hired
to eventually replace Professor John E. Sass,
famed author of Botanical Microtechnique.
I met Nels when I joined the Department
as a two-year postdoctoral fellow, and then
became a faculty member in 1966. We
quickly became friends and launched into
joint research projects related to sporogenesis,
bacterial leaf nodules, crystals, and other
topics as well. We jointly published our first of
17 papers (1966–2011) together on Riccardia
pinguis in AJB in 1966.
Nels was a fountain of information, exacting
in his research work and teaching, and an
excellent writer that made him a perfect fit to
be Editor-in-Chief of AJB (1990–1994). Our
offices and labs were next to each other, and
our graduate students took our classes and
socialized together. He and I went camping
and on field trips, and we played many games
of hand- and racquet-ball. He was usually the
better player! We and our graduate students
attended many BSA meetings, and we even
roomed together at a few of them. Above all,
Nels was a kind, compassionate, supportive,
and a “forever” friend. In retirement we had
lunch together periodically, reminiscing about
our earlier lives, joking about funny instances
we shared, and yes, talking about our past
research endeavors. Now he is at peace with
his wife, and he will stay in my thoughts (and
those of many others) until I see him again.
A friend and colleague, Harry T. (Jack) Horner,
University Professor Emeritus
PSB 70 (1) 2024
98
Below is an excerpt from Dr. Lersten’s official
obituary:
Dr. Nels Ronald Lersten passed away on
Thursday, December 28, 2023, at the age of
91. He took his last breath at MorningStar
Assisted Living and Memory Care in West
Des Moines, IA. He had family bedside upon
his death.
Nels was born in the southside of Chicago, Ill
on August 6, 1932. He was the first born of
Swedish immigrants Anders Einar and Elvira
Maria (Bloom) Lersten. He grew up in and
around the Swedish community of Chicago.
He graduated from Harper High School in
Chicago in 1949 at the age of 16. Nels attended
the local “trolley-car” junior college until he
turned 18 years old and joined the United
States Coast Guard. He spent 3 years on active
duty, first being stationed in Japan patrolling
United States interests in the Pacific Ocean. He
was then selected to become a sonar specialist
and receive additional training in San Diego,
CA. After this training he was transferred to
the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, where he was
involved in chasing down Russian submarines.
Upon fulfilling his Coast Guard commitment,
he returned to Chicago and enrolled at the
University of Chicago where he earned his
undergraduate degree (BS) in Biology and his
master’s degree in Botany. Nels continued his
education by earning his PhD in Botany at the
University of California – Berkeley in 1963.
His first job offer was at Iowa State University,
Ames, Iowa, where he accepted an assistant
teaching position in the Botany Department.
Nels told everyone he was only staying for a
couple of years, but as it turned out, he became
a full professor at ISU and taught for 35 years
until retiring in 1998.
Nels met Patricia Brady in 1955 while out
dancing in Chicago and they married on June
14, 1958. They were married for 61 years until
Pat’s death in 2019. The couple was blessed
with 3 children (Sam, Andrew and Julie)
during the marriage. Pat was a devoted spouse
and supported Nels throughout his career and
they made a strong and loving team together.
Nels enjoyed a wonderful education career,
which included becoming one of the first users
of the electron microscope for research at ISU,
taking the family to London, England for his
one- year sabbatical at the Royal Kew Gardens
and speaking at many Botany Conferences
around North America and Europe. He
became the editor of the Proceedings of the
Iowa Academy of Science and was the editor-in-
chief of the American Journal of Botany (1983-
87) [Ed note: 1990–1994]. He also held various
leadership roles within the Botanical Society
of America and earned their prestigious Merit
Award. Nels published over 120 articles and
authored several books. In 2008, he published
“Flowering Plant Embryology,” which was his
most read book and continues to be used today
by Colleges and Universities for their Botany
curriculum around the country. His children
were always more impressed that he also wrote
the section entitled “LEAF” in the World Book
Encyclopedia. Upon his retirement in 1998,
Nels earned the title of Professor Emeritus
from Iowa State University. He was considered
one of the world’s pre-eminent plant anatomy
experts at the time.
Nels loved the outdoors. He was always at
his happiest when exploring nature. Travel
was important to Nels as he would take the
family on camping trips in their VW Camper
Van for the last 6 weeks of every summer as
the kids were growing up. He would always
plan the trips around one of his speaking
PSB 70 (1) 2024
99
engagements, alternating throughout the
Western and Eastern USA and Canada. Many
great memories were created from these trips.
Nels was known to stop in remote areas, grab
his collection bag and trek into the forest for
hours at a time. He would eventually return
and emerge with a big smile, sharing tales of
his new plant findings with the family, who
were still either reading or sleeping by the side
of the road in their VW camper van.
He was a kind and gentle soul who
volunteered for many years at Beloit of Ames.
He helped support multiple programs there
that impacted troubled youth. Iowa Governor
Terry Branstad honored him for his extensive
volunteering efforts. Nels was a passionate
game player and loved to play card games,
poker, Scrabble and Cribbage. He once won
the title of best Cribbage player in Iowa at the
Iowa State Fair. He also loved to play pool and
won the Windsor Oaks championship several
times. Nels loved to use big words in his
conversations or unique words that his family
didn’t know the meaning of—he would say
to look it up, and of course, it was the perfect
word to use. Nels loved to spend time walking
in nature, he would walk twice a day at local
parks in Ames even when he was in his 90s.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
100
100
BOOK REVIEWS
Botany of the Kitchen Garden: The Science and Horticulture of Our Favourite Crops
Chinese Cymbidium Orchid, A Gentleman of Noble Virtue
Flora of Oregon Vol 2
The Ghost Forest
House Plants
Hydrogen Sulfide in Plant Biology
In the Herbarium
The Man Who Organized Nature
Parasitic Weeds of Jordan
Solomon Described Plants
Botany of the Kitchen
Garden: The Science and
Horticulture of Our Favou-
rite Crops
Hélèna Dove
2023. ISBN: 978-1-84246-783-1
US$30 (Hardcover); 160 pp.
Kew Publishing Royal Botanical
Gardens, Kew, Richmond, UK
Hélèna Dove’s Botany of the Kitchen: The
Science and Horticulture of Our Favourite
Crops will delight readers with its botanical
and horticultural descriptions of some of our
most commonly grown and consumed fruits
and vegetables. For those who are not in the
know, she reminds us that the plants we eat
and grow in our gardens “have wild ancestors,
some of which can still be found today and
some, sadly, which can’t” (p. 10). Through
cultivation and breeding, many of these wild
plants have developed into the cultivars we
now know so well, bred for traits such as
sweetness or seedlessness. In many cases,
Dove notes, some plants’ natural defenses
have been bred out of them. Dove hopes it
might be possible to breed this lost resilience
back into the plants we grow if we learn about
how their wild relatives thrive in their natural
environments. This knowledge can lend itself
to establishing healthier ecosystems with
growers depending less on chemicals to grow
hardy and healthy crops (p. 10).
There are 52 plant entries in Botany, each
offering a brief summary of the plants’
botanical and cultivation history, physiology,
growing habits, and their varieties. In each
entry, Dove drives home the importance
of learning the horticulture and science of
the vegetables and fruits we love to grow
and consume. She encourages readers to
understand how a plant’s botanical history
bears on its botanical present, and how this
knowledge can be used to ensure its future.
Knowing the science behind why plants
behave and adapt as they do can encourage the
use of horticultural techniques that will grow
the sweetest fruit, graft the best tomatoes, or
produce the richest compost.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
101
Botany encourages gardeners to use botanical
and horticultural language to talk about
the crops we grow: “In most vegetable and
gardening texts, vegetables are referred to by
their common names—carrots, apples and
tomatoes, for example” (p. 16). Scientific
names can often paint a fuller picture of the
vegetables we grow. The carrot, for instance,
is also called an “umbellifer,” denoting that it
belongs to the Umbelliferae family. The flowers
of the plants in this family (parsley, parsnips,
and carrots) share the same umbrella shape—
an umbel. It is a biennial tap root with origins
in Central Asia and the Middle East, and it
was not always orange. This eastern carrot
was once white, and “a sudden mutation in
Afghanistan,” it was thought, “led to purple
carrots, starting with a white inner core and
purple skin,” which was “then bred into a fully
purple carrot” (p. 82). The orange carrot we
know now, the western carrot, results from
breeding the wild white carrot into a carrot
with yellow flesh. Over time, breeding created
the sweet orange carrot, now an important
economic crop.
Each entry also comes replete with distinct
illustrations that aid the reader in identifying
various plant parts. The tiny white lines we see
on carrots, for instance, are their lateral root
scars. The husk that protects the tomatillo is
its dried calyx. We eat the petioles of the celery
and the hypocotyl of the radish. We scoop out
the mesocarp of the squash to puree it for soup.
The tiny hair-like strands sometimes spied on
the raspberry are the remains of the pistil, the
female organs of its flower. The drawings show
how a plant’s flower becomes its fruit and how
to recognize what remains of a plant’s stalk,
stem, and flower. Botany also includes some
color photographs, which add color to the
green and black ink that dons the pages of the
book. Together, both are tools that encourage
gardeners, from novice to expert, to become
more comfortable with using the language of
botany to describe the plants they grow and
the environs they inhabit.
