Botanical Expedition! - Botanical Research Institute of Texas
Botanical Expedition! - Botanical Research Institute of Texas
Botanical Expedition! - Botanical Research Institute of Texas
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a publication <strong>of</strong> the botanical research institute <strong>of</strong> texas<br />
volume 18, no. 2, 2007<br />
<strong>Botanical</strong><br />
<strong>Expedition</strong>!<br />
(see page 14)
Director’s<br />
Note<br />
Sy Sohmer<br />
Making a <strong>Botanical</strong><br />
<strong>Institute</strong> From Scratch<br />
This is the fanciful title <strong>of</strong> the talk I am<br />
Nearly<br />
Revisiting the history <strong>of</strong> BRIT<br />
presenting to the Royal Horticultural Society in early<br />
September in a dual program <strong>of</strong> the RHS and the<br />
Worshipful Company <strong>of</strong> Gardeners. The latter is one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ancient and prestigious guilds that constitute<br />
the Corporation <strong>of</strong> the City <strong>of</strong> London. I am very<br />
privileged to be, at present, the only American<br />
member <strong>of</strong> the guild, having been installed in July<br />
<strong>of</strong> 2005. Since the lecture directly addresses the<br />
wonderful success BRIT has had over the past 12<br />
years or so, I thought I would share it with all <strong>of</strong> you<br />
here, in a somewhat modified version.<br />
The <strong>Botanical</strong> <strong>Research</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong> (BRIT)<br />
was formed on paper in 1987 and was based on<br />
the collections accumulated at Southern Methodist<br />
University. BRIT moved into warehouse space in<br />
downtown Fort Worth in 1991 and its herbarium<br />
has grown from about 400,000 specimens to over<br />
1 million today. Its horticultural and botanical library<br />
expanded similarly from about 50,000 books and<br />
journals to about 95,000 during the same period.<br />
The budget has grown from about $175,000 per<br />
annum in 1993 to about $3 million today, and its<br />
staff from three to over 30. The core <strong>of</strong> the general<br />
operating support is based on the generosity <strong>of</strong><br />
the Bass and Richardson Foundations (without<br />
which there would be no BRIT), and much <strong>of</strong> the<br />
growth has been due to the ability <strong>of</strong> staff to obtain<br />
grants for their particular programs. The largest<br />
<strong>of</strong> these grants was one <strong>of</strong> $2.3 million from the<br />
Moore Foundation for our program in the Peruvian<br />
Amazon. The program, since its inception, has been<br />
in nearly every issue <strong>of</strong> Iridos, including this one.<br />
All <strong>of</strong> BRIT’s operating costs are obtained<br />
as donations from the private sector and most<br />
<strong>of</strong> its projects are funded by grants from private<br />
foundations along with state and national<br />
government agencies, such as the National Science<br />
Foundation. During the past 12 years, BRIT has<br />
established leading programs in horticulture,<br />
taxonomy, ecology, and database management in the<br />
Peruvian Amazon. BRIT has led major collection<br />
activities in Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.<br />
And on a more local level, we’re producing the<br />
definitive volumes on the flora <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong> through the<br />
Illustrated <strong>Texas</strong> Floras Project. BRIT maintains<br />
a leading press, publishing a respected scientific<br />
journal and a number <strong>of</strong> significant books each year.<br />
Its education program reaches thousands <strong>of</strong> people<br />
a year and has broken new ground in a number <strong>of</strong><br />
areas, particularly with getting children and teachers<br />
outdoors to connect with the environment and<br />
fostering their sense <strong>of</strong> wonder and their sense <strong>of</strong><br />
place. In addition to all these activities, BRIT is<br />
in the early stages <strong>of</strong> its first capital campaign to<br />
build a permanent home adjacent to the Fort Worth<br />
Botanic Garden.<br />
The new building will provide the foundation for<br />
an institute that will take its place among the most<br />
significant botanical organizations in the world, and<br />
allow us to more fully collaborate with all <strong>of</strong> our<br />
friends and colleagues at the Botanic Garden.
table <strong>of</strong> contents<br />
5 Green from the Ground UP<br />
8 Relaxed Atmosphere Pervades BRIT’s 2007 Annual<br />
International Conservation Award Gala<br />
10 An Ancient Chinese Herbal Medicine Helps the Global Fight<br />
Against Malaria<br />
12 Shinners Society visits Kew<br />
13 NDD: Nature Deficit Disorder. What’s the Cure?<br />
14 BRIT’s Administrative Side Gets Feet Wet in Amazon<br />
16 BRIT Distinguished Lecturer Series<br />
17 Awards Corner<br />
17 UTA Herbarium Donated to BRIT<br />
18 BRIT Connects to Distance Learning<br />
19 BRIT’s Brown Bag Botany Needs a Bigger Bag<br />
20 Trading Cards, Space Exploration, and BRIT Books<br />
21 A Juicy Event you won’t want to MISS!<br />
22 BRIT Press<br />
23 Botany 101 for Lifelong Learners<br />
23 Get Ready for a Magical Experience…<br />
24 Twenty Hours and Counting: The Journey <strong>of</strong> a Lifetime<br />
25 NSF Awards Grant to BRIT<br />
26 BRIT Donations<br />
jUDy SECREST<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
3
iridos<br />
A publication <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Botanical</strong> <strong>Research</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong><br />
509 Pecan Street, Suite 101, Fort Worth, <strong>Texas</strong> 76102-4068<br />
817.332.4441<br />
Metro 817.429.3200<br />
Fax 817.332.4112<br />
www.brit.org<br />
Robert George, EDITOR<br />
S.H. Sohmer<br />
DIRECTOR<br />
Patricia Harrison<br />
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF EDUCATION<br />
Cleve Lancaster<br />
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT<br />
judy Secrest<br />
EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT<br />
& HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES<br />
O’Letha Griffin<br />
RECEPTIONIST<br />
COLLECTIONS<br />
Amanda Neill, Herbarium Director<br />
Lee Luckeydoo, Collections Manager<br />
Tinna Franklin, Collections Assistant<br />
Brooke Byerley<br />
Aaron Schad<br />
Michiko Stone, Plant Mounter<br />
EDUCATION<br />
Pam Chamberlain<br />
Pat Dorraj<br />
Amber Keller<br />
Kathy Scott<br />
RESEARCH<br />
ANDES TO AMAZON BIODIVERSITy PROGRAM<br />
john janovec, Co-director<br />
Amanda Neill, Co-director<br />
Fort Worth<br />
justin Allison<br />
jason Best<br />
Tiana Franklin<br />
Keri McNew<br />
Andrew Reina<br />
Andy Waltke<br />
LIBRARY<br />
Gary jennings<br />
Peru<br />
Angel Belarezo<br />
Pedro Centeno<br />
Benjamín Chambi<br />
Miguel Chocce<br />
Fernando Cornejo<br />
Dario Cruz<br />
javier Huinga<br />
Piher Maceda<br />
Renán Valega<br />
jason Wells<br />
FLORA OF EAST TEXAS PROjECT<br />
Robert George<br />
Barney Lipscomb<br />
FLORAS<br />
Guy Nesom<br />
DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL EVENTS/MEMBERSHIP<br />
Tammie Crole<br />
Patty Marksteiner<br />
Amanda Morris<br />
CONSULTANTS<br />
Iridos Design - jennifer Henderson, jODesign<br />
Iridos Editorial - Paige Hendricks, PHPR<br />
Distribution is free to those providing support to BRIT. Comments and<br />
suggestions are welcomed and may be sent to the editor at rgeorge@brit.org.<br />
Conveying an unwritten message with flowers was prevalent in the 18th and<br />
19th centuries and came to be known as “the language <strong>of</strong> flowers.” Iridos is<br />
the Greek word for iris. Iris is a sweet-smelling flower and was the symbol <strong>of</strong><br />
the mythological character Iridos, the messenger <strong>of</strong> the ancient Greek gods.<br />
Iridos was the goddess <strong>of</strong> the rainbow, winging a message across the sky; in<br />
the Iliad, she was the swift-footed messenger <strong>of</strong> Zeus and Hera. Iridos was<br />
selected to carry BRIT’s message.<br />
Mission: To conserve our natural heritage by deepening our knowledge <strong>of</strong><br />
the plant world and achieving public understanding <strong>of</strong> the value plants bring<br />
to life.<br />
©2007 <strong>Botanical</strong> <strong>Research</strong> Institure <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong><br />
PUBLICATIONS<br />
Barney Lipscomb, Head<br />
judy MacKenzie<br />
Patrons,<br />
In my eight years at BRIT I’ve seen many changes, but none<br />
so dramatic as witnessed in the last year or more. Staff has<br />
grown as have our goals and aspirations. Our anticipation<br />
also grows as the dream <strong>of</strong> a permanent home comes closer<br />
to reality. Never have I been a part <strong>of</strong> an organization so<br />
dedicated to, and ready for, such a demanding change. We<br />
all see BRIT’s new home as the springboard that will propel our ability to<br />
meet the demanding challenges <strong>of</strong> this advancing century. Once again, I<br />
hope this issue <strong>of</strong> Iridos gives an interesting and informative account <strong>of</strong><br />
the last several months and a glimpse <strong>of</strong> what lies ahead.<br />
Robert George, Editor<br />
BRIT Spotlight<br />
Erratum: We express our most sincere apology for incorrectly referring to<br />
Shinners Society member Marci Mercado as Mercedes Mercado in the<br />
last Iridos: Volume 8, Number One, page 16. We regret the error.<br />
Executive Administrative Assistant and Head <strong>of</strong> Human<br />
Resources judy Secrest joined the BRIT staff about<br />
three years ago. She arrived by way <strong>of</strong> Austin, <strong>Texas</strong>,<br />
but has family in the Dallas/Fort Worth area—something<br />
that’s very important to her. Her position, though<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten underestimated, is crucial to the smooth operation <strong>of</strong> the entire<br />
organization. Also, as Head <strong>of</strong> Human Resources she is an energetic<br />
advocate for all the BRIT staff. Outside <strong>of</strong> BRIT she is active in her church<br />
and enjoys hiking and camping (see related story on page 14).<br />
Judy Secrest<br />
COVER PHOTO By TIANA FRANkLIN: A BRIT <strong>Expedition</strong> Team Navigating the Río Madre de Dios in Peru
y Cleve<br />
lanCaster,<br />
direCtor <strong>of</strong><br />
development<br />
Green<br />
f r o m t h e<br />
Ground<br />
UP<br />
It could be said that the greatest<br />
architecture is found in nature.<br />
Engineering and aesthetic triumphs abound in<br />
the plant world—in the towering trees <strong>of</strong> a forest<br />
and in the delicate curves <strong>of</strong> a lady’s-slipper<br />
orchid. Humans created architecture at its best<br />
to provide pr<strong>of</strong>ound beauty while showing Homo<br />
sapiens’ dominance over the forces <strong>of</strong> nature. Has<br />
the pendulum <strong>of</strong> subduing nature perhaps swung<br />
to the extreme?