Interspersed throughout Botany are ten short,
two-page primers on various horticultural
techniques. Each title begins with “The
botany of…” and focuses on how, for example,
to sow and save seeds, how to propagate and
graft plants, or how to force crops or thin
fruit trees. In “The botany of composting,” for
example, gardeners learn the science behind
how their compost piles work. As saprophytic
consumers, woodlice and brandling worms
are the first to show up in the heap. They feed
solely on dead plant material, decomposing
leaves and branches to make food for the
secondary consumers. These smaller micro-
organisms (bacteria, fungi and the nonmotile
actinomycetes) make a meal from the waste of
the woodlice and worms, breaking this down
into even smaller bits in a process that releases
inorganic salts, such as potassium sulphate
and ammonium nitrate, to name a few.
Botany reminds of us of the importance of
knowing intimately the origins, physiology,
structure, genetics, and ecology of the
vegetables and fruits we grow in our gardens.
For those of you who have a strong natural
sense of the science of plants, Dove’s Botany
will not only shore up your intuitive sense
of botany and horticulture but also teach
you how to grow vigorous crops, prune and
train your plants, and produce cultivars that
are resilient enough to stave off pests. At 6.5
by 8.75 inches, Botany will fit snugly among
the gardener’s cookbooks and is a welcome
addition to the kitchen.
--Rachel Burgess, Independent Scholar, Roch-
ester, NY 14606; rachel.burgess.ph.d@gmail.
com
PSB 70 (1) 2024
102
Chinese Cymbidium
Orchid, A Gentleman of
Noble Virtue
Hew Choy Sin and Wong Yik
Suan.
2024; ISBN 979811263378
(ebook), 979811263385 (ebook
other), 979811263361 (hard-
cover) $78; 159 pp.
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte., Singapore
Over the years, I saw Chinese cymbidiums,
including an award-winning plant at a show
in Chongqing, China that was so valuable that
it was under 24-hour armed guard. I also saw
their paintings (both recent and old, original
and copies) in the United States, Singapore,
Taiwan, and China. I always wanted to learn
more about them. Now I can do that by
reading this book.
Lan (Chinese cymbidiums) had an appeal
and meaning symbolizing integrity, modesty,
elegance, purity, and nobility in ancient China.
Confucius referred to lan as “Gentleman of
Noble Virtue.” An early description of Chinese
orchids or cymbidiums was in 900 AD in Yong
Lan (p. 8). Another mention of lan in China
was as early as the spring of 770-476 BC (p. 3).
Two other Chinese classic texts that mention
lan are:
• Shi-Jing (The Classics of Poetry or The
Book of Songs), the earliest collection
of Chinese poetry, which dates to 11
th-
7th century BC.
• Li-Ji (The book of Rites), which was
published in 206 BC–25 AD. It refers
to ni, which is actually Spiranthes si-
nensis, as well as chien and lan, both
of which were loose references to fra-
grant plants.
The use of ni, chien, and lan in Li-Ji created
confusion regarding the dates in which
Cymbidiums cultivation started in China.
This book refers to the confusion and explains
the reasons for it. There is much more to
learn about the history of lan and Cymbidium
orchids in China from the well-written and
extensively referenced first chapter (also see
Chen and Tang, 1982).
Appreciation and
cultivation of orchids in China (Hew, 2001)
have a long history. Their appreciation was
influenced by Confucianism, Buddhism and
Taoism. They became part of the culture
and subjects for writers, poets, painters,
and calligraphers as far back as 1200–1700.
Interesting details and information about
the cultural history of Cymbidium in China
open the second chapter, which includes
translations of ancient poems.
A good part of the second chapter is devoted
to details about ancient Chinese paintings of
cymbidiums, some of which date to about
1100 AD. A number of reproductions are
included in the book. Most are printed
well, but two to three are a bit dark. Lists of
painters, biographies, and even photographs
of sculptures that depict artists are included.
Reading this part of the book is both enjoyable
and instructive, but somewhat slow due to the
inclusion of dates (which is both desirable
and necessary), Chinese characters (which I
skipped), and names (which are unfamiliar).
Calligraphy is often included in Chinese
Cymbidium paintings. Messages conveyed by
the calligraphy are intended to complement
the painting. They can be poems, excerpts
from literature, words of praise, or even
political statements. Paintings of lan on
fans, bottles, embroidery, and even doors
contain calligraphy. Postage stamps issued
in 1988 depict four cymbidiums and include
calligraphy. Examples of paintings that contain
calligraphy are presented and discussed
on pages 44-49 of the second chapter. The
PSB 70 (1) 2024
103
chapter concludes with examples of lan in
Chinese culture, symbolism, and the naming
of girls (mei lan, beautiful lan, is an example).
Altogether, the second chapter provides an
excellent discussion of lan in Chinese culture,
mostly ancient, but also current.
Cymbidium goeringi, C. sinense, C. ensifolium,
C. faberi, and C. kanran are described in the
context of modern taxonomy in the third
chapter. Four of these species were described
and named in accordance with current
taxonomic rules by western taxonomists who
did not assign to three them specific epithets
that celebrate or even bear any relationship
to their ancient Chinese heritage. Only one
name of the four refers to China. Because of
the insensitive naming of these species by
Western taxonomists, the combination in this
book of their Chinese history with modern
taxonomy is good to have.
The type specimen of C. goeringii, the noble
orchid and one of the earliest known Chinese
cymbidiums, was collected in Japan. It is
named for the German-Dutch botanist,
chemist, and plant collector, Phillip Friedrich
Wilhelm Goering (1809–1876) because it was
described by Gustav Reichenbach filius (1823–
1889) in 1852 in Germany. Robert Allen Rolfe
(1885–1921), founder of the Orchid Review in
the UK, the oldest existing orchid magazine,
named C. faberi for the German plant collector
Ernst Faber (1839–1899). This species was
documented as far back as 1796. It bears nine
flowers per inflorescence. Therefore, its old
Chinese name is Nine Children LANS.
Cymbidium sinense (G. Jackson ex H. C.
Andrews) Wildenow and C. ensifolium (L)
Swartz, two species that were popular in
ancient China, are more aptly named despite
being described in the West. The Cold Lan
(because it flowers in a cold season), C.
kanran was named by the “Linnaeus of Japan,”
Tomitaro Makino (1862–1957), in 1902. He
combined kan (cold in Japanese) and ran
(orchid in Japanese) in its specific epithet.
Another Japanese name of C. kanran is Syun
ran because it also flowers when it is warm
in the spring. It was brought into cultivation
2500 years ago.
Each of these species has several forms and
varieties. Descriptions and illustrations
of these Chinese cymbidiums (pp. 53–86)
complete this chapter and make it a well-
rounded and informative modern taxonomic
and historical treatment.
Chapter 4 deals with the biology of Chinese
cymbidiums and opens by stating that
“...appreciation of Chinese cymbidiums
can be summarized in four words ‘Scent,
Colour, Form, and Charm’” because Chinese
cymbidiums excel in leaf and flower structure,
color, form, beauty, and scent. These
characteristics distinguish them from other
plants, as poetically noted by Wang Gui Xue
in his book, Wang Shi Lan Pu published in
1247 (Hew, 2001), during the Song dynasty
(960–1279):
Bamboo has integrity but is short of flowers.
Mei [plum blossoms, Prunus mume] has
flowers but is short of leaves during flowering
time
Pine has leaves when it flowers but is short
of fragrance
Orchid (Cymbidium) has leaves, flowers, and
fragrance all at the same time.
The biology of Chinese cymbidiums is similar
to that of other orchids and Cymbidium
species, but there are differences. For example,
their (1) pseudobulbs tend to be shorter, (2)
roots are fleshy unlike those of other terrestrial
orchids, (3) flowers are noticeably scented
PSB 70 (1) 2024
104
even if scent intensities may vary (Zhang et al.,
2014), (4) leaves can be variegated (or plants
are selected for variegation more frequently),
and (5) leaf and stomata structure is similar to
those of other monocotyledonous plants, but
even within one and the same species there are
differences in length and color. The biological
characteristics of Chinese cymbidiums are
described, discussed and, explained well in
this chapter (pp. 87–120).
Surprisingly there is no known evidence that
the ancient Chinese propagated cymbidiums
from seeds. It is not even clear if the ancient
Chinese recognized orchid seeds for what they
were. If they exist, ancient writings, paintings,
or drawings of seeds are yet to be discovered.
I keep hoping that a careful reading of ancient
Chinese books on orchids will find writings on
seeds. This chapter deals with what is known
at present about fruits (but refers to them as
pods on pp 108 and 109; they are capsules),
seeds, and seed germination of Chinese
cymbidiums. Clonal propagation of Chinese
cymbidiums in the past was by division of
plants. This is still practiced at present, and so
are modern propagation methods. All current
methods of Chinese Cymbidium propagation
are described in detail in this book.
Ancient Chinese cymbidium growers had no
means of learning about orchid mycorrhiza.
However, they were perceptive enough to
realize that there are components in the natural
substrates where they grow that facilitate and/
or improve growth. That is why there are
suggestions in the ancient literature that when
collecting Chinese orchids from the wild,
one should also collect substrate debris along
with the plants because this was important for
the establishment of the collected plants (for
details about ancient cultivation methods.
see Hew [2001]). Chinese cymbidiums are
cultivated extensively at present by modern
methods. These methods as well as pests
and diseases are illustrated and discussed in
Chapter 5 (pp. 121–142). Anyone interested
in growing Chinese cymbidiums will find
enough information in this chapter.
A short chapter (6) about the prospects of
Chinese cymbidiums concludes the book.
There are also an extensive list of references
and an index.
I have two criticisms about this book. One,
probably the authors’ responsibility, is that
references 49–89 (pp. 152–154) are listed only
in Chinese. It would have been useful to also
present English translations. This would have
allowed readers who do not read Chinese to
obtain an idea about what these references
deal with. The publisher is responsible for
the second. Page size is 15 cm × 23 cm. This
small size forces reduced images, especially
when there are several of them (p. 101 has
18), resulting in unclear images and hard-to-
discern details. A bigger page size (standard
US letter size, 21.6 cm × 27.9 cm, for example)
and fewer images per page would have allowed
for larger and clearer illustrations.
As a result of visiting Singapore almost
annually for many years and spending long
periods there, as well as paying several visits
to China (starting in 1979) and Taiwan, I
developed an interest in Chinese cymbidiums.
It was not enough to get me to grow even a
single plant or carry out research about them,
but it was sufficient to want me to learn more.
This book did enable me to do so. I am sure
that anyone else who will read it will also
become better informed about these beautiful
and fascinating cymbidiums. Despite its
exorbitant price (determined by the publisher,
not the authors), this book should find its way
to private and institutional libraries.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
105
The Evolutionary Ecology of
Plant Disease
Gregory S. Gilbert and Ingrid M.
Parker
2023. ISBN-13: 9780198797883
US$50.00 (Paperback); 336 pp.
Oxford University Press, New York,
NY, USA
Fungi, bacteria, and viruses, oh my! For many
seasoned and aspiring plant pathologists,
Agrios’ Plant Pathology or Westcott’s Plant
Disease Handbook were likely the first
textbooks they were required to purchase and
read as an introduction to the field. Although
these tomes have been updated and new
editions have been released, they have not
been updated to include much content on
the evolutionary relationships between plant
microbes and their hosts, which is an area of
plant disease ecology research that has made
significant strides in the last few decades
and could benefit from a synthesis. Enter
The Evolutionary Ecology of Plant Disease, a
new primer on the symbiotic relationships
between plants and microbes. This novel
text was written by Drs. Gregory Gilbert
and Ingrid Parker, who are ecologists and
professors at the University of California Santa
Cruz. The book is organized into 17 chapters
broken into two parts: (1) Plant Pathogens
and Disease and (2) Evolutionary Ecology of
Plant Pathogen Symbioses. It also includes a
detailed preface with summary of the chapters
and epilogue with a summary of compelling
future research trajectories in evolutionary
ecology of plant disease. The handy index
in the back allows readers to easily locate
keywords and species mentioned in the text,
and each chapter includes a references section
with recommendations for further study of a
particular topic.
“Part 1: Plant Pathogens and Disease” is
comprised of nine chapters that focus on
REFERENCES
Chen, S. C., and T. Tang. 1982. A general review of the
orchid flora of China. In J. Arditti (ed). Orchid Biology,
Reviews and Perspectives vol. II, 39-87. Cornell Univer-
sity Press. Ithaca, NY.
Hew, C. S. 2001. Ancient Chinese orchid cultivation, A
fresh look at an age-old practice. Scientia Horticulturae
87: 1-10.
Zhang, B., Y. Huang, O. Zhang, X. Liu, F. Li, and K.
Chen. 2014. Fragrance discrimination of Chinese Cym-
bidium species and cultivars using an electronic nose.
Scientia Horticulturae 172: 271-277.
-Joseph Arditti, Professor of Biology Emeritus,
Department of Developmental and Cell Biol-
ogy, University of California, Irvine.
[Reviewer’s Disclosure: Professor Choy Sin Hew (world
class orchid scientist based in Singapore, and laureate of
the 1997 Singapore National Science Award, the highest
honor for a research scientist in Singapore), and his wife,
Senior (accomplished and resourceful) Librarian Yik
Suan Wong, both now retired from the National Univer-
sity of Singapore (where I spent long periods since 1969),
have been close friends for about 50 years. I saw this book
as published and in manuscript. Another old friend (30
years), the noted Japanese orchid scientist Professor Syoi-
chi Ichihashi (now retired) helped me by translating and
explaining the nomenclature of Cymbidium kanran.]
PSB 70 (1) 2024
106
the biology and ecology of plant pathogens.
Chapter 1, “Thinking Like a Plant Disease
Ecologist,” is essentially “Plant Disease:
101” with a definition of plant disease and
evolutionary ecology, as well as a summary
of epidemiology, the disease triangle, Koch’s
postulates, symbioses, and pathogen life
history strategies. The chapter also delves
into how to calculate how many plant
pathogens there may be, globally, although
the discussion is primarily focused on how
difficult that actually is to estimate without
providing an overall guess-timate. The second
chapter provides an introduction to plants,
particularly on their physiology, reproduction,
hormones, and taxonomy. The chapter is not
inclusive of everything one should know
about plants, but provides the highlight reel
of the most important factors that impact
plant relationships with pathogens. Chapters
3–7 are focused on introducing the different
categories of plant pathogens, including
fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, and
macroparasites, such as nematodes and
parasitic plants. Some of the chapters have
more information than others, but they all
generally cover the growth and reproduction
or replication of these pathogens, with some
chapters considering how the pathogens are
classified by taxa and related to other groups
(e.g., did you know that fungi are more closely
related to humans than oomycetes?). Chapter
8 introduces types of plant diseases, including
foliar, developmental, root and vascular,
woody stem, and reproductive structure
diseases. The chapter provides a helpful table
of the plant disease classifications based on
their characteristics, with further details in
the text. The last chapter in Part 1 summarizes
how to do disease ecology, ranging from visual
assessments of signs and symptoms to culture-
and DNA-based approaches. This discussion
of disease intensity and impact on host plant
species and abundance and distribution
of pathogens within an environment is
supplemented with colorful figures that
describe techniques disease ecologists and
plant pathologists have commonly used in the
past and present to measure these variables.
“Part 2: Evolutionary Ecology of Plant
Pathogen Symbioses” contains eight chapters
that take the basics provided in Part 1 and
build to detail the relationships between
plants and their pathogens at different
scales. Chapter 10, “Population Ecology of
Plant Disease,” provides an introduction or
refresher on population model terminology,
such as carrying capacity, exponential
growth, and logistic growth, how diseases
have cycles with one or more host plants to
which they have to disperse, and generally
how plants and pathogens shape each other’s
populations over time. Chapter 11 focuses
more on the dispersal and spatial ecology
of plant pathogens, while Chapter 12 delves
into the physiology and genetics of plants,
their defenses against pathogens, and how
plants and pathogens communicate with each
other through chemical signaling. Chapter
13 begins with a refresher on genetic drift
and natural selection, but slowly builds in
how evolutionary history between plants and
pathogens drives pathogen virulence, host
resistance, host range, and coevolution. The
next two chapters discuss pathogen diversity,
competition, and symbioses within plant
communities, including beneficial fungi, such
as mycorrhizae. The last two chapters focus on
global change and disease management (e.g.,
biological, chemical, and cultural controls),
which are important topics to cover when
discussing plant pathogens, given the impacts
of factors like invasive species, pollution, global
climate change, and landscape fragmentation
on pathogen abundance and spread, and how
that affects subsequent management.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
107
Overall, The Evolutionary Ecology of Plant
Disease contains a basic introduction to
microscopic and macroscopic plant pathogens,
followed by discussion of the theoretical
frameworks of evolutionary ecology between
plants and their microbes. Although the book
does not go into as much depth about the basic
biology of plant pathogens as Agrios’ Plant
Pathology, Gilbert and Parker’s discussion of
population, community, and spatial ecology
of plant disease, evolution of plant disease,
global change, and disease management makes
this a unique and suitable read for advanced
undergraduate and graduate students in
botany, ecology, evolution, microbiology
plant pathology, and forestry, as well as plant
pathology practitioners and researchers.
Although most keywords are bolded and
defined, some of the complex terminology
and discussion makes the book better-suited
for an advanced audience than introductory-
level undergraduates or those who are new
to evolutionary concepts. The structure of
the book and short primers on analytical
techniques make it an appropriate reference
for courses with or without labs or even for
individuals who want a quick summary of
long-standing and new techniques in the fields
of plant pathology and evolutionary ecology.
– A.N. Schulz, Department of Forestry, Missis-
sippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi,
USA (ash.schulz@msstate.edu)
Flora of Oregon Volume 2:
Dicots A–F
Stephen C. Meyers, et al. (eds.)
2020. ISBN 978-1-889878-61-4
US$85.00 (Hardcover); 880 pp.
BRIT Press
This is the second volume
in the three-volume work
covering the diverse flora
of the state of Oregon. The first volume,
published in 2015, covered lycophytes, ferns,
and monocots. The present volume covers
the dicots in families A–F. This includes many
large and important families such as the
Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, and Fabaceae. In
total, 39 families are covered, with 1668 taxa
fully treated.