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
6<br />
A Building to REflEct thE Mission<br />
An opportunity to explore that question<br />
came to BRIT as it began developing plans<br />
for a new headquarters adjacent to the Fort<br />
Worth Botanic Garden. We want to use<br />
the natural properties <strong>of</strong> our earth and its<br />
plants as we construct the facility. Ideally,<br />
the building will express BRIT’s mission to<br />
conserve our natural heritage by deepening<br />
our knowledge <strong>of</strong> the plant world and<br />
achieving public understanding <strong>of</strong> the value<br />
plants bring to life.<br />
“We are committed to fulfilling our<br />
mission in this exciting process,” says Sy<br />
Sohmer, BRIT Executive Director and<br />
President.<br />
A discovery phase began in the spring<br />
<strong>of</strong> 2006 with what is called an ecocharrette.<br />
With “green” design experts<br />
facilitating, we participated in a day-long<br />
meeting with architects, engineers, BRIT<br />
administrative staff, board members serving<br />
on an Owners Group Committee, and<br />
other stakeholders. We explored the full<br />
range <strong>of</strong> design and energy components<br />
that could be part <strong>of</strong> a new building. It<br />
became clear that the process would be<br />
guided by and include Leadership in Energy<br />
and Environmental Design (L.E.E.D.)<br />
certification. Additionally, at the core <strong>of</strong><br />
consideration was the view that the building<br />
itself would teach BRIT’s mission through<br />
demonstration.<br />
Historically, BRIT’s programs are<br />
managed in four major areas: collections,<br />
research, publications and education. Each<br />
has extraordinarily diverse requirements<br />
<strong>of</strong> climate and light control. A new, fifth<br />
element—the visiting public, in large<br />
numbers—added a challenge as the work<br />
space for the programs was considered<br />
for the new building. Accommodating<br />
people working at BRIT and people visiting<br />
BRIT would require a building design that<br />
balanced the need to preserve scientific<br />
collections with the need to create a<br />
comfortable interior for visitors.<br />
gREEn nuts And Bolts<br />
From an environmental perspective, we<br />
looked at the following challenges and how<br />
to ameliorate potential problems:<br />
g Water use and conservation – abatement<br />
<strong>of</strong> pollutants in run<strong>of</strong>f from parking areas,<br />
capture <strong>of</strong> rainwater, use <strong>of</strong><br />
drought tolerant plant species<br />
g Sunlight control – position the building<br />
to maximize illumination <strong>of</strong> interiors and<br />
provide screening to<br />
control solar heat gain,<br />
– position windows to<br />
maximize illumination<br />
<strong>of</strong> work areas<br />
and minimize the<br />
damaging effects <strong>of</strong><br />
sunlight in the library<br />
and herbarium<br />
g Light pollution – select<br />
lighting fixtures that<br />
control the escape <strong>of</strong><br />
light to surrounding<br />
urban area<br />
g Heat island control<br />
– design exterior to<br />
increase reflective<br />
properties <strong>of</strong> surfaces<br />
that decrease<br />
temperatures in the<br />
surrounding landscape<br />
g Energy conservation<br />
– use geothermal<br />
strategies to reduce<br />
energy consumption in<br />
heating and cooling, and<br />
use natural insulating<br />
properties <strong>of</strong> plants<br />
g Carbon pollution –<br />
select materials for<br />
exterior and interior that minimize the<br />
carbon produced by manufacturing,<br />
transportation to building site, and<br />
materials installation<br />
From a community impact perspective,<br />
we questioned how one creates a home<br />
for BRIT that complements the human<br />
architecture <strong>of</strong> the Botanic Garden and<br />
Cultural District while making tangible the<br />
conservation mission at the institute’s core.<br />
Several <strong>of</strong> the possible answers have been<br />
discussed in the months since the ecocharrette;<br />
we now share them with you.<br />
From the ground up, we feel the new<br />
The term “heat island” refers to urban air and surface temperatures<br />
that are higher than nearby rural areas. Many U.S. cities and suburbs have<br />
air temperatures up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the surrounding<br />
natural land cover.<br />
The heat island above shows a city’s heat island pr<strong>of</strong>ile. It shows how<br />
urban temperatures are usually lower at the urban-rural border than in<br />
dense downtown areas. The graphic also shows how parks, open land, and<br />
bodies <strong>of</strong> water can create cooler areas.<br />
Heat islands form as cities replace natural land cover with pavement,<br />
buildings, and other structures. These areas absorb more <strong>of</strong> the sun’s<br />
heat than natural surfaces, causing surface and air temperatures to rise.<br />
The loss <strong>of</strong> trees and shrubs also eliminates the natural cooling effects <strong>of</strong><br />
shading and evapotranspiration, a process that draws heat from the air to<br />
convert water contained in vegetation to water vapor.<br />
COURTESy NATURAL RESOURCES CANADA
COURTESy CNRC<br />
facility should address the issue <strong>of</strong> water<br />
conservation through innovative parking<br />
for visitors to the garden and BRIT. To this<br />
end, we are exploring ways to reduce asphalt<br />
and other paving to a minimum by using<br />
permeable systems that allow rainwater to<br />
pass through a green-planted parking lot.<br />
These systems allow pollutants transferred<br />
from cars to the planted parking surface<br />
to be carried by rainwater and flow into<br />
specially prepared aggregates <strong>of</strong> soil and<br />
membranes; there, the pollutants are broken<br />
down. Finally, the cleansed rainwater enters<br />
the watershed for a slow underground<br />
journey to the Trinity River.<br />
We plan to further address water<br />
conservation, control <strong>of</strong> run<strong>of</strong>f, and heat<br />
island effect issues with a planted ro<strong>of</strong>.<br />
A green ro<strong>of</strong> slows rain run<strong>of</strong>f and allows<br />
any run<strong>of</strong>f to be captured. In one strategy<br />
considered, run<strong>of</strong>f from the ro<strong>of</strong> and<br />
surrounding landscape could be captured in a<br />
retention pond. The pond would then provide<br />
water in low rain periods and serve as an<br />
educational demonstration <strong>of</strong> the importance<br />
<strong>of</strong> wetlands. Planted ro<strong>of</strong>s also reduce the<br />
Vegetation<br />
Growing Medium<br />
Filter Layer<br />
Drainage Layer<br />
Ro<strong>of</strong> Membrane<br />
Fiberboard<br />
Thermal Insulation<br />
Vapour Barrier<br />
Gypsum Board<br />
Steel Deck<br />
number <strong>of</strong> reflective surfaces, helping control<br />
heat island issues, as do the planted walls<br />
being considered for much <strong>of</strong> the building.<br />
Both ro<strong>of</strong> and walls could utilize the natural<br />
insulating and cooling properties <strong>of</strong> plants.<br />
The sun’s path through the southern sky<br />
provides both opportunities and challenges<br />
for energy efficiencies. We calculated the<br />
sun’s impact on lighting and temperature<br />
gain, and have discussed the orientation <strong>of</strong><br />
the building and shading options.<br />
For the new building, planned energy<br />
conservation begins below ground. Here, we<br />
envision one <strong>of</strong> several types <strong>of</strong> geothermal<br />
systems available for heating and cooling the<br />
building. One such system is composed <strong>of</strong><br />
a set <strong>of</strong> subterranean pipes extending 250<br />
feet underground where the earth provides<br />
a constant temperature <strong>of</strong> about 50 degrees<br />
Fahrenheit. Through the closed recycling<br />
pipe system we’ll be able to exploit the 50<br />
degree temperature for cooling and—with a<br />
little energy boost—for heating, too. Such<br />
systems are estimated to reduce energy<br />
demand by 50 percent.<br />
Carbon production could be limited, as<br />
Green Ro<strong>of</strong> System Reference Ro<strong>of</strong><br />
Diagrammatic <strong>of</strong> a green ro<strong>of</strong> versus a traditional ro<strong>of</strong><br />
Diagrammatic <strong>of</strong> a geothermal system for cooling and heating<br />
well. When possible, we will select materials<br />
manufactured with little carbon output and<br />
made within a few hundred miles <strong>of</strong> Fort<br />
Worth. The proximity to the site reduces the<br />
carbon produced by transportation.<br />
Planning green to meet L.E.E.D.<br />
certification is challenging. BRIT is<br />
dedicated to meeting the challenge as plans<br />
for its headquarters continue to evolve. The<br />
collaboration <strong>of</strong> human architecture and<br />
nature’s gifts promises to show the many<br />
ways we can support a sustainable world.<br />
COURTESy DEPT. OF ENERGy<br />
7<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
8<br />
These were not the words we expected<br />
to hear from BRIT’s International Award<br />
<strong>of</strong> Excellence in Conservation recipient,<br />
Ruth Carter Stevenson. But the next<br />
words quickly neutralized the impact.<br />
“I soon learned why.” A collective sigh<br />
<strong>of</strong> relief emanated from over 500 guests<br />
seated in the ballroom <strong>of</strong> the Renaissance<br />
Worthington Hotel in downtown Fort<br />
Worth on April 26. The guests had gathered<br />
to honor Mrs. Stevenson’s accomplishments<br />
in conservation. They were not prepared,<br />
however, for her introduction, her disarming<br />
charm, and her relaxed elegance.<br />
As she continued, her tell-it-like-it-is,<br />
get-it-done approach became apparent.<br />
Not only is she President <strong>of</strong> the Board <strong>of</strong><br />
Trustees <strong>of</strong> the Amon Carter Museum, she<br />
also serves on countless committees, boards,<br />
and foundations. In the realm <strong>of</strong> conservation,<br />
she has left her special mark on Fort Worth,<br />
across the city, and all along the banks <strong>of</strong><br />
the Trinity River.<br />
Relaxed Atmosphere Pervades BRIT’s 2007<br />
Annual International Conservation Award<br />
Gala<br />
Ruth Carter Stevenson<br />
When the Vice Chair <strong>of</strong> BRIT’s Board <strong>of</strong><br />
Trustees, Mr. Ed Bass, hung the prestigious<br />
medal around her neck, Mrs. Stevenson<br />
asked that he stay with her at the podium.<br />
In a display <strong>of</strong> mutual admiration, she had<br />
a gleam in her eye when she pronounced,<br />
“I decided Ed needed a special award.<br />
We need an Order <strong>of</strong> the Blue Stem (an<br />
important native grass).” In jest, and as<br />
an acknowledgment, Mrs. Stevenson then<br />
slipped a ribbon adorned with Johnson<br />
grass, clothed in blue paint, over his head,<br />
setting the tone for her down to earth and<br />
delightful acceptance speech.<br />
The evening drew to a close, and the<br />
crowd that gathers once a year lingered,<br />
then departed. Though they each went his<br />
or her separate way, a common thread<br />
united them: supporting and believing in<br />
BRIT’s mission. And on this night each left<br />
with an extra broad smile, having met one <strong>of</strong><br />
Fort Worth’s greatest conservationists.<br />
PHOTOS By GLEN E. ELLMAN<br />
“Why haven’t the thousands <strong>of</strong> dried plants in BRIT’s herbarium been composted?”<br />
Thanks go to: Carroll Collins, serving as<br />
chair <strong>of</strong> the steering committee; Tim McKinney,<br />
Chairman <strong>of</strong> BRIT’s Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees, serving<br />
as the evening’s master <strong>of</strong> ceremonies;<br />
Beverly Leche, who designed the beautiful<br />
floral centerpieces; and Fort Worth artist, jane<br />
Molpus, who created a painting depicting leaves<br />
<strong>of</strong> Mrs. Stevenson’s favorite tree, the Ginkgo, in<br />
both summer and fall.<br />
Thanks go to: members <strong>of</strong> the 2007<br />
steering committee: jerry Ball, Tammie Crole,<br />
jeanne Donovan, Carole Findlay, Pat Harrison,<br />
Cleve Lancaster, Bill Lawrence, Beverly Leche,<br />
Patty Marksteiner, Lou Martin, Ann McKinney,<br />
jane Molpus, Therese Moncrief, Amanda Morris,<br />
Bob O’Kennon, Iona Richardson, Betsy Schaffer,<br />
Frank Sherwood, Sara Sohmer, Sy Sohmer, Dick<br />
Steed, Sue Sumner, Suzy Williams and Patsy<br />
Zimmerman.<br />
Ed Bass receives an award Mayor Mike Moncrief, Sara Brown,<br />
Tim McKinney, Ruth Carter Stevenson, Sy Sohmer<br />
Ruth Carter Stevenson<br />
Since the establishment <strong>of</strong> the award in 1995, the International Award <strong>of</strong> Excellence galas have honored outstanding conservationists<br />
and played an important role in raising public awareness <strong>of</strong> BRIT’s mission and in securing funds to continue the work <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Institute</strong>.<br />
Thanks to the corporate sponsors, host committee, and patrons who provided support through contributions and attendance.<br />
We look forward to seeing you at BRIT’s award dinner in 2008!