The book opens with an introduction
covering the scope of the flora, including a
nice table listing the number of native and
exotic taxa treated, how many are endemic to
Oregon, and which families have the highest
diversity, among other metrics. I liked that
the Introduction also included an explanation
of abbreviations and symbols, something I
haven’t seen in many other floras. I’m sure that
people who aren’t professional botanists will
appreciate this, as many people may not know
what “spp.” and “s.l.” mean. Following the
Introduction is a nice section on landscaping
with native Oregon plants. Oregon is a
topographically and climatologically diverse
state, and this section nicely covers what
species are best suited for particular ecoregions
and garden types. Further information on
picking native plants for gardens is included
in an appendix. I found the next section to
be fascinating: Insects as Plant Taxonomists.
This section covers various plant families and
the insects that pollinate or feed on them. It’s
a very interesting read and contains many
beautiful photos of insects and the plants they
PSB 70 (1) 2024
108
utilize. There is also an appendix of native
plants that attract insects and specialist solitary
bee species. Lastly, there is a nice section on
the importance of herbarium specimens in
publishing a Flora.
After these sections, the dicot families are
listed alphabetically. Older family names (e.g.,
Aceraceae) are listed with page or volume
references to the “new” family where those
species can now be found. Each family has a
relatively brief description followed by a key
to genera (if needed), and then the genera are
alphabetically arranged. Each species account
includes a description, habitat information,
ecoregion range, and its provenance. Some
species have further information on look-
alikes, morphology, or status. A small map
of the state is inserted in the corner of the
description. The maps use dots for specimen
localities, and the ecoregions where the plant
occurs are shaded. I really liked this approach
to range maps. Numerous line drawings
accompany many species, and they are of
good quality.
Fifty-five authors contributed treatments to
this work, and each is listed under the family or
genera they wrote. The keys I examined and/
or tried out worked well, and I didn’t notice
any glaring errors. After the treatments there
is a large glossary with many illustrations,
references, and an appendix on misapplied
names.
The book itself is of high quality and not too
heavy; it could be brought along in a backpack.
I’m sure the third volume will be just as good
in production and content, and the authors
and editors should be proud of this wonderful
work.
--John G. Zaborsky, Dept of Botany, University
of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, Wisconsin,
USA; jzaborsky@wisc.edu
The Ghost Forest: Rac-
ists, Radicals, and Real
Estate in the California
Redwoods
Greg King
2023; ISBN 9781541768673
US$32.00 ((Hardcover), 457 pp.
Public Affairs (Hachette Book
Group), New York
You may recall Richard Powers’ 2018 Pulitzer
Prize winning novel, The Overstory, where
Humboldt Timber are the bad guys and Nick
and Sylvia protest logging by sitting-in on a
platform hundreds of feet up in a redwood.
Author Greg King, along with Mary Beth
Nealing, were the real tree sitters in the
first All Species Grove protest in 1987 in
Humboldt County, California. In The Ghost
Forest, King, a journalist/activist, provides
a well-documented history of the California
Redwood forest from the time of statehood to
the present.
The book is divided into five parts. King
begins with a recollection of playing a sort of
“king of the hill” with a bunch of friends on a
redwood stump in a friend’s backyard on his
5
th
birthday. He was thrown off, but he doesn’t
remember much else. The stump is still there,
10 feet above ground and 20 feet across, in his
hometown of Guerneville, Sonoma County,
California. King is a fourth-generation
resident whose great-grandfather emigrated
from Canada with four brothers in 1873 to log
the redwoods—three years after “Stumptown”
was renamed Guerneville. This opens the first
part of the book, “Stumps,” whose 16 chapters
introduce the biology of redwoods and the
history of logging along the Russian River in
Sonoma County. Prior to 1850 about 150,000
acres of redwoods stood in Sonoma County.
Most of this was already gone by the time
King’s grandfather was born in 1903. This loss
includes some of the largest trees ever known.
The section ends with King’s tree sit-in in
September 1987.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
109
Part Two, “Empire,” contains an eight-
chapter account of California’s redwood forest
ownership—originally nearly 1.5 million
acres of publicly owned timber. Statehood, in
1850, initiated commercial logging and the
transfer of forest lands from public to private
hands. King quotes Pulitzer Prize–winning
historian Bernard DeVoto: “…publicly owned
timber passed into corporate ownership at a
small fraction of its value…by fraud.” Abuse
began with the 1841 Preemption Act and the
1863 Homestead Act, both of which provided
homesteaders with 160 acres of land. Gangs
of men were employed to make claims, which
were immediately transferred to middlemen
working for the corporations that pooled
the claims. Even so, in 1878 more than 80%
of the redwood forest remained public land.
The 1879 Timber and Stone Act (called by
John Muir the “dust and ashes act”) ensured
that by the 1920s, when power saws replaced
hand saws for felling, most of the timber was
owned by a few competing corporations. One
of these, the Little River Redwood Company,
finally reached the “Crannell Giant” in 1926
and immediately cut it down. This 30-foot-
diameter giant was the second largest tree ever
measured, comparable to the Lindsey Creek
tree, 390 feet tall with a 34-foot diameter at
its base, that stood one small watershed away
and was already reduced to a stump. Both
produced more than a million board feet of
lumber—20% more than is contained in the
extant General Sherman tree. The stumps of
both remain.
Part Three, “A League of their Own,”
documents the greatest irony of the book, of
which King was entirely unaware when he
began researching the redwoods. In September
2009, King met and interviewed Martin Litton,
who, as director of the Sierra Club in 1960,
launched the first (and only) campaign to
establish a watershed-wide Redwood National
Park. The previous year Litton discovered the
Tall Trees Grove on Redwood Creek, and
in 1963 he hosted a team from the National
Geographic Society to survey the site. In
July 1964, Tall Trees Grove was the 52-page
cover story in the magazine—the country was
excited and a park was formed 4 years later.
But as Litton commented to King, it was not
the park they wanted. “It was so weird and
strange that Save the Redwoods League would
oppose getting a new national park.” This is
when King realized that what he thought was
a well-meaning but weak organization was
something entirely different, and it resulted
in a years-long deep dive into the archives of
the League in Berkeley’s Bancroft Library. The
League didn’t just defer to the lumbermen: it
was created, owned, and controlled by these
firms. They also pioneered the tools of public
relations false fronts and “greenwashing” to
control public opinion. “Within such a system
it was imperative that the redwoods be saved
not from the saws but from preservation.” The
28 chapters of Part Three documents how the
1.2 million acres of Redwoods still standing in
1917 were reduced to less than 120,000 acres
today, much of it degraded. And to make it
worse, by 1990 the total cost of Redwood
National Park reached $1.6 billion: the most
expensive in U.S. history as the result of
industry “triple dipping” to maximize profits
by driving up sales costs to sell back to the
government land that was initially stolen.
Part Four, “The Empire Strikes Back,” returns
to the Old Species Grove tree sit-in that ended
Part One and documents King and Nearing’s
subsequent arrests and arraignments. King
and Nearing were members of the “Earth
First” movement, which spent the next decade
protesting clear-cutting in the redwoods,
especially by the Maxxam Corporation.
The protests were designed to garner public
support for preservation and enlargement
of the newly established Redwoods National
Park – State Parks, but government and
industry spun the media, blocked legislation,
PSB 70 (1) 2024
110
and harassed the environmental protesters,
ultimately leading to a 1990 car bombing
of two of the leaders, Judi Bari and Darryl
Cherney. Both were injured and survived, and
12 years later a federal jury finally found six
of seven FBI and Oakland Police defendants
liable. The jury awarded $4.4 million in
compensatory and punitive damages. Bari
died of cancer in 1997, but Darryl used her
filmed deposition in a 2012 documentary
“Who Bombed Judi Bari” (on YouTube).
The final part of the book is a single short
chapter consisting mostly of the letter written
to King by his mother when he was six and
she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She
lived another 22 years and King recalls “her
fiery resolve railing against injustice.” It is a
special acknowledgement chapter before the
Acknowledgments.
The book is well-indexed and has an extensive
bibliography of archival collections, interviews
and oral histories, legal and public documents
(including testimony), newspapers,
periodicals and trade publications, published
sources, and unpublished theses and papers.
In the middle of the book is a section of
21 color and black-and-white images that
provides historical documentation, especially
of the protest movement. Anyone interested
in environmental history should have this
on their bookshelf. It is appropriate outside
reading for any introductory biology course.
REFERENCES
Powers, R. 2018. The Overstory. W. W. Norton, New
York.
-Marshall D. Sundberg, Kansas University
Affiliate, Lawrence, KS; Roe R Cross Professor
of Biology Emeritus, Emporia State University,
Emporia, KS.
House Plants
Mike Maunder
2022; ISBN: 978-1-78914-543-4
US$23.60 ((Hardcover); 256 pp.
Reaktion Books LTD
Post-pandemic, Plants are
Popular!
We are experiencing a house plant renaissance,
with people recently confined to home for an
extended period, practicing social distancing
and spending more time alone or with fewer
people, to prevent the spread of Covid. Many
have realized that bringing plants into one’s
home is not only fun and interesting, but
also pleasant and relaxing. The time is perfect
for the launch of this new book that may be
enjoyed by anyone who likes plants, including
botanists and professional horticulturalists.