13th Annual International Award<br />
<strong>of</strong> Excellence in Conservation<br />
honoring<br />
Ruth Carter Stevenson<br />
The <strong>Botanical</strong> <strong>Research</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong> (BRIT)<br />
Extends Heartfelt Thanks to<br />
OUR hOnORaRy cO-hOsts<br />
Edward P. Bass • Van Cliburn • Carroll W. Collins • Gunnie Corbett • Lucy Darden • Kay Granger • Rosie and Mike Moncrief<br />
Pamela and Stephen Murrin III • Judith and Tim Sear • Sara and Peter Sterling • Robert L. Thornton<br />
AND TO OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS<br />
Ginkgo<br />
Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust, Bank <strong>of</strong> America, Trustee<br />
Amon G. Carter Museum • Fort Worth Business Press<br />
Paeonia<br />
Corbett Companies • Star-Telegram<br />
Convallaria<br />
Advanced Cast Stone, Inc. • American Airlines • BNSF Foundation • Frost Bank<br />
Kelly Hart & Hallman, LLP • Mary Potishman Lard Trust • Plaza Medical Center <strong>of</strong> Fort Worth<br />
Sundance Square • <strong>Texas</strong> Capital Bank • XTO Energy, Inc.<br />
Justicia<br />
Alcon • Cantey Hanger, LLP • Corgan Associates, Inc. • JPMorgan Chase • Luther King Capital Management<br />
Komatsu Architecture • McCaslin & Company, LLP • The Projects Group and The Beck Group • Southern Methodist University • Southwestern Exposition<br />
and Livestock Show • <strong>Texas</strong> Christian University • <strong>Texas</strong> Christian University Environmental Sciences • Thompson & Knight, LLP and Thompson & Knight<br />
Foundation • TXU Electric Delivery<br />
AND TO OUR TABLE HOSTS<br />
Ginkgo<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Edward P. Bass<br />
Paeonia<br />
Lucy Darden and Gail W. Rawl<br />
Convallaria<br />
Bill and Mitzi Davis • Karen and Tim Hixon • Mr. and Mrs. John R. Lively • Tim and Elaine Petrus<br />
Rick and Betsy Schaffer • Anna Belle P. Thomas • Patsy and Bill J. Zimmerman<br />
Justicia<br />
Anonymous • Mr. and Mrs. Lee Bass • Tom and Therese Moncrief • Mr. and Mrs. William J. Nolan<br />
Mary Palko • Mr. and Mrs. Sebert L. Pate • Polly and Olcott Phillips • Mrs. Rosalyn G. Rosenthal<br />
AND TO OUR INDIVIDUAL HOSTS<br />
Ginkgo<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Craig R. Hamilton • Hodges Fund <strong>of</strong> the Community Foundation <strong>of</strong> North <strong>Texas</strong> • Capt. Robert J. O’Kennon • William E. Scott Foundation<br />
Paeonia<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Sid R. Bass • Dr. and Mrs. Robert W. Brown • Katherine Campbell • Jeff Davis • Mrs. Helen K. Groves • Christel Laughlin<br />
Dr. and Mrs. W. S. Lorimer, Jr. • Sue and David Nivens • Regina Rogers • Dick Steed, Jr. • Mr. and Mrs. Peter Sterling, Jr. • Sue and George Sumner<br />
Convallaria<br />
Connie Beck and Frank Tilley • Margaret and Jim DeMoss • Marty Leonard • Dr. and Mrs. William F. Mahler • Rinda R. Medary<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Meeker • Jane and O’Dell Molpus • Gwynn W. Ramsey Ph.D. • Dr. and Mrs. William E. Tucker<br />
Justicia<br />
Mary P. Barkley • Calloway’s Nursery/Mr. James C. Estill • Louise and Frank Carvey • Drs. Mark and Nancy Dambro • Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Findlay<br />
Cornelia C. Friedman • Kenneth and Cherrie Garrett Foundation • Carol P. Hendrix • John and Kathy Hickey • Huitt-Zollars, Inc • C. Brodie Hyde II<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Lawrence • Beverly T. Leche • Patsy and Scott McDonald • John L. Merrill • Dr. Max and Dr. Susan Mitchell Foundation • F. L.<br />
Orman Olive B. Pelich • Iona and Denny Richardson • Scottie Richardson • Margret M. Rimmer • Rylander, Clay & Opitz, LLP/Don and Linda Craig<br />
Sergio and Mary Anne Sanchez-Zambrano • Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Sherwood • Suzy Williams<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2 9
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
10<br />
An Ancient Chinese Herbal Medicine<br />
Helps the Global Fight Against Malaria<br />
Every year, an estimated 300-500 million people are infected with malaria,<br />
a mosquito-borne parasitic disease (see<br />
diagram) that causes between 1.5 and 2.7<br />
million deaths per year in tropical and<br />
subtropical areas. New cases <strong>of</strong> the deadly<br />
disease are increasing, particularly in sub-<br />
Saharan Africa. African children under the<br />
age <strong>of</strong> five and pregnant African women<br />
have the greatest risk <strong>of</strong> dying from malaria.<br />
With the advent <strong>of</strong> global warming, some<br />
scientists postulate that malaria may spread<br />
north to temperate climates, including the<br />
Southern United States.<br />
tRAditionAl solutions fRoM thE<br />
PAst<br />
Traditional healers have skillfully used<br />
herbal medicines to treat malaria symptoms<br />
for millennia, and cinchona trees (in the<br />
genus Cinchona) have provided traditional<br />
medicines to native Peruvians for 3,000<br />
years. In the 1820s, the antimalarial drug<br />
quinine was first extracted from the red<br />
bark <strong>of</strong> cinchona trees. No one knows for<br />
sure which species <strong>of</strong> Cinchona was first<br />
used by Jesuit monks to treat malaria in the<br />
17th century, but commercial production<br />
<strong>of</strong> quinine has centered on Cinchona<br />
ledgeriana. For the past 300 years, malaria<br />
has been variously treated with cinchona<br />
bark, quinine, and its synthetic derivatives.<br />
Tonic water, an essential ingredient in<br />
that refreshing summer gin and tonic, was<br />
originally used to treat and prevent malaria<br />
in British India. Today, many boutique tonic<br />
waters still contain spicy tasting quinine.<br />
ModERnizing solutions<br />
During World War II, the Japanese<br />
takeover <strong>of</strong> the East Indies cut <strong>of</strong>f nearly<br />
all the world’s supply <strong>of</strong> cinchona bark and<br />
quinine, seriously endangering the war<br />
effort. Many World War II battles took<br />
place in tropical areas where the control<br />
and prevention <strong>of</strong> malaria among Allied<br />
troops was essential. For a time, in the<br />
Pacific theater, more American solders<br />
were reportedly dying from malaria than<br />
from gunshot wounds. In the meantime,<br />
scientists worked to develop synthetic<br />
antimalarial compounds.<br />
After World War II, the use <strong>of</strong> synthetic<br />
quinine derivatives, notably chloroquinine,<br />
in the treatment and prevention <strong>of</strong> malaria<br />
spread all over the world. Chloroquinine<br />
was relatively cheap to produce, highly<br />
effective in malaria treatment and<br />
prevention, and less toxic than other<br />
treatments.<br />
However, the parasitic organisms that<br />
cause malaria, Plasmodium falciparum<br />
and P. vivax, mutate rapidly. In the<br />
face <strong>of</strong> widespread use and misuse <strong>of</strong><br />
chloroquinine-based drugs, mutation has<br />
led to drug resistant strains and the recent<br />
increase in malaria.<br />
by<br />
marissa<br />
oppel, ms<br />
Acts givE hoPE<br />
Today, hope lies in a compound derived<br />
from an herb used in Traditional Chinese<br />
Medicine, artemisinin, a chemical<br />
compound derived from Artemisia annua<br />
(also known as sweet wormwood, sweet<br />
Annie, and quinghao). Sweet wormwood, an<br />
established non-native in the United States,<br />
is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to<br />
treat fevers and other ailments. The drug,<br />
artemisinin, and its derivatives are effective<br />
against drug-resistant malaria. Further,<br />
drugs that combine artemisinin derivatives<br />
with longer-acting antimalarial drugs, are<br />
known as ACTs, and are now the first line
<strong>of</strong> defense against malaria. China is a major<br />
producer <strong>of</strong> sweet wormwood and ACTs.<br />
REsistAnt PARAsitE PRoBlEMs REMAin<br />
Still, the possibility <strong>of</strong> specific resistance to<br />
artemisinin-derived drugs is a major concern.<br />
Recently, scientists at St. George’s University<br />
in London reported significant findings. A<br />
single minor mutation can give rise to an<br />
altered protein in the parasite rendering the<br />
use <strong>of</strong> drugs containing only artemisinin<br />
derivatives ineffective. Therefore, use <strong>of</strong><br />
ACTs with its combination <strong>of</strong> artemisinin<br />
derivatives and other anitmalarial drugs,<br />
may slow the spread <strong>of</strong> resistance and make<br />
treatment more effective. In response, the<br />
World Health Organization (WHO) recently<br />
issued a ban on the use <strong>of</strong> drugs containing<br />
only artemisinin derivatives, citing concerns<br />
that it could increase drug resistant strains and<br />
reduce the effectiveness <strong>of</strong> ACTs. Additionally,<br />
counterfeit drugs that contain levels <strong>of</strong><br />
artemisinin derivatives that are too low to be<br />
effective could also lead to drug resistance.<br />
thE nEw hoPE<br />
Nevertheless, parasite resistance to<br />
artemisinin-derived drugs would leave the<br />
world without an effective defense against<br />
malaria. The development <strong>of</strong> new antimalarial<br />
drugs is urgently needed. The plant kingdom<br />
provides hope. <strong>Research</strong>ers all over the<br />
world are studying chemical compounds<br />
from plants in search <strong>of</strong> new treatments.<br />
Wild quinine (Parthenium integrifolium),<br />
sunflower (Helianthus annuus), buttonbush<br />
(Cephalanthus occidentalis), flowering dogwood<br />
(Cornus florida), and American holly (Ilex<br />
opaca) are all plants growing right here in<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> that have been traditionally used to treat<br />
malaria. Recent research has shown that the<br />
tree-<strong>of</strong>-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), considered<br />
a “weed” tree in many areas <strong>of</strong> the United<br />
States, contains three antimalarial compounds.<br />
So, the next antimalarial drug could come<br />
from a plant growing in the South American<br />
rainforest or even one in your own backyard—<br />
literally.<br />
Artemesia annua<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2 11
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
Shinners Society<br />
12<br />
The landscape<br />
design and collec-<br />
visits Kew<br />
<strong>of</strong> specimen cases in<br />
original wooden cabinets<br />
tions <strong>of</strong> unusual<br />
were interspersed with<br />
and beautiful plants<br />
individual research<br />
at London’s Royal<br />
carrels. Before electric<br />
Botanic Gardens,<br />
light, these balconies<br />
Kew, have delighted<br />