I’ve had the pleasure of reading through
(and now reviewing) House Plants by Mike
Maunder. One of a botanical series published
by Reaktion Books, it is one of the few in the
series that considers a great variety of plants,
since most focus on a particular kind, family,
or genus of plants. I have found this book easy
to read and relaxed but compelling, as each
turn of the page reveals unknown connections
and histories of familiar plants that (I must
admit) I have always taken for granted.
Maunder gives a global perspective as he
reveals the history of many well-loved
and common house plants. For centuries,
people have cultivated wild-collected plants
from around the world; consequently,
horticulturists had to figure out how to grow
and propagate species collected in distant
lands. When tropical plants were and are
carried to temperate climates, they must be
overwintered in those frozen latitudes with
protection indoors or in protective sheds.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
111
Early greenhouses (glasshouses) were heated
by burning coals in a barrow wheeled around
the conservatory! Although still a challenge,
keeping plants warm in the winter is easier
nowadays with heating systems, and such
places provide a very welcome respite from
the cold and dry environment indoors
when it is snowing outside. In fact, such
experiences set me on my botanical course
as an undergraduate student at the University
of Michigan—a digression into the personal
here.
Not only did horticulturists figure out how to
grow these imported plants, but they modified
them using various techniques: hybridization,
radiation to engender mutations, and
somaclonal variation (where novel mutations
are induced by micropropagation). From such
manipulations, desirable characteristics have
been selected. Thanks to artificial selection
we have beautiful modifications of flower
colors and shapes, and leaf size and pattern.
Thanks to micropropagation, we now have
previously very rare and special plants (such
as moth orchids, Phalaenopsis) now offered in
many colors and patterns at grocery stores at
affordable prices. This technique is also used
in conservation programs, as in the Million
Orchid Project of Fairchild Tropical Botanic
Garden, propagating native orchids whose
populations have dwindled in nature due to
over-collecting, poaching, and habitat loss.
The many native orchid offspring produced
are used for outplantings not only in natural
areas, but in parks, in schoolyards, and
on city street trees, alleviating pressure on
and strengthening the remaining natural
populations.
I really enjoyed learning about the origins of
many common plants, such as Kalanchoe and
Schlumbergera that now have varieties with
many different flower colors. African violets
(Saintpaulia) originated in Tanzania and
have perhaps the longest history of intensive
breeding following domestication. The many
varieties available today have resulted from
hybridization and subsequent selection
of varieties in different parts of the world.
Freesias and pelargoniums (“geraniums”)
came from the Cape Region of South Africa.
Poinsettias hailed from Mexico, where they
were developed as a horticultural crop and
now are a major industry during the holiday
season in North America. Caladiums, grown
for their large, colorful, patterned leaves, are
grown in the Lake Placid region in Central
Florida. They were collected first in tropical
South America in the 1700s and taken to
breeders in Europe, then came back to the
United States, and then to Thailand, producing
many new colors and patterns of beautiful
foliage.
The author points out that not only do
houseplants alter the Indoor Biome, but the
Urban Biome as well. They alter the ecology
of a home by reducing volatile organic
compounds as well as providing fresh oxygen
as a byproduct of their photosynthesis.
Inside and outside plants are integrated with
building design, used in vertical walls and on
apartment balconies. Grown in planters and
in home landscapes, house plants find homes
outdoors and beautify human living spaces.
Until fairly recently, it was common for
desirable plants to simply be collected from
their natural habitats (many bulb plants,
succulents, and epiphytes [bromeliads,
orchids, and ferns]), with little concern
about conservation. Many of the ancestors
of our favorite houseplants come from
areas known as “biodiversity hotspots,”
PSB 70 (1) 2024
112
and Maunder reviews the origins of many
beautiful species and the special habitats
from which they originated. The ponytail
palm, Beaucarnea recurvata, is endemic to the
dry lands in the Tehuacan Valley in Mexico.
Overcollecting and urban expansion reduced
wild populations by 80%, and it is categorized
as critically endangered. It is now propagated
in commercial nurseries in the Canary
Islands, California, and Thailand, so that most
plants sold today have been legally grown
in nurseries. In the 1990s, I was assisting a
field team studying the reproductive biology
of these fascinating plants (Cardel et al.,
1997), that are dioecious (separate male and
female individuals, with some that apparently
changing sex) and need pollinators to set
seed. I am very glad to learn they are now
commercially grown and widely sold.
Knowing more about many common house
plants makes them all the more fascinating,
and I think that people reading this book
will come away with a deep appreciation
for the origins and original habitats of these
domesticated beings. I find the timeline at
the end of the chapters an interesting review
of the many stories told in the book, simply
illustrating the centuries of domestication
that has led to the popular plants we know and
grow today.
REFERENCES
Cardel, Y., V. Rico-Gray, J. G. García-Franco, and L.
B. Thien. 1997. Ecological Status of Beaucarnea graci-
lis, an Endemic Species of the Semiarid Tehuacán Val-
ley, México. Conservation Biology 11: 367–374.
-Suzanne Koptur, Professor Emerita of Biologi-
cal Sciences, Florida International Univer-
sity and the International Center of Tropical
Botany
Hydrogen Sulfide in Plant
Biology: Past and Present
Samiksha Singh et al.
2021; 978-0323858625 (paper-
back), 9780323858632 (e-book)
$190; 392 pp.
Academic Press
In biology, hydrogen sulfide
(H
2
S) is often viewed as either an environmental
toxin or an exotic environmental component
in the context of extremophiles, far from the
gentler locales typically inhabited by plants
and botanists. In the field, its rotten egg smell
warns of the presence of geothermal features
and potentially inhospitable environments. A
dramatic example of an adaptive plant response
to H
2
S is given by the ‘ōhi’a tree of Hawai’i,
which closes its stomata to avoid toxic doses
of H
2
S, enabling its survival during volcanic
eruptions. However, this is an extreme case of
a widespread phenomenon: H
2
S is involved
in many biological processes, including gas
transfer, in all plants. At lower doses, H
2
S is
an important signaling molecule, along with
other plant gasotransmitters including carbon
monoxide, nitrogen monoxide, methane, and
ethylene. In particular, H
2
S is involved in
responses to many different sources of stress,
which is a major theme of this work.
This book is a collection of reviews by different
experts on the state of knowledge about H
2
S
as a signaling molecule in plants. It is highly
technical and is targeted at readers with a
strong background in chemistry and molecular
biology. Broad biological topics include
the general role of H
2
S as a gasotransmitter
(Chapter 7), its impact on the development
of different organs under stress (Chapters
5, 8), and the regulation of H
2
S homeostasis
(Chapter 17). H
2
S is produced in the
mitochondria, chloroplasts, and cytoplasm,
and it is used by cells to produce cysteine.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
113
H
2
S persulfidates proteins, influencing their
function and transport. It also regulates
transcription, both epigenetically and via
cross-talk with other signaling pathways
(Chapter 9). These chapters discuss not only
how H2S signaling works in intact plants, but
also how exogenous H2S can be used to delay
fruit ripening and senescence of cut flowers.
A particular strength of this book is its
comprehensive treatment of the mechanistic
aspects of different stress responses involving
H
2
S, including how plants respond to
temperature stress (Chapter 1), oxidative
stress (Chapter 3), heavy metal stress (Chapter
4), general abiotic stress (Chapter 6), salt
stress (Chapter 11), drought stress (Chapter
12), and radiation stress (Chapter 14). These
chapters cover how different aspects of abiotic
stress impact plant growth and development,
and how H
2
S and other signaling molecules
counteract some of the negative effects on
plant function. These chapters provide many
biochemical details about the biosynthesis of
H2S, how it is induced, and the mechanisms by
which it impacts cellular processes. Practical
implications include genetic engineering of
crop plants for better tolerance to warmer,
drier conditions, as well as the use of H
2
S to
mitigate damage to tropical fruit caused by
post-harvest cold storage.
The impact of H
2
S is often felt in combination
with other signaling molecules. For example,
it regulates plant growth and fruit ripening
in concert with nitric oxide (NO) and
melatonin (Chapter 2). Its ability to delay
post-harvest ripening appears to be related to
inhibition of enzymes that loosen cell walls,
as well as resistance to oxidative damage.
Interaction with reactive oxygen species
(ROS) is discussed in detail in Chapter 10.
Although H
2
S is a powerful reducing agent in
its own right, its best-known ROS-scavenging
activities are indirect, via its role (with NO)
in upregulation of enzymes like superoxide
dismutase and glutathione reductase that
reduce ROS. It also works in concert with
NO to regulate glutathione homeostasis,
controlling the amount of reducing agents
in the cell. Similarly, H2S interacts with
plants’ Ca
2+
-dependent signaling system to
enhance abiotic stress tolerance (Chapter
16). This effect is realized partly through
persulfidation of key enzymes (preventing
irreversible oxidative damage), by regulating
metal-binding proteins and by helping to
maintain the high K
+
/Na
+
ratio inside cells
even under stress conditions. The crosstalk of
H2S with phytohormones in plant responses
to pathogen attack (Chapter 13) and abiotic
stress (Chapter 15) are also discussed. The
state of knowledge on how different signaling
pathways interact across a wide range of plant
species is presented in meticulous detail.
This book is thorough and scholarly, with
impressive coverage of the current literature.
It provides an extensive review of the current
state of knowledge about the biological roles
of H
2
S in plants. One highly useful feature is
that each chapter includes a well-organized
and informative table of references, each with
a short summary of the major conclusions.
This makes it easy to determine which
references are relevant for future study of
a particular topic. Despite the wealth of
information presented, this book could have
benefited from more editing and curation
of the contents. For example, it lacks an
introduction putting the work in context and
describing the goals and intended audience
of the book. The chapters, although most are
individually very well organized, are presented
apparently without thematic groupings.
Some of the chapters have significant topical
PSB 70 (1) 2024
114
overlap, and the resulting repetition detracts
somewhat from the impact. Overall, this book
is a valuable resource for expert readers who
are seeking a comprehensive literature review
and detailed analyses of specific biological
pathways involving H2S.
-Rachel W. Martin, Departments of Chemistry
and Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Uni-
versity of California, Irvine 92697-2025 USA;
rwmartin@uci.edu
In the Herbarium: The
Hidden World of Collect-
ing and Preserving Plants
Maura C. Flannery
2023; ISBN 978-0-300-24791-6
$35.00 (Hardcover), 325 pp.
Yale University Press, New Haven,
CT
For years, Maura Flannery
contributed a regular column to The American
Biology Teacher, which honed her skills
in writing for a broad, biologically literate
audience. This skill is essential for the success
of a book devoted to collecting and preserving
dead plants—what is commonly understood
by the public to be the primary occupation of
botanists. Besides an engaging writing style,
the author must have a passion for the subject
to bring it to life for a general audience. As
Flannery notes in her first sentence, she was
“moonstruck” on a behind-the-scenes tour of
the Natural History Museum during Botany
2010 when she examined plant and seaweed
specimens from the 19
th
century. On the one
hand was the beauty of the specimens (her
Historical Section presentation that year was
“The Botanist as Artist”). But there was also
the wealth of information on the labels and
sheets that went far beyond the name of the
plant and where it was collected. The passion
she developed during the past dozen years,
for all aspects of collecting, preserving, and
utilizing plant specimens, is clear in this book.
The book begins with a case study illustrating
many of the concepts and topics that will be
covered in the book. Harvard botanist, Oakes
Ames, and his wife, Blanche, travelled to
Berlin in 1922 to meet with Rudolf Schlechter.
Schlechter, like Ames, was an orchid
specialist, and Schlechter’s living and pressed
collections at the Berlin Botanical Garden
were the largest in the world. While Ames
and Schlechter worked on identifications of
new species, Blanche produced watercolors
of each of the species Oakes would bring
back to Harvard. One of the specimens, Fig.
1.1 and the color dustjacket image, illustrates
all the components typically found on an
Ames herbarium sheet: the actual mounted
specimen, the life-size watercolor with inset
floral details in various stages of dissection,
a folded paper packet for smaller parts, label
information for both the specimen and
watercolor, and accession information. The
collection note on the label indicates “From
type plant fide Schltr. Collected in Berlin
Botanic Garden by O.A.” Unfortunately, the
actual type specimen was lost when the Berlin
Garden and Herbarium were destroyed in
WWII, so the Ames specimen serves its place.
A final concept illustrated by this example is
that taxonomy is not static; while it was named
Microstylis philippinensis Kzl. on the label,
it is now Malaxis dentata Ames according
to a more recent annotation on the sheet.
Flannery elaborates on every component
of the construction of this specimen, along
with many other related topics, in subsequent
chapters.
The elaboration begins with a brief history
of early botany, from the Greeks to the early
Italian Renaissance. The focus is on plant
PSB 70 (1) 2024
115
identification and materia medica and includes
establishment of early botanic gardens and
documentation using dried and pressed plant
collections mounted on single sheets or bound
in volumes. One of the Italians Flannery
discusses is Ulisse Aldrovandi, professior of
Natural History at the University of Bologna
in the mid-1500s. He is credited with
formulating a glue for mounting specimens
on sheets of paper that could be stored in
the museum. His personal collection “with
thousands of herbarium specimens alone” (p.
24) still exists (and according to The Guardian
[8 Nov 2023], his 5000 sheets are currently
being used as the baseline for a study of
climate change in northern Italy) (Weston,
2023). This substantiates one of the modern
critical uses of herbaria discussed in the final
chapters.
An obvious, but overlooked, technological
innovation required for herbaria—paper—
is the first subject addressed in Chapter 3. A
certain type of paper is required to absorb
moisture during pressing, but a different type
is required upon which to mount a specimen
to help preserve it and allow for annotations.
Printed labels and accessory illustrations
required a sized surface (gelatin coating) to
make it smooth and to hold pigments. The
innovations in paper processing, and the
printing press, allowed for the production
of prints and herbals as well as for making
and mounting herbarium specimens. Thus,
as collecting expanded around the world,
the tools necessary to process the expanding
volume of plant materials became available.
Seven chapters in the middle of the book detail
different phases of plant exploration, driven by
personal and national motivations and values.
Early European explorers were overwhelmed
with the diversity of plants they encountered
and collecting novelty played a part, but the
primary interest for national support was the
potential for economic gain and medicinal
use. Even if herbarium specimens were not
collected, seeds of described species could
be brought back to Europe, grown out and
exchanged.
Some individuals enjoyed enormous personal
influence, and Flannery devotes a chapter
each to two of them. The first is Hans Sloane,
the English physician and naturalist who,
among other things, founded the Chelsea
Physic Garden and later became President
of the Royal Society. His personal herbarium
collection, numbering in the thousands,
included specimens from more than 280
different collectors, as well as his collection of
“vegetable substances” (seeds, fruits, resins,
etc.) and his art collection and personal library
became the basis of the British Museum;
today they are divided between the Museum,
the British Library, and the Natural History
Museum. One of Sloane’s contemporaries
and correspondents was Linnaeus, best
known for his systems of nomenclature
and classification. Flannery provides a brief
biography illuminating events influencing his
life and his role as a teacher and supporter of
plant explorers. Linnaeus’ herbarium is the
heart of the collection of the Linnean Society
of London.
Later explorations tie more explicitly with
imperial colonialism around the world.
Nations both protected their monopolies and
spread production to other colonies around
the world with the aid of national gardens,
such as Kew in London and the Jardin du Roi
in Paris, and indigenous and/or imported
workers. (The slave trade, as modern society
is becoming much more aware, was intimately
tied to the spread and production of economic
plants and the personal and institutional
fortunes that accumulated.) Flannery also
devotes a chapter to changing attitudes and
legal rights of indigenous peoples and their
associated economically useful plants.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
116
The chapter on evolution takes Linnaeus’ type
specimens and applies Darwin’s recognition of
the roles of variation and selection to form the
basis of systematics—a new way to look at the
relationships between plants. But new tools
developed early in the 20th century, ecology
and genetics, became exciting in their own
right and traditional collecting and herbarium
activities began to decline. Beginning in the
1980s, however, the role of biodiversity and
the subsequent efforts to conserve it refocused
the importance of herbaria to supporting
these efforts. In the last two chapters, Flannery
explains modern approaches to digitizing and
utilizing data from herbaria and presents a
broader vision of how herbaria can be used to
reengage the public through an awareness of
the cultural connections with plants.
This book should have very broad appeal,
but my first recommendation is that it
be required reading for every herbarium
curator, particularly for the final chapter, “A
Broader Vison: Herbaria and Culture.” Yet
the entire book is perfused with nuggets of
information that will probably be new to even
the professional reader and provides broader
perspective. It will also appeal to anyone
with a cultural interest in plants, whether it
be growing plants, their aesthetic value, or
opportunities for recreation or citizen-science.
REFERENCES
Weston, P. 2023. ‘Inestimable importance’: 500-year-
old cache of pressed flowers reveals new secrets. The
Guardian 8 November 2023. https://www.theguard-
ian.com/environment/2023/nov/08/ulisse-aldronvan-
di-500-year-old-pressed-flowers-royal-society-aoe
-Marshall D. Sundberg, KU Affiliate, Uni-
versity of Kansas, Lawrence; Roe R. Cross
Distinguished Professor of Biology – Emeritus,
Emporia State University, Emporia, KS.
The Man Who Organized
Nature: The Life of Linnaeus
Gunnar Broberg (Translated by
Anna Paterson)
2023. ISBN 9780691213422
US$39.96 (Hardcover); 484 pp.
Princeton University Press
Who was Linnaeus? If
he’s included in a current
introductory textbook at all, it will be only in a
paragraph explaining binomial nomenclature
and certainly not as the botanical hero I was
introduced to by Cronquist (1961). Morton
(1981) filled in the details I wanted to provide
in my courses as a young instructor. Then,
in 1994, Isely surprised me by referring to
Linnaeus as “the scribbling Swede” who
produced “…an apoplectic deluge that
continued throughout his life” and that it was
“because of his ingenuity, his industriousness,
and his effectiveness as a PR man, that he put
taxonomy into the big time, the dominant
arena of biology for 100 years” (pp. 88, 90, 92).