were illuminated entirely<br />
visitors for three<br />
by daylight flooding<br />
centuries. Kew’s<br />
glorious Victorian<br />
In the Kew Herbarium from top left to bottom right:<br />
Sy Sohmer, Debbie Whitehead, Andrea “Tudy”<br />
through the glass ro<strong>of</strong>,<br />
limiting research time<br />
glass and iron Palm Harkins, Judith Sear, Sara Sohmer, and Mary Palko. on winter days.<br />
House, where a cycad<br />
The 7-million-<br />
presented to the Gardens in 1775 still flourishes, specimen herbarium is also housed in several<br />
thrilled me as a child. There, inside the Palm newer buildings, and further construction is<br />
House, I once walked through a luxuriant tropical underway in part because plant specimens vary<br />
forest; outside austere post-World War II London more in size and shape than do books in a world-<br />
rose again from flames.<br />
class research library. We pored over the slim<br />
This year, in May, during a week-long London folders <strong>of</strong> dried and pressed plants traditionally<br />
trip organized by Mary Palko (BRIT board<br />
associated with botanical specimens, but were also<br />
member) and led by Sy and Sara Sohmer to introduced to deep individual drawers containing,<br />
coincide with the Chelsea Flower Show, members for example, a single, large tropical seed, a huge<br />
<strong>of</strong> BRIT’s Shinners Society (planned giving)<br />
cactus pad, or a fleshy leaf the size <strong>of</strong> a serving<br />
enjoyed the gardens and conservatories <strong>of</strong> Kew platter. In the basement, the Spirit Collection<br />
in perfect late spring sunshine. Bob O’Kennon (for non-botanists an intriguing and appropriate<br />
(retired American Airlines pilot and current BRIT conjunction <strong>of</strong> name and location) requires an<br />
board member) pointed out blooming hawthorns; entire floor below ground level with dedicated<br />
he carried out years <strong>of</strong> research on Crataegus in shelves and drawers for vials and bottles <strong>of</strong> pickled<br />
the gardens and herbarium at Kew during brief and preserved plant specimens.<br />
layovers from flights between Dallas/Fort Worth From the specimen repository to the library<br />
Airport and London.<br />
and the publications department, with its gorgeous<br />
For Sy and Bob, it was a homecoming. For botanical illustrations, the herbarium hums with<br />
Shinners members, it was a privileged tour <strong>of</strong> the life. Staff tea times are not merely informal c<strong>of</strong>fee<br />
world’s most extensive botanical collection.<br />
breaks. Morning and afternoon, the large, airy<br />
The day began as Daniela Zappi, assistant break room is filled with personnel and visiting<br />
keeper for regional teams, welcomed us in the researchers in collegial discussion.<br />
original herbarium building and guided us through While Kew’s London headquarters specializes<br />
Wing C, built in 1877. We ascended wrought in preserved plant material, Kew’s second facility<br />
iron spiral staircases to balconies where hundreds at Wakehurst Place in the countryside south<br />
by<br />
Judith sear,<br />
Brit Board<br />
memBer<br />
PHOTOS By BOB O’KENNON<br />
<strong>of</strong> London houses the Millennium Seed Bank<br />
Project. Once again, Shinners Society members<br />
were welcomed by Andy Jackson, the director, who<br />
explained that by 2010 the Bank aims to collect<br />
and conserve 24,000 plant species in danger <strong>of</strong><br />
extinction—representing 10 percent <strong>of</strong> the world’s<br />
seed-bearing flora. Long-term seed viability is<br />
preserved by below ground storage in temperaturecontrolled<br />
vaults.<br />
The vaults resembled radiation fall-out shelters,<br />
suggesting that, in case <strong>of</strong> the complete demise <strong>of</strong><br />
life as we know it, the sole survivors might be<br />
Kew’s botanists and their remarkable supply <strong>of</strong><br />
seeds.<br />
The giant leaves <strong>of</strong> the water lily Victoria amazonica<br />
A pr<strong>of</strong>usion <strong>of</strong> lily species
STAFF PHOTO<br />
NDD:<br />
Nature Deficit Disorder<br />
What’s the Cure?<br />
Take a moment to think back to your<br />
their fingertips. By contrast, further studies<br />
childhood. What did you do with your time show the positive effects <strong>of</strong> unstructured time<br />
growing up? Did you watch a lot <strong>of</strong> TV, or did in outdoor settings. Those positive outcomes?<br />
your parents encourage you to go outside and They are reduced symptoms <strong>of</strong> ADD, increased<br />
play? How many hours per week did you spend memory skills and ability to concentrate, and<br />
outside?<br />
increased feelings <strong>of</strong> well-being and self esteem.<br />
Now think about today’s kids. Do they spend We must take responsibility for changing<br />
their days differently? Do they watch more TV our own habits, guiding our children and<br />
and play more video games? How much time do supporting community efforts that devote time<br />
you think they spend outside?<br />
to reconnecting people with their natural world.<br />
Disturbingly, research shows that the<br />
Opportunities to get children outdoors are key.<br />
average six year old spends less than .3 percent Our goal is to help children develop a sense <strong>of</strong><br />
(Yes, that’s a decimal in front <strong>of</strong> the three!) <strong>of</strong> a place, and connect them to nature. BRIT, along<br />
year outside, excluding time they spend playing with schools, and community and state parks,<br />
organized sports. If you do the math, you’ll find work to inspire children and instill appreciation,<br />
that’s just 29 minutes per week. Sobering, isn’t it? knowing that appreciation leads to a sense <strong>of</strong><br />
What is the result? Author Richard Louv says stewardship.<br />
it’s causing a Nature Deficit Disorder epidemic. The BRIT Education Program exemplifies<br />
In his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our these goals. Through partnerships with school<br />
Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, Louv districts and organizations such as the REAL<br />
describes a rapidly rising incidence <strong>of</strong> childhood (Rainwater Environmental Alliance for Learning)<br />
obesity, learning disabilities (including ADD and Schools Initiative, we’re able to work with<br />
ADHD), and a growing “biophobia” endemic teachers, to move children outside and give them<br />
to an entire generation. Scientific studies have a “sense <strong>of</strong> place” in nature. The specialized<br />
documented that outdoor activity replaced training we <strong>of</strong>fer teachers, through pr<strong>of</strong>essional<br />
with lifestyles featuring extended time indoors development, provides tools to help students<br />
portends major negative consequences Rob for Denkhaus the and students learn while sample outside…about life in the science, math, art,<br />
younger generation. These days children marsh <strong>of</strong>ten at the sit Fort Worth language Nature arts, Center fine arts, and nutrition Refuge. and health. By<br />
immobile, with electronic devices to entertain, integrating curricula, teachers say they have more<br />
inform, communicate, and bring the world to time to use the outdoors as a classroom.<br />
by<br />
amBer Keller,<br />
eduCation<br />
And that time spent outside is powerful.<br />
When asked what she likes most about taking<br />
students outside for learning, one Fort Worth<br />
first grade teacher said, “The kids love it! It’s<br />
instant motivation. They get to move and touch,<br />
and behavior outside is always much better than<br />
inside.”<br />
What do students need to reap the benefits<br />
<strong>of</strong> nature? The real prescription is just beyond<br />
our own thresholds. It requires repeated<br />
opportunities to explore outdoors, and then<br />
reflect upon the interactions and events students<br />
see occurring every day. Affinity for and love<br />
<strong>of</strong> nature, along with a positive environmental<br />
ethic, grow out <strong>of</strong> regular contact with the natural<br />
world during early childhood. And those repeated<br />
exposures to nature can happen at school, too.<br />
It seems that we, as the stewards <strong>of</strong> our children<br />
and our environment, now more than ever before,<br />
must help deliver this medicine.<br />
At BRIT we will continue to provide<br />
experiences that illuminate the wonders <strong>of</strong> the<br />
natural world. We will create connections that<br />
lead to sound choices for the environment and for<br />
a healthy life. Please join us in this cause. Our<br />
pledge? There is “No Child Left Inside.”<br />
STAFF PHOTO<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2 13
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
14<br />
BRIT’s Administrative Side Gets Feet Wet in Amazon<br />
Are you the adventurous type? Maybe vicariously adventurous? We invite you to enjoy Judy Secrest’s<br />
journey tagging along with a BRIT botanical expedition into the remote upper Amazon Basin. Judy<br />
is BRIT’s Executive Administrative Assistant and Head <strong>of</strong> Human Resources (see Spotlight, page 4).<br />
Luckily, she loves to hike and go camping.<br />
Here are some <strong>of</strong> the 249 steps that judy<br />
struggled to ascend with her gear in tow to get<br />
to the CICRA grounds.<br />
Next to the tent where plants were pressed and meals eaten, judy scrutinizes the lush<br />
vegetation.<br />
KyLE RASMUSSEN<br />
The river provides some protein to<br />
complement the ubiquitous beans and rice.<br />
TIANA FRANKLIN<br />
TIANA FRANKLIN<br />
A trip to the market for supplies while in the bush<br />
includes the obligatory pair <strong>of</strong> rubber boots, not to<br />
mention a “bunch” <strong>of</strong> bananas (carried by jason Wells).<br />
The team loads on at Laberinto for the expedition (jason<br />
Wells and Amanda Neill in foreground). Laberinto is<br />
important mainly for its role as an upriver port for Puerto<br />
Maldonado – about 90 minutes away.<br />
jUDy SECREST<br />
jUDy SECREST<br />
TIANA FRANKLIN
TIANA FRANKLIN<br />
Here’s Judy!<br />
The expedition team vists one <strong>of</strong> the “civilized” way stations along the river (l to r: seated on bottom<br />
step-Benjamín Chambi, Tiana Franklin; second step—Angel Belarezo; third step—Piher Maceda, jason<br />
Wells; fourth step-Amanda Neill, judy, Haffet (expedition cook).<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> the sights judy observed along the river (tapir and tamarin).<br />
TIANA FRANKLIN<br />
TIANA FRANKLIN<br />
jUDy SECREST<br />
judy encounters garden plants and “wildlife” at CICRA<br />
judy finds her first ripe cacao pod.<br />
jUDy SECREST<br />
jUDy SECREST<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2 15