Broberg explains all.
Broberg points out that we know more about
Linnaeus than any other Swede of his time—
primarily because of his own paper trail.
He wrote three (or was it four, five, or six?)
autobiographies over the course of his life,
with each resembling a complete, detailed
professional C.V. (Upon his death, one of the
editors of his Vita commented, “Linnaeus is
one of those writers who never discovered
the danger of superlatives… self praise is
no recommendation. (P.2).” He wrote more
than 70 books (with multiple extant revision
manuscripts of many) and more than 176
dissertations (the equivalent of an academic
paper of 10–50 pages each). Most were in
Latin, but some were in Swedish. He had
about 600 regular correspondents, mostly
in Europe, with a total correspondence
of 8000–10,000 documents (archiving is
PSB 70 (1) 2024
117
ongoing; interestingly, there are almost
no personal family papers!). There are
lectures and notebooks (both his and his
students). There are government papers and
university documents signed by or including
Linnaeus. There are secondary sources such
as newspapers, legal documents, published
reviews, etc. Finally, there are 10 previously
published comprehensive biographies, the
earliest in 1792 and most recently in 1999.
Linnaeus was prolific and concerned with the
preservation of his work; Broberg examined
most, if not all, of this written work and
incorporates a wide breadth of it in this book.
The text is divided into three parts that cover:
(1) his youth, education, and major influences;
(2) his professional life at the university,
professional service to the government, and
home life; (3) his later life at home, with
students and colleagues, with friends and
acquaintances, and with growing old.
Linnaeus was born May 23, 1707, the first
born of a poor country minister in southern
Sweden—but his father loved plants and
taught Linnaeus their Latin names from
youth. At nine he was sent to a boarding
school where his study skills began to be
honed. Forty-seven required hours a week
were spent in the classroom with 17 devoted
to Latin (language was not one of Linnaeus’
strengths). But he was taken under the wing
of Johan Rothman, who taught the natural
sciences and introduced Linnaeus to sex in
plants. Linnaeus also began a life-long habit
of annotating the pages of books and papers
and began keeping a personal notebook
(The Book of Herbs) that included botanical
notes from his readings and sketches and
descriptions of the plants he observed. Not a
scholar, Linnaeus graduated 11
th
of 15 students
in 1727, but Rothman’s private tutoring and
a recommendation gained him entry to the
University of Lund to study medicine. His
father presented him with a folio copy of
Aristotle’s Historia animalium. Within four
days he found a new mentor, Kilian Stobaeus,
a physician and professor of Natural History
who was impressed by Linnaeus’ knowledge
of botany and love of reading and virtually
adopted him as a son with privileges to his
library. Although Linnaeus transferred to
Uppsala suddenly the next year, he continued
corresponding with Stobaeus at least until
his Lapland trip in 1732. After a difficult first
year, Linnaeus, by chance, met a new mentor,
the botanist Olaf Celsius, outside the Lund
Botanical Garden. Linnaeus tutored private
pupils and began developing a reputation
as an engaging lecturer in his position as
Temporary Botanical Demonstrator. Linnaeus
later noted that this was the year he began
writing Fundamenta Botanica and testing
his ideas for a classification system. In the
printed Postscript, he later wrote: “And I can
assure you of this, namely that with time you
[the book] will come to inhabit the palace of
Botanices principum.” By now his personal
library contained more than 130 books in a
variety of subjects but mostly medical (59),
botanical (25), Materia medica (11), and a
copy of his Vita Caroli Linnaei.
Linnaeus’ 1732 journey through Lapland,
sponsored by the Royal Society of Sciences
in Uppsala, was as significant to him—to his
medical training as well as his natural history—
as the Beagle Voyage was to Darwin. For the
rest of his life, and in every way, “Linnaeus
was always unequivocally positive about the
Sami [Laplanders]” (p. 300). For instance,
the year following his return, in a lecture on
the animal kingdom, Linnaeus recognized
four geographic variations of Homo sapiens,
PSB 70 (1) 2024
118
“…white Europeans, brown Asiatics, black
Africans, and red Indians…” and in several
later publications, including later editions
of Systema Naturae, these would be ranked
for various features—black Africans were
invariably last, but the Sami and indigenous
red variants were usually ranked above white
Europeans.
Linnaeus’ plan for 1733 was to write and
lecture; of the dozen books and articles he
had planned, one, Fundamenta Botanica,
was ready for print the following year. In
January 1735, he met and wooed his future
wife, Sara, and was engaged in three weeks.
Apparently, a stipulation of his future father-
in-law was to go abroad to study. Linnaeus
had been in university for seven years but
a doctorate in medicine was not available
from Swedish Universities, so it was off to
Harderwijk, Holland. A Dutch rhyme of the
time translates: “Harderwijk is a trading town/
It sells smoked herrings and doctorates” (p.
110). Again, Linnaeus had the fortune to be
introduced to a botanical influencer, in this
case Boerhaave, in Leyden, who provided a
letter of introduction to Sloane in London and
connected him with Clifford, Holland’s third-
wealthiest trader, who employed Linnaeus in
his garden, stocked with European and exotic
specimens. When Linnaeus left for Holland
in 1735, he brought a stack of manuscripts
(Hoffman’s 1737 portrait of Linnaeus in a
Sami Costume shows at least eight, including:
Systema Naturae; Critica Botanica, Flora
Lapponica, and Classes Planarum); by his
return to Sweden, in 1738, these were among
14 published works and a growing network of
correspondents.
The return to Sweden marked the beginning
of Linnaeus’ maturation as an academic and
administrator. Although he had developed
a reputation among botanists abroad, he
remained relatively unknown at home.
Linnaeus began a medical practice in
Stockholm as well as presenting well-received
public botany lectures. On 2 June 1739,
Linnaeus was elected founding President
of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences,
and 24 days later he married Sara. Academy
connections led to projects on behalf of
Parliament and ultimately to his move to
Uppsala where he was appointed Professor on
5 May 1741. For the next 35 years Linnaeus
settled into an efficient and productive routine
of teaching, writing, and administrative
service. He always had multiple manuscript
drafts for books and dissertations in process
or in revision as he continued his prolific
publishing. This impinged on his homelife as
well as his time at the university. Like many
young scholars, even today, he “burned the
candle at both ends,” but this habit persisted
even into his later years. In later life his son
noted that Linnaeus slept longer in winter
than in summer, but he tended to take cat
naps throughout the day and botanical work
was done mostly during the brightest hours. A
visiting student wrote in his notebook that “…
when everything was silent in the house, he
[Linnaeus] would get out of bed and sit down
to work all night toward the morning when he
would again to go have a rest and sleep for as
long as he believed himself to need.” (p. 326).
Linnaeus’ longest project was Systema Naturae,
which went through 12 editions from 1735 to
1766, 1768. The first edition, which included
plants, animals, and minerals, was a 12-page
manuscript. By the sixth edition, 13 years later,
220 pages were needed to document a total of
26,500 species (about 6000 plants and 5000
animals), and he felt confident in predicting
the total number of plants would be less than
10,000. But that year he also received a letter
from Peter Kalm, his disciple, about collecting
PSB 70 (1) 2024
119
in North America: “Wherever I looked there
were plants I had never before seed. I shudder
with dread at this revelation of such a large
part of natural history being unknown to us”
(p. 337). Beginning with the 10th edition,
minerals were no longer included and by the
12th edition, plants and animals filled 2300
pages—10 times as many as 20 years previous
when he predicted fewer than 10,000 plants.
Linnaeus concluded that new plants were still
being created and that the number of species
was increasing; he also identified hybridization
but thought that would only be important in
producing varieties, like the Homo sapiens
situation mentioned previously. He also knew
that his classification system was artificial and
that a more natural system would eventually
be discovered.
In 1768 he addressed his concerns with the
direction of education at the University:
“Since 1750, I have sensed how the sciences
have more and more declined and still
continue waning in our country” (p. 345).
But he also realized that his kind of science
was now out of favor. The previous year he
published Metamorphosis humane in which he
described the 12 phases that signal old age. To
his long-time patron, Carl Gustaf Tessin, he
wrote: “At the age of between 20 and 30 years,
we believe ourselves to know and understand
everything; at least I was never again as
convinced of my learning as when I was 24.”
He was becoming increasingly restricted by
his physical limitations, gradually cutting
back his commitments and finally retiring in
1776. He died within two years, on 10 January
1778.
Broberg documents Linnaeus’ scientific
innovations—not only binomial
nomenclature, but also his lifelong passion
to classify the natural world. His particular
passion for botany grew from his father’s
influence and included both natural science
and its practical applications. His father also
passed on an appreciation for the value of
books so that by the time he left university, he
was already a “scribbling Swede”; many of his
books were filled with marginal annotations
and he was filling notebooks with copious
notes from nature, classes, and reading. Later
he turned to notecards for filing. He quickly
realized that writing was not only a technique
for spreading information but a way to gain
recognition and support. This helped him
“make his own luck” in finding mentors and
sponsors and recruiting young botanists. He
was a PR man for himself and for botany. His
brief travels in Lapland not only introduced
him to natural variation due to environmental
extremes but led him to develop a deep
respect for Sami culture, which influenced
his thinking on medicine, human culture and
natural history. Finally, I was most impressed
with his dedication to teaching and pedagogy,
well documented in his own writings and by
letters from students and colleagues—all in
an effort to recruit more students to botany.
Some might voice concern with a lack of
political correctness in Broberg’s language,
but considering that this is a translation and
that most of the “offending” terms or ideas are
in Linnaeus’ own words from 300 years ago,
I take that as no offense. In fact, I think that
the quotes in the book (there are many both
from Linnaeus and his contemporaries) are
a strength that draws one into a sense of the
times. There are extensive endnotes for each
chapter and a thorough listing of sources and
literature. True to its title, this is a biography
about Linnaeus the man, not just the scientist.
Although not for the general reader, it will
be of interest to scientists, social scientists,
historians, and philosophers of science.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
120
REFERENCES
Cronquist, A. 1961. Introductory Botany. New York,
Harper & Row.
Isely, D. 1994. One Hundred and One Botanists.
Ames, Iowa. Iowa State University Press.
Morton, A. G. 1981. History of Botanical Science.
New York, Academic Press.
-Marshall D. Sundberg. Kansas University
Affiliate and Roe R. Cross Distinguished Pro-
fessor of Biology – Emeritus, Emporia State
University.
Parasitic Weeds of Jordan:
Species, Hosts, Distribution
and Management. Part I.
Root Parasites: Orobancha-
ceae, Santalaceae & Cyno-
moriaceae.
by Jamal Ragheb Qasem. 2022.
Bentham Science Publishers,
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. 365+xxiii pages. ISBN
978-1-68108-4. Price not given.
For its size, Jordan has a remarkable diversity
of parasitic angiosperms not all of which are
“weeds” but rather benign components of
the local flora. No one knows these plants
better than Jamal Qasem who provides
an exhaustive overview of most Jordanian
parasitic plants. In person, he is enthusiastic
about these parasites; this enthusiasm and
depth of knowledge comes to print in this
book and provides the most comprehensive
national treatment of such plants.
The volumes (I am treating them together)
are clearly laid out. There is a thorough
introduction to these unusual organisms,
enough to introduce the subject to someone
new to the subject. This is followed by
treatments of each family and genus including
the following: germination and development
(particularly germane when discussing
parasites), contact and attachment; biology,
ecology, and physiology; distribution and
host range, economic importance (including
ethnobotany), and control. The section
concludes with many images, and extensive
references. Based on the author’s intimate
knowledge of the weedscape, it is surprising
there are no distribution maps for the species.
One could argue over important things
like an updated taxonomy. For example,
Cuscuta has been shown to clearly belong
in the Convolvulaceae not the monogeneric
Cuscutaceae. The genus Orobanche taxonomy
is in a state of flux and the author can be
excused for using some names not currently
recognized.
A truly authoritative work would distinguish
among the species in the genus. For example,
rather than Cuscuta sp., give the species name,
e.g., Cuscuta speciesname.
The volumes are well edited, the images are
not. This could be a magisterial work if there
were proper images. They are of inferior
quality, often out of focus, and frequently do
not clearly display the features mentioned in
the legends. And there are too many of them.
How many images of branched broomrape on
tomato do I need to see to learn that branched
broomrape attacks tomato?
A few images are even misidentified, especially
in the Cuscuta chapter. Page 129 is purported
to show Cuscuta monogyna on an orange tree
but the flowers having two stigmas places
this plant in the subgenus Grammica, not the
subgenus Monogyna, making it most likely to
be C. campestris. I am leery of claiming that
Cuscuta and Orobanche species can parasitize
grasses, but the images are too inferior in
quality to verify the purported parasitic
connection.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
121
Parasitic plants that are not serious
agricultural problems are also included. Two
species of mistletoe are discussed as well
as the remarkable Cynomorium coccineum
(Cynomoriaceae) and the strikingly beautiful
species of Cistanche (Orobanchaceae)—
both are genera found in deserts. The genera
Thesium (Thesiaceae) and Osyris (Osyriaceae
or Santalaceae) are included. Like the
aforementioned they have little economic
importance.
A major thrust of the author’s work is the
documentation of host range for each of the
species or species groups he includes. Like
other workers, he does not clearly distinguish
between host preference and host range.
However, unlike some parasitic plant workers,
Qasem attempts to show the host-parasite
connection, the only way to document
authentic parasitism, but again the problem
is the blurred picture. Inclusion of pictures
showing parasites “under” or “near” a possible
host are not helpful. His compilation of hosts
is the most complete I know of and is based on
his extensive review of the literature as well as
his many years studying plants firsthand.
Despite the failure to provide clear images
for many if not most of the parasites, this is
a book of value to agriculturalists, botanists,
ethnobotanists, and extension workers in
Jordan as well as those beyond the borders of
the Hashemite Kingdom. It is an important
contribution to the literature of parasitic
angiosperms.
-Lytton John Musselman Old Dominion Uni-
versity and Blackwater Ecological Preserve
Solomon Described Plants:
A Botanical Guide to Plant
Life in the Bible
Lytton John Musselman
2022. ISBN: 978-1-7252-5576-0
US$47.00 (paperback); 328 pp.
Cascade Books, Eugene Oregon
Solomon described… is
a reference to the eight
chapters of the Old Testament “Song of
Solomon” (Song of Songs) attributed to the
Hebrew king/naturalist who mentions 23
different plants or plant products (including
caper, henna, saffron, and walnut) in its
verses. One of the first things Musselman
addresses is which version of the Bible are you
referring to? All Bibles are translations, and he
examined 13 contemporary English editions
and occasionally cites Greek translations and
the Qur’an. In total, he describes 80 plants.
This is about one third of the species covered
by Moldenke and Moldenke (1952) in their
classic “Plants of the Bible.” Whereas Moldenke
includes every name, and alternative possible
names, mentioned in each of the translations
they examined, Musselman consolidates
this information, along with his personal
knowledge of current and past habitats and
distributions to determine the most likely
identification for each of the plants covered.
The general arrangement of the text is similar
to that used in the earlier book, an alphabetical
arrangement by name, but it is clear that
Musselman is targeting a much broader
general audience than the botanically focused
Moldenke; the order of the present text is by
common name. He also includes a few plants
“in Bible lore but not in the Bible,” most
notably apple, that plant so evil in the Garden
of Eden that it was given the name Malus.
PSB 70 (1) 2024
122
Another clear difference between the texts is
Musselman’s ethnobotanical orientation. He
includes the use of each plant in ancient times
as well as contemporary use both by local
people and in commercial world culture.
An alternative title might be “Musselman
Describes Plants of the Bible” because one
of the most delightful aspects of this book
are the personal insights the author injects
into many of the descriptions, especially
of edible plants, spices, and aromatics. For
instance, “Looks are deceiving… fresh olive
is very bitter and unpalatable…” leads into
a brief description of how both fruit and oil
were and are processed. Seeing and hearing
the roar and popping of burning reeds in a
wildfire while doing fieldwork allowed him
to relate the terror of soldiers in Jeremiah
51 as a marsh burns out of control. The heat
vaporizes water in the stems, which explode
as the vapor escapes. He values and relates the
insight of locals: “Arab friends warned me that
it was very toxic…it reminded me of the taste
of ground cherry.” Throughout he exhibits a
subtle sense of humor. Tamarisk is a genus
native to the Dead Sea area that has become
invasive in many arid areas: “Tamarisk may be
visiting in an area near you.” Explanations like
these make the text very personal and very
relatable.
The book is profusely illustrated with the
author’s photographs of landscapes, plant
habits, closeups of characteristic parts, and
economic uses. It has an extensive bibliography
of references and subject index and a complete
scriptural index. One of the author’s stated
goals is “to improve the plant fluency for the
serious reader of the Scriptures….” It will do
likewise for any general reader; I encourage
you to recommend it for your local public
library as well as school libraries to raise plant
awareness!
REFERENCES
Moldenke, H. D., and A. L. Moldenke. 1952. Plants
of the Bible. Chronica Botanica Company, Waltham,
MA.
-Marshall D. Sundberg. Kansas University
Affiliate and Roe R. Cross Distinguished Pro-
fessor of Biology – Emeritus, Emporia State
University.
The Botanical Society of
America is a membership soci-
ety whose mission is to: pro-
mote botany, the field of basic
science dealing with the study
& inquiry into the form, func-
tion, development, diversity,
reproduction, evolution, & uses
of plants & their interactions
within the biosphere.
ISSN 0032-0919
Published 3 times a year by
Botanical Society of America, Inc.
4475 Castleman Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63166-0299
Periodicals postage is paid at
St. Louis, MO & additional
mailing offices.
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to:
Botanical Society of America
Business Office
P.O. Box 299
St. Louis, MO 63166-0299
bsa-manager@botany.org
The yearly subscription rate
of $15 is included
in the membership
Address Editorial Matters (only) to:
Mackenzie Taylor, Editor
Department of Biology
Creighton University
2500 California Plaza
Omaha, NE 68178
Phone 402-280-2157
psb@botany.org
Plant Science Bulletin
Learn more at licor.com/600N
Porometer/Fluorometer
NEW
LI-600N
Measure stomatal conductance and
chlorophyll fluorescence of single needles,
narrow leaves, and grasses.
View on Issuu.com