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
16<br />
BRIT Distinguished Lecturer Series 2006-2007<br />
Our popular “Explorers <strong>of</strong> the 21st Century” lecture series brought internationally recognized scientists and new audiences<br />
together and connected with more students than ever in its 12-year history. Guest lecturers interacting with students and<br />
teachers in discussions before the public reception were an added dynamic.<br />
If you didn’t make it,<br />
here’s what you missed!<br />
February: Dr. Thomas<br />
Croat, Ph.D., P.A. Schulze<br />
Curator <strong>of</strong> Botany,<br />
Missouri <strong>Botanical</strong><br />
Garden, St. Louis,<br />
described his 40 year career exploring tropical<br />
plants worldwide and the adventures he<br />
experienced along the way, including ascents<br />
into the top <strong>of</strong> the canopy <strong>of</strong> forests, sunken<br />
boats, and attacks by peccaries. Though<br />
literally risking life and limb, Croat successfully<br />
managed to study some <strong>of</strong> the most remote<br />
areas <strong>of</strong> South America and collect hundreds<br />
<strong>of</strong> new species.<br />
March: Bruce Beehler, Ph.D., Vice<br />
President, Melanesia Center for Biodiversity<br />
Conservation, Conservation International,<br />
Washington, D.C., shared his career as an<br />
ornithologist and tropical ecologist, including<br />
recounting a field survey in the Foja Mountains<br />
Previously this season, in September, Stephen<br />
j. O’Brien, Ph.D., Chief <strong>of</strong> the Laboratory <strong>of</strong><br />
Genomic Diversity at the National Cancer<br />
<strong>Institute</strong>, National <strong>Institute</strong>s <strong>of</strong> Health<br />
presented Tears <strong>of</strong> the Cheetah, Roar <strong>of</strong><br />
the Lion—Mark <strong>of</strong> the Plague. Dr. O’Brien, an<br />
internationally known researcher, revealed<br />
clear links between environmental change and<br />
its effects on native fauna.<br />
(Indonesian New Guinea) that documented over<br />
40 new species <strong>of</strong> plants and animals, including<br />
a honeyeater bird, a “lost” bird <strong>of</strong> paradise, a<br />
tree kangaroo, and what may be the largestflowered<br />
rhododendron.<br />
April: Bonnie Jacobs, Ph.D., Director,<br />
Environmental Science Program and Associate<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor, Department <strong>of</strong> Geological Sciences,<br />
Southern Methodist University, transported<br />
the audience to her Ethiopian Plateau study<br />
site. Here, she studies fossils and sediments<br />
and reconstructs the 28-million-year-old<br />
floral and faunal communities, landscapes,<br />
and climate. This gave us insight into Africa’s<br />
evolutionary and climatic history, and the<br />
potential impacts<br />
<strong>of</strong> environmental<br />
change today.<br />
The final spring<br />
lecture, by one <strong>of</strong><br />
the most influential<br />
conservationists <strong>of</strong><br />
Healthy Planet, Healthy People: A Climate for Understanding<br />
How are we humans affecting the health <strong>of</strong> our own environment? Is our changing<br />
environment affecting us? A rising incidence <strong>of</strong> human diseases has emerged as a direct<br />
result <strong>of</strong> changes in the environmental health <strong>of</strong> the planet.<br />
To help us understand, the <strong>Botanical</strong> <strong>Research</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong>, the University <strong>of</strong> North <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Health Science Center, and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden collaborate as institutions dedicated to<br />
conservation through research and education. This free public lecure series explores the origins<br />
and development <strong>of</strong> diseases and the direct relationship between environmental quality and<br />
human health. Three leading international scientists will share<br />
their perspectives from their diverse fields <strong>of</strong> study.<br />
February 7, 2008, 6:30p.m.<br />
Leonhardt Lecture Hall<br />
Fort Worth Botanic Garden<br />
“Tibetan Ethnobotany and Climate<br />
Change”<br />
jan Salick, Ph.D., Curator <strong>of</strong> Ethnobotany,<br />
Missouri <strong>Botanical</strong> Garden<br />
our time, Eric Dinerstein, Ph.D., Chief Scientist<br />
and Vice President for Science, World Wildlife<br />
Fund, Washington, D.C., was a look at remote<br />
and threatened areas <strong>of</strong> our earth. We chased<br />
an elusive population <strong>of</strong> tigers in Nepal<br />
and shared his inspiring dream <strong>of</strong> restoring<br />
thundering herds <strong>of</strong> bison to the grasslands<br />
<strong>of</strong> Montana.<br />
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the<br />
Fort Worth Garden Club, and the Fort Worth<br />
<strong>Botanical</strong> Society hosted these lectures and<br />
provided receptions for guests in the Deborah<br />
Biggs Moncrief Garden Center. Annabelle<br />
Thomas graciously provided funding for spring<br />
lectures, and American Airlines generously<br />
provided travel sponsorship.<br />
Next time you book a flight with American<br />
Airlines, please enter this code for Business<br />
ExtrAA: 786685. You will be supporting BRIT and<br />
earning your own AA miles at the same time.<br />
March 6, 2008, 6:30p.m.<br />
Leonhardt Lecture Hall<br />
Fort Worth Botanic Garden<br />
“From Water to Dust: Medical<br />
Wonders<br />
from the Earth”<br />
Robert Finkelman, Ph.D., <strong>Research</strong> Pr<strong>of</strong>essor,<br />
University <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong> at Dallas<br />
(The upcoming lecture series will be restructured to include one internationally known scientist in the fall and two leading scientists in the fields <strong>of</strong> medical<br />
geology and ethnobotany in the spring. The University <strong>of</strong> North <strong>Texas</strong> Health Science Center and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden are partnering with BRIT. )<br />
STAFF PHOTO
Iridos Wins top honors in 2006 Inspire Awards<br />
Each year the League <strong>of</strong> American Communication Pr<strong>of</strong>essionals (LACP) holds a competition for<br />
print based newsletter and magazine publications. For 2006,<br />
Iridos received top honors in its class. Christine Kennedy,<br />
managing director <strong>of</strong> the LACP called the Iridos entry<br />
“remarkable in light <strong>of</strong> tremendous competition.” More than<br />
425 entries from seven countries were received for the 2006<br />
Inspire Awards. Most <strong>of</strong> the credit goes to Jennifer Henderson<br />
<strong>of</strong> JODesign (layout design and print management), Paige<br />
Hendricks <strong>of</strong> Paige Hendricks Public Relations Inc. (editorial<br />
management), and Southwestern Colorgraphics (the printer).<br />
Next year we’re going for the gold!<br />
Go to: www.lacp.com for the main webpage.<br />
Go to: www.lacp.com/2006inspire/C17.htm for Iridos results.<br />
UTA Herbarium Donated to BRIT<br />
The herbarium at the University <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong> at<br />
Arlington (UTA) is a physical monument to the<br />
teaching and research activities <strong>of</strong> botanists<br />
and their students at UTA. A random specimen<br />
pulled from this collection is likely to have<br />
Drs. Louis Bragg, Robert Neill, john Bacon, or<br />
Archibald Hopkins on the label as the collector.<br />
These UTA pr<strong>of</strong>essors added specimens to the<br />
collections from <strong>Texas</strong>, surrounding states, and<br />
Mexico. Their many students added collections<br />
as well, primarily from Tarrant County. The bulk<br />
<strong>of</strong> the growth in this 7,000-specimen herbarium<br />
took place over the last 40 years, though a<br />
small collection existed at UTA before. Some <strong>of</strong><br />
the early specimens were gifts or exchanges from<br />
the SMU Herbarium, and include Central <strong>Texas</strong><br />
specimens collected by Ferdinand Lindheimer over<br />
150 years ago.<br />
The herbarium moving crew: Front row l to r: Amanda<br />
Neill, Frances Ockels, Keri McNew, Tiana Franklin<br />
Back row l to r: Andrew Reina, Asha McElfish, Justin<br />
Alison, and Marissa Oppel.<br />
In 2006, the Department <strong>of</strong> Biology at UTA <strong>of</strong>fered BRIT the generous gift <strong>of</strong> the entire UTA Herbarium,<br />
including 35 metal herbarium cabinets. The laboratory space occupied by the herbarium was needed for<br />
other biological research at UTA, and student demand for botany classes had unfortunately diminished. It<br />
was agreed the specimens would be <strong>of</strong> more use by joining the BRIT-SMU collections. The specimens were<br />
packed by BRIT herbarium staff and volunteers and transported in November 2006. These specimens are<br />
now being added to the BRIT-SMU Herbarium. This example illustrates our mission to take in orphaned<br />
collections, which adds to the herbarium’s value, especially when many <strong>of</strong> the specimens are local in origin<br />
and are unique (unduplicated) student collections.<br />
The gifts <strong>of</strong> the UTA Herbarium plus the Albert Ruth Collection from the Fort Worth Museum <strong>of</strong> Science<br />
and History (detailed in Iridos 18:1) in 2006 contributed over 15,000 specimens to the 32,933 total new<br />
accessions in the BRIT Herbarium last year.<br />
STAFF PHOTO<br />
awards corner<br />
Outstanding Educators Honored<br />
with Wendy Owsley Garrett<br />
Science Teacher Award<br />
Pat Dorraj, Donnette Durham, Nancy Burleson, and<br />
Amber Keller<br />
At an evening <strong>of</strong> celebration on May 14, BRIT<br />
honored two area teachers for their commitment to<br />
excellence in science teaching. The annual tradition,<br />
begun by former trustee Wendy Owsley Garrett,<br />
recognizes achievement and celebrates student<br />
success through the work <strong>of</strong> teachers who have<br />
participated in BRIT pr<strong>of</strong>essional development. The<br />
2007 Wendy Owsley Garrett Science Teacher<br />
Award was presented to two outstanding educators<br />
in local school districts, Donnette Durham and<br />
Nancy Burleson.<br />
Donnette Durham is the Science Lead Teacher<br />
and 5th grade science teacher at Fort Worth ISD’s<br />
Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center. In addition<br />
to attending BRIT workshops and REAL Schools<br />
Initiative events, Donnette participated in BRIT’s<br />
Environmental Science youth Mentoring Program<br />
last summer and in several Botany 101 classes. Donnette<br />
received a $1,000 honorarium and will be honored at<br />
the International Award <strong>of</strong> Excellence in Conservation<br />
gala in the spring <strong>of</strong> 2008.<br />
“Until this past summer when I participated<br />
in the Environmental Science youth Mentoring<br />
Program, I didn’t have as great a passion for<br />
science and teaching science as I now possess.<br />
This program ignited me. My involvement with<br />
the summer mentoring program allowed me to<br />
grow immensely—as a scientist and as a science<br />
teacher.”<br />
Nancy Burleson is a 1st grade teacher at Watauga<br />
Elementary in Birdville ISD. Nancy has been teaching<br />
science for 20 years. She came to BRIT looking for<br />
new approaches to teaching and learning science.<br />
Nancy received a $500 honorarium and will be<br />
honored at the 2008 spring International Award <strong>of</strong><br />
Excellence in Conservation gala. Nancy reports that<br />
her excitement and “thinking like a scientist” after<br />
BRIT workshops spread to her students, who then<br />
shared their learning at home with their parents.<br />
The entire BRIT staff and Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees<br />
appreciate and respect educators like Donnette and<br />
Nancy for their outstanding contribution to science<br />
education and their dedication to children.<br />
STAFF PHOTO<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2 17
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
18<br />
by pam ChamBerlain, eduCation<br />
“Welcome to the conference.” These<br />
recorded words are the first audible signals that<br />
call my distant audience as their image snaps<br />
to the television monitor <strong>of</strong> the Tandberg<br />
videoconferencing equipment. I see teachers<br />
giving last minute instructions, children restless<br />
in their seats, and those closest to the camera are<br />
making faces as they await my initial greeting,<br />
“Welcome to BRIT.”<br />
This is distance learning. BRIT partners with<br />
the Region 11 Educational Service Center and a<br />
host <strong>of</strong> prestigious providers like the Fort Worth<br />
Museum <strong>of</strong> Science and History, the Amon<br />
Carter Museum, the Monnig Meteorite Gallery,<br />
and the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge<br />
to deliver quality programming that carries our<br />
mission across the state <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong> and beyond via<br />
the airwaves.<br />
Since its initial broadcast in February 2007,<br />
BRIT delivered programming to over 2,350<br />
PreK-12 students and adults in 22 <strong>Texas</strong> school<br />
districts and in Florida. We were pleased to<br />
have several schools book additional programs<br />
after a positive experience with their first BRIT<br />
videoconference.<br />
Tightly scripted 45-60 minute segments<br />
captivate, teach, and interact with students,<br />
BRIT BRIT<br />
Connects Connects to<br />
Distance Distance Learning Learning<br />
teachers, and adults for maximum impact—<br />
the result <strong>of</strong> creatively combining the “TV<br />
entertainment” element <strong>of</strong> distance learning<br />
with the excellent pedagogy <strong>of</strong> BRIT’s education<br />
staff. The very nature <strong>of</strong> videoconferencing is<br />
interactive so we developed broadcasts beyond<br />
“talking heads” in a lecture only presentation<br />
by utilizing questions and answers, hands on<br />
experiments, and games that engage and motivate<br />
our targeted audiences. The teacher is crucial to<br />
providing a positive learning environment while<br />
facilitating a videoconference at their site. So,<br />
before, during, and after a broadcast, BRIT strives<br />
to support and maintain a good relationship<br />
with teachers by fostering open and frequent<br />
communication and follow up. Each broadcast<br />
package includes preview background information<br />
for teacher preparation, pre- and post extension<br />
activities, and actual materials for real on-site<br />
investigations. This ensures teachers will want to<br />
facilitate BRIT distance learning programs over<br />
and over again.<br />
In all, five programs were created<br />
and delivered during the 2007 spring<br />
semester.<br />
• Carry the Light, exploring<br />
photosynthesis and the transfer<br />
<strong>of</strong> energy in a food chain<br />
• Bella Comes to BRIT, a plant’s journey from<br />
Peru to BRIT<br />
• King Quigley’s Allergies, the important role <strong>of</strong><br />
plants in our everyday lives<br />
• Incredible Edibles, current and historical use <strong>of</strong><br />
plants for food and medicine<br />
• Green Monsters, a fun, end-<strong>of</strong>-the-year program<br />
combining botany and art using delightful<br />
children’s literature<br />
Virtual tours <strong>of</strong> the herbarium, library, and<br />
Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program’s research<br />
in the Peruvian rainforest <strong>of</strong>fer options for real<br />
science and real scientists to present to students<br />
across the globe. In fact, in this remarkable<br />
way, there is no limit to the content possibilities<br />
for BRIT distance learning programs. Grab the<br />
remote! Click in today! We’re on it!
BRIT’s Brown Bag Botany<br />
Needs a Bigger Bag<br />
What if everybody within a three-block radius<br />
<strong>of</strong> BRIT’s downtown Fort Worth location were<br />
aware <strong>of</strong> its Brown Bag Botany series? Would we<br />
be bursting at the seams to contain the audience?<br />
We’re not far from that now. Attendance has<br />
grown at these noonday informal affairs, so come<br />
early to assure yourself a seat.<br />
Last February, Robert George (East <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Flora Project Coordinator) filled the room when<br />
he presented his thoughts on the relationships <strong>of</strong><br />
the geology <strong>of</strong> eastern <strong>Texas</strong> and the plants that<br />
grow there. Focusing on <strong>Texas</strong>, he chronicled the<br />
global forces <strong>of</strong> nature and their effect on present<br />
day East <strong>Texas</strong> geology. He then correlated the<br />
geology with the soils and plants.<br />
Marissa Oppel followed in March with a<br />
presentation on the pharmacology, ethnobotany,<br />
and phytochemistry (that’s the chemical<br />
compounds in plants) <strong>of</strong> South <strong>Texas</strong> plants.<br />
Besides a plethora <strong>of</strong> information on the chemical<br />
content <strong>of</strong> the plants and possible uses, she<br />
included interesting historical background. This<br />
hot topic was also well attended.<br />
In April, TCU/BRIT graduate student<br />
Ethan Householder supplied additional<br />
dimension to his cover story in the last Iridos<br />
issue. His discourse on the vanilla orchid in<br />
Peru was both spirited and political with a<br />
passion hard to deny. This is far from the last<br />
we’ll hear <strong>of</strong> Ethan.<br />
Last 2007 Program in the Bag<br />
November 14, Noon to 1:00 pm<br />
BRIT Learning Center<br />
“Weston Gardens - a Fort Worth Historic Treasure”<br />
Randy Weston, owner, Weston Gardens in Bloom<br />
Hear the saga <strong>of</strong> the restoration and renewal <strong>of</strong> the historic Leon Bandy Estate, originally built<br />
in the 1930s. Owner Randy Weston will discuss how he and his wife accomplished their goal <strong>of</strong><br />
preserving a historical garden while adding new horticultural and architectural elements relevant<br />
to today’s garden enthusiast.<br />
Finally, in May, now recently graduated<br />
TCU student Romina Gazis spoke on fungi<br />
<strong>of</strong> Peru and their relationships to insects. She<br />
focused on a family <strong>of</strong> insects (Erotylidae) that<br />
feed on fungi and fungi that parasitize insects.<br />
The spores <strong>of</strong> these fungi <strong>of</strong>ten enter through<br />
insects’ spiracles (tiny<br />
holes in their sides<br />
for oxygen intake).<br />
These spores, growing<br />
internally, eventually<br />
erupt from inside the<br />
insect leaving a ghastly<br />
frozen shell.<br />
Adios, insect!<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2 19
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
20<br />
Trading Cards, Space<br />
Exploration, and BRIT Books<br />
PHOTOS By ROBERT GEORGE<br />
Did you ever collect baseball cards? Well, two<br />
unique books known as Dutch trade card albums might interest you. Recently donated<br />
to the library, one illustrates cacti and the other succulents. They are prized by<br />
collectors for their rarity, artistic appeal, and accuracy <strong>of</strong> species depicted. Authored<br />
by A.J. Van Laren, Cactussen and Vetplanten (literally, fat plant), published in 1931<br />
and 1932 respectively, both contain over a hundred cards. They were published by<br />
the Verkade Biscuit Company in Zaamdam, outside <strong>of</strong> Amsterdam, an enterprise that<br />
produced trade cards and the albums to paste them in from 1903 to 1940.<br />
The cards, with colorful art on the front and advertising on the back, were a means<br />
<strong>of</strong> selling products. Artistic themes ranged from wildlife and plants to country scenes.<br />
Collected individually, much like baseball cards, they were pasted into the published<br />
albums.<br />
In the case <strong>of</strong> BRIT’s new acquisitions, the text is very accurate, ample, and<br />
scientific in nature. And it’s no wonder. Author, A.J. Van Laren, was curator <strong>of</strong><br />
Amsterdam’s botanic garden, Hortus Botanicus, a garden that had its beginnings in<br />
1638, and is one <strong>of</strong> the oldest in Europe.<br />
hAvE You hEARd?<br />
The space program is progressing! No, not NASA’s space exploration program, but<br />
BRIT’s program to make space. We’re working in the journal stacks clearing the<br />
topmost shelf, long used for duplicates storage, to make room for our growing library.<br />
In the rare book room, we have moved the preservation materials and work space<br />
into the archives work area. Making use <strong>of</strong> the vacated sections by moving and<br />
consolidating books, we’ll bring over items that are underutilized in the children’s<br />
library in BRIT’s other main building. The program has opened up new frontiers,<br />
thanks to the determination and muscle <strong>of</strong> volunteers John Kovac, Jerry Sorenson<br />
and Satyatit Balial.<br />
Speaking <strong>of</strong> volunteers, we have recently bid farewell to two longtime volunteers.<br />
We sorely miss Ruth Ginsburg and Robbin Brodsky, but they will be assets in their<br />
new communities. Their departure highlights how much we rely upon volunteers to<br />
continue, maintain, and provide quality library services.
A Juicy Event<br />
(you won’t want to miss!)<br />
Wine connoisseurs, aficionados and<br />
enthusiasts alike will gather, mingle, and<br />
enjoy myriad pleasures on October 19th<br />
at The Fort Worth Club at Fête du Vin:<br />
<strong>Botanical</strong> <strong>Research</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong>’<br />
(BRIT) Premier Wine Auction and Dinner.<br />
Guests will taste delicious wines, savor<br />
gourmet food, and even get some exercise<br />
raising bid paddles to<br />
benefit BRIT.<br />
Celebrating the natural<br />
connection between<br />
winemaking and botany,<br />
Fête du Vin will help<br />
BRIT advance its mission<br />
to conserve our natural<br />
heritage. Botanists have<br />
always played a vital role<br />
in cultivating the world’s<br />
vineyards, and Fête du Vin<br />
honors the symbiosis <strong>of</strong> this<br />
relationship.<br />
Starting at 7 p.m.,<br />
guests at this black-tie affair<br />
will enjoy an elegant evening featuring an<br />
expansive silent auction and a red-hot live<br />
auction with renowned auctioneers David<br />
Reynolds and Colleen Buckley <strong>of</strong> Reynolds<br />
& Buckley Auctions in San Francisco.<br />
As bid paddles fly in the live auction,<br />
guests can bid on an exquisite selection<br />
<strong>of</strong> unique lots from exceptional wine<br />
collections. Here’s a sample <strong>of</strong> what you’ll<br />
find in the mix: rare lots from California<br />
such as Arrowood and Hanzell, rare wine<br />
verticals, and domestic and international<br />
travel vacations (such as a week at a<br />
private home in Bariloche, Argentina).<br />
Also on the live auction list are a patron<br />
package to the<br />
2008 Sonoma<br />
Jazz Festival,<br />
unique tours (like<br />
a guided tour<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Chelsea<br />
Flower Show<br />
and dinner in<br />
London), and a<br />
chance to create<br />
a signature salsa<br />
by spending two<br />
hours at Renfro<br />
Foods during<br />
a test kitchen<br />
tour with owner<br />
and salsa chef Doug Renfro. Just think!<br />
Customize your formulation and take 24<br />
jars away to share with friends and family!<br />
In the silent auction, bidders will be<br />
tempted by the many items that include<br />
wine tastings, trips, and treasures. A VIP<br />
tasting at Taittinger Chateau & Vineyards<br />
is<br />
on the<br />
block,<br />
as are<br />
membership<br />
and tickets for<br />
two to The Wine<br />
& Food Foundation<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong>’ tastings and<br />
events for a year; dinner<br />
at the Royal Sonesta in New<br />
Orleans; menus prepared by<br />
celebrity chefs; autographed<br />
books about wine, botany, and<br />
cooking; rare wine verticals; a stay in<br />
the historic Driskill Hotel in Austin; and<br />
to top it <strong>of</strong>f, a double Magnum <strong>of</strong> Melville<br />
Winery Terrace Estate Pinot Noir, 2004.<br />
Tickets start at only $300 per person<br />
– and you are invited! Or try a table for<br />
10 at $2,500, $5,000 or $10,000. Call<br />
now and reserve your spot by ringing<br />
Amanda Morris at 817-332-4441, ext. 15,<br />
or emailing amorris@brit.org or visit www.<br />
brit.org. Underwriting opportunities are<br />
also available.<br />
BRIT is inviting you to join us for Fête<br />
du Vin, the Premier Wine Auction and<br />
Dinner, on Friday evening, October 19,<br />
2007, at The Fort Worth Club in<br />
downtown Fort Worth, <strong>Texas</strong>.<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2 21
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
22<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Botanical</strong><br />
<strong>Research</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong><br />
(J.Bot.Res.Inst.<strong>Texas</strong>) (formerly<br />
Sida, Contributions to Botany) is an international journal<br />
<strong>of</strong> systematic botany and has been a source <strong>of</strong> current<br />
research in classical and modern systematic botany for<br />
readers throughout the world for nearly 50 years. The<br />
journal publishes primary research papers in fields such as<br />
anatomy, biogeography, chemo-taxonomy, ecology, evolution,<br />
floristics, genetics, paleobotany, palynology, and phylogenetic<br />
systematics. Coverage is not restricted to any geographical<br />
area, and papers are contributed from authors around the<br />
world. It is published twice a year, with papers and abstracts<br />
in two languages. All papers are peer-reviewed and are<br />
frequently illustrated with maps and line drawings. Each issue<br />
includes short communications on floristic discoveries, book<br />
reviews, and notices <strong>of</strong> new publications.<br />
Journal <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Botanical</strong> <strong>Research</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong>:<br />
n Annual 2007 subscription rates for individual subscription<br />
within the U.S., $41<br />
n Individual subscription outside the U.S., $41<br />
n Organizational subscription within the U.S., $85<br />
n Organizational subscription outside the U.S., $95<br />
n I am interested in subscribing, please send a free sample copy.<br />
n I would like to subscribe; payment is enclosed.<br />
Guidelines for contributors to the Journal <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Botanical</strong><br />
<strong>Research</strong> <strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong> are available at www.britpress.org —<br />
click on Authors Submitting a Paper under Reference/Support<br />
NAME: _____________________________________________<br />
ADDRESS: _____________________________________________<br />
_____________________________________________<br />
_____________________________________________<br />
PAyMENT: n Check n Visa n MasterCard<br />
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$_____________ total in U.S. dollars<br />
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Print name as listed on credit card: __________________________<br />
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Signature:__________________________________________________<br />
Tel. No._____________________________________________________<br />
For information or subscription payment, contact:<br />
judy MacKenzie/BRIT Press<br />
509 Pecan Street, Suite 101, Fort Worth, <strong>Texas</strong> 76102-4068 USA<br />
jmackenzie@brit.org<br />
Web site: http://www.britpress.org<br />
introducing a new name<br />
for a Respected Journal<br />
As 2007 dawned, BRIT’s scientific journal, Sida,<br />
Contributions to Botany,<br />
became known as the Journal<br />
<strong>of</strong> the <strong>Botanical</strong> <strong>Research</strong><br />
<strong>Institute</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong> (J.<br />
Bot. Res. Inst. <strong>Texas</strong>). The<br />
journal contains all the content<br />
and style as before; it’s just in a<br />
new wrapper (see illustration).<br />
The issue, packed with over 60 articles, reports on 21<br />
new species. One <strong>of</strong> the new plants reports to be the<br />
smallest bamboo in the world, measuring less than<br />
an inch in height. This diminutive bamboo, collected<br />
in French Guiana, may also be the only bamboo that’s<br />
an annual. Christened Raddiella vanessiae, the<br />
name Raddiella is derived from the Italian botanist<br />
Giuseppe Raddi (1770-1829). The specific epithet,<br />
vanessiae, is named after Vanessa Hequet, who<br />
collected the plant in 2001.<br />
The study in French Guiana is joined in the issue<br />
by others performed in the United States, Mexico,<br />
India, Nepal, Brazil, and Ghana. Two articles on the<br />
genus Taxus (common name: yew) by Richard W.<br />
Spjut comprise over 100 <strong>of</strong> the 782 pages in this<br />
issue <strong>of</strong> JBRIT. Spjut gives an account <strong>of</strong> the genus<br />
worldwide and names six new species.<br />
Finally, one article tackles the task <strong>of</strong> tracking<br />
vegetational changes in three abandoned rice fields in<br />
South Carolina over a period <strong>of</strong> 39 years. It even details<br />
the effects <strong>of</strong> the category four hurricane Hugo in 1989.<br />
Though written for the scientist, the article’s information<br />
affects us all when it’s used as the foundation for<br />
significant decisions concerning the environment.<br />
the Press Publishes<br />
four Books in 2007<br />
Tundra to Tropics: The Floristic<br />
Plant Geography <strong>of</strong> North America<br />
By Steven P. McLaughlin<br />
Floristic areas in North America<br />
are areas characterized by particular<br />
groupings <strong>of</strong> plant species. Most <strong>of</strong><br />
the species belong within one <strong>of</strong><br />
four large floristic areas covering<br />
all <strong>of</strong> North America: Northern, Southwestern,<br />
Eastern, and Neotropical. In an uncommon approach,<br />
the author draws his data from already published<br />
accounts <strong>of</strong> 245 smaller areas within Canada, the<br />
United States, and Mexico. The data (including 19,500<br />
species) were analyzed through statistical methods to<br />
identify the four major regions and 27 smaller “floristic<br />
subprovinces.”<br />
BRIT Press<br />
Muhlenbergia (Poaceae)<br />
de Chihuahua, México<br />
By yolanda Herrera Arrieta and Paul<br />
M. Peterson<br />
In the grass genus Muhlenbergia,<br />
59 species are detailed from the state<br />
<strong>of</strong> Chihuahua; 17 <strong>of</strong> these occur only<br />
within Mexico. About the size <strong>of</strong> Arizona,<br />
Chihuahua is Mexico’s largest state, a complex area <strong>of</strong><br />
grassland and desert with high mountains along the<br />
western side and bordered on the north by New Mexico<br />
and <strong>Texas</strong>. Species <strong>of</strong> Muhlenbergia are prominent<br />
members <strong>of</strong> nearly all <strong>of</strong> the area’s plant communities.<br />
The book has keys, descriptions, nomenclature,<br />
specimen citations, distribution maps, and illustrations.<br />
Botanists most readily appreciate this, but ecologists,<br />
conservationists, land managers, and ranchers also<br />
will find pertinent information. The authors are from<br />
the National Polytechnic <strong>Institute</strong> in Durango, Mexico<br />
(Herrera), and the Smithsonian Institution (Peterson).<br />
The Genus Psychotria (Rubiaceae)<br />
in the Philippine Archipelago<br />
By S.H. Sohmer [BRIT Director] and<br />
Aaron P. Davis<br />
The authors provide technical<br />
descriptions and illustrations for<br />
112 species <strong>of</strong> Psychotria (c<strong>of</strong>fee<br />
family) in the Philippines, including 29<br />
new species and nine new varieties. With about 2,000<br />
species, Psychotria is probably the world’s largest<br />
predominately woody genus. Most <strong>of</strong> the species are<br />
small trees, and many produce psychoactive chemical<br />
compounds. Many <strong>of</strong> the Philippine species are known<br />
only from collections made early in the 20th century,<br />
before the rapid decimation <strong>of</strong> forests began in 1960.<br />
Many species are already extinct or severely restricted<br />
in their present-day distribution. Dr. Sohmer’s fieldwork<br />
and collections in the 1980s contributed much to this<br />
study done during his employment at the Bishop<br />
Museum in Hawaii. Coauthor Aaron Davis works<br />
primarily from the Kew Herbarium in England.<br />
Trees in the Life <strong>of</strong> the Maya World<br />
By Regina Aguirre de Riojas and<br />
Elfriede de Pöll<br />
How should we treat our natural<br />
surroundings? Trees in the Life <strong>of</strong><br />
the Maya World brings together<br />
the knowledge <strong>of</strong> the shaman and the<br />
scientist, the myths and arts <strong>of</strong> ancient<br />
civilizations, and the practices <strong>of</strong> modern people. The<br />
authors treat it all with wisdom and clarity <strong>of</strong> vision and<br />
in the process the question is answered.
Botany 101<br />
Beginning this fall, BRIT Education is collaborating with TCU Extended Education to <strong>of</strong>fer one <strong>of</strong> our growing public programs to a larger audience. BRIT Botany<br />
101 courses are posted on the TCU Extended Ed website, and starting in spring 2008, will be marketed through that department’s fine catalog ,which reaches over 45,000<br />
people in the North <strong>Texas</strong> area. Please visit www.lifelong.tcu.edu online to check the status <strong>of</strong> the courses and to register. BRIT members receive a 15% course fee discount.<br />
FALL AND SPRING SCHEDULE<br />
31 October 2007, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.<br />
BRIT Learning Center, Course Fee: $40<br />
“Bubbling Cauldrons and Ghastly Plants” with instructor<br />
Barney Lipscomb, head <strong>of</strong> BRIT Press and Leonhardt Chair<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong> Botany<br />
Peek inside the fiery cauldron <strong>of</strong> BRIT botanist and<br />
messenger <strong>of</strong> death, Barney Lipscomb, and discover the<br />
mysterious power and mischievousness <strong>of</strong> plants past and<br />
present. Learn about uses <strong>of</strong> classical “herbs” in murders,<br />
suicides, and executions. The brainy Mr. Lipscomb will<br />
take you on a fast-paced, Vegas-style multi-media journey<br />
through the cultural, historical, and mythological aspects<br />
<strong>of</strong> poisonous plants. Then, for your protection, he will<br />
impart to you his arcane knowledge <strong>of</strong> toxic plants, and<br />
tell you what to do in case <strong>of</strong> suspected poisoning. Finally,<br />
he’ll share the most important factor in poison protection.<br />
Wearing <strong>of</strong> costumes for this interactive lecture with<br />
an exhibit <strong>of</strong> Mr. Lipscomb’s curiosities is strongly<br />
encouraged.<br />
6 & 13 November 2007 (Three-part course includes<br />
daytime field trip TBA), 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.<br />
BRIT Learning Center, Course fee: $60<br />
“North <strong>Texas</strong> Grasses You Should know”<br />
with instructors Guy Nesom, Ph.D. and Robert George, BRIT<br />
botanists<br />
just what is that grass, anyway? Explore the<br />
characteristics <strong>of</strong> the grass family and learn the identities<br />
<strong>of</strong> 20 or more grasses commonly found in this region.<br />
Become the grass expert in your neighborhood. Students<br />
are encouraged to bring in unidentified specimens with<br />
seedheads from this confounding group <strong>of</strong> plants. Grass<br />
for Lifelong Learners<br />
Get Ready for a Magical Experience…<br />
Once again BRIT will partner with the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Fort<br />
Worth <strong>Botanical</strong> Society, and the Fort Worth Garden Club to present the<br />
highly successful Butterflies in the Garden event in March 2008. This event<br />
features thousands <strong>of</strong> live tropical butterflies from around the world in the<br />
lush setting <strong>of</strong> the Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s conservatory, and will be<br />
accompanied by the award winning exhibit, Partners in Pollination, which<br />
focuses attention on one <strong>of</strong> the most vital ecological partnerships on earth:<br />
the plant and pollinator relationship.<br />
specimens and reference handouts will be provided. A<br />
ten power loupe is recommended, if you have one. We’ll<br />
schedule a daytime field trip by consensus at the end <strong>of</strong><br />
the course.<br />
2, 9, 16, and 23 April 2008 (Five-part course includes<br />
daytime field trip TBA), 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.<br />
BRIT Learning Center, Course Fee: $80<br />
“An Overview <strong>of</strong> Botany: Learn to Identify Plants” with<br />
instructor Amanda Neill, BRIT Herbarium Director, and<br />
Co-director, Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program<br />
Learn the elements <strong>of</strong> plant identification after Amanda<br />
provides a foundation <strong>of</strong> basic botany. This course equips<br />
learners with specific terminology and techniques and<br />
reveals a whole new world <strong>of</strong> plants before your very<br />
eyes!<br />
The Value <strong>of</strong> Botany + How to Use a Key April 4<br />
Plant Morphology April 9<br />
Important Plant Families I April 16<br />
Important Plant Families II April 23<br />
1 May 2008, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.<br />
BRIT Learning Center, Course: $40<br />
“Collecting, Pressing, and Mounting Plant Specimens”<br />
with instructors Lee Luckeydoo, Ph.D., BRIT Herbarium<br />
Collections Manager, and Tiana Franklin, BRIT <strong>Botanical</strong><br />
<strong>Research</strong> Assistant, Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program<br />
Learn how to properly collect, press, and mount plants<br />
to create your own herbarium; create a learning<br />
collection for students, gardeners, or naturalist groups;<br />
or contribute to the collections <strong>of</strong> local herbaria. Dress<br />
comfortably and come prepared for hands-on learning!<br />
See the spring TCU Learner’s Guide or www.lifelong.tcu.<br />
edu for information about BRIT’s other upcoming spring<br />
Botany 101 courses.<br />
“Art and Science” with instructors Barney Lipscomb and<br />
Pam Chamberlain<br />
join this combined course with a botanical illustration<br />
workshop, tour <strong>of</strong> BRIT’s botanical prints, and lecture<br />
on Redouté for a well-rounded introduction to art and<br />
science.<br />
“Digital Nature Photography” with instructors Tiana<br />
Franklin and Bob O’Kennon<br />
Learn the basics <strong>of</strong> digital photography and visit the<br />
Fort Worth Botanic Garden to photograph plants and<br />
butterflies in March.<br />
BRIT is located in downtown Fort Worth at the<br />
corner <strong>of</strong> 4th and Pecan Streets<br />
Butterflies in the Garden, 2008 will have several new elements,<br />
including online ticket purchase, designated discount days<br />
for groups, and special events to involve children in the<br />
educational and conservation messages <strong>of</strong> the exhibit.<br />
Proceeds from the exhibit will<br />
support established public education and<br />
environmental projects <strong>of</strong> the Fort<br />
Worth <strong>Botanical</strong> Society and BRIT.<br />
BriT<br />
Fort Worth, <strong>Texas</strong><br />
major arteries<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2 23
20 Twenty Hours<br />
and Counting:<br />
The Journey<br />
<strong>of</strong> a Lifetime<br />
by tiana franKlin<br />
whAt if You hAd 20 houRs to tRAvEl?<br />
Here’s an idea: travel from cosmopolitan<br />
downtown Fort Worth into the depths <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Peruvian Amazon, by way <strong>of</strong> a couple <strong>of</strong> spins<br />
in an airplane, two rides in a car, and one in a<br />
Peruvian boat called a peke-peke. Get ready—<br />
you’ll be hours and hours away from modern<br />
civilization and the comforts <strong>of</strong> a big city: no<br />
hot water, no air-conditioning, and with at best,<br />
a thatched ro<strong>of</strong> over your head.<br />
Does this sound miserable? Not really—not<br />
when you’re compensated by the view <strong>of</strong><br />
sunrise reflecting on the Madre de Dios River,<br />
sweeping across untamed forest, and lightly<br />
touching giants that are the Andes Mountains.<br />
Welcome to morning at the Los Amigos<br />
Biological Station.<br />
High on a terrace, 297 steps above the<br />
meandering Madre de Dios River that travels<br />
east to empty into the mighty Amazon River,<br />
sounds abound. Listen to the chatter <strong>of</strong> small<br />
tamarin monkeys, the dawn chorus <strong>of</strong> the birds,<br />
and the grumbling thunder in the distance that<br />
is the howler monkeys. Visually, it’s a sea <strong>of</strong><br />
green. There are towering trees like nutmegs<br />
(Myristicaceae), Brazil nuts (Lecythidaceae),<br />
chicle trees (Sapotaceae), and kapok trees<br />
(Bombacaeae). Below, the understory is full<br />
<strong>of</strong> small shrubs with lianas winding about<br />
them. And beneath the understory? There lie<br />
all the microorganisms that keep the entire<br />
system in balance—the fungi, bacteria, and<br />
the thousands <strong>of</strong> insects. This all combines to<br />
make the inconveniences inconsequential.<br />
Virola sebifera (Nutmeg Family)<br />
TIANA FRANKLIN<br />
PIHER MACEDA<br />
PIHER MACEDA<br />
how MY JouRnEY BEgAn<br />
In fact, the above describes part <strong>of</strong> my journey<br />
thanks to BRIT and <strong>Texas</strong> Christian University<br />
(TCU). The journey began with a serendipitous<br />
series <strong>of</strong> events: my graduation from Southern<br />
Methodist University in Dallas, the arrival<br />
<strong>of</strong> John Janovec and Amanda Neill at BRIT,<br />
the birth <strong>of</strong> the Andes to Amazon Program,<br />
and the collaboration between TCU and<br />
BRIT. Through this collaboration I get all the<br />
advantages <strong>of</strong> a strict academic atmosphere<br />
on a university campus and the advantages<br />
<strong>of</strong> BRIT’s herbarium and the Amazon <strong>of</strong><br />
southeastern Peru as my laboratory! I feel as<br />
if I’ve been given a new set <strong>of</strong> glasses to look<br />
at the world with. In the Amazon, the endless<br />
sea <strong>of</strong> green I can now parse out into the<br />
appropriate plant families and begin to ask<br />
pertinent questions about how it all functions.<br />
I have undergone a magic Lasik procedure;<br />
it’s that dramatic. I worked in a part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
world where my education and labors and their<br />
outcomes are directly related to the fate <strong>of</strong> the<br />
area and the opportunity to conserve it.<br />
Few graduate experiences can even<br />
approach the impact <strong>of</strong> the BRIT/TCU/<br />
Amazon amalgam. The outstanding faculty and<br />
programs at TCU and the guidance, direction,<br />
and student program at BRIT have taken me<br />
all over the western hemisphere. TCU students<br />
Ethan Householder, Romina Gazis, Rebecca<br />
Repasky, and I have traveled to countries<br />
throughout the Americas—from Canada in the<br />
north to Costa Rica in Central America, to the<br />
Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, to Peru<br />
in South America. Collectively we’ve given<br />
more than 30 presentations relating to some<br />
aspect <strong>of</strong> our research. We have spent from<br />
three months to a full year in remote jungles in<br />
the Andes and Amazon, and we have survived<br />
to tell the tales.<br />
MY JouRnEY continuEs<br />
BRIT has a remarkable dedication to students<br />
and learning and to conservation. BRIT<br />
catalyzes the advancement <strong>of</strong> knowledge. Such<br />
willingness to collaborate brings our stories<br />
from the depths <strong>of</strong> the Amazon jungle to<br />
BRIT’s home in Fort Worth and beyond. My<br />
hope is that great deeds begun as small seeds<br />
<strong>of</strong> inspiration will grow and flourish. BRIT is<br />
that inspiration for me. Thank you, for the<br />
journey begun.
NSF Awards Grant to BRIT<br />
REINALDO AGUILAR<br />
jOHN jANOVEC<br />
PIHER MACEDA<br />
jOHN jANOVEC<br />
The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced in<br />
August the award <strong>of</strong> a $450,000 grant to BRIT’s Andes<br />
to Amazon Biodiversity Program (AABP) to continue<br />
botanical fieldwork in the Madre de Dios region <strong>of</strong><br />
southeastern Peru. The work is crucial. <strong>Botanical</strong><br />
research in the region has just begun to identify<br />
the breadth and significance <strong>of</strong> this extraordinary<br />
biodiversity hotspot.<br />
dAtA gAthERing And intEgRAtion ARE KEY<br />
<strong>Botanical</strong> data collected previously have not<br />
been well integrated with the ecological data<br />
available from the region. In fact, there has<br />
never been a major, long-term systematic<br />
inventory <strong>of</strong> regional plants and<br />
habitats prior to BRIT’s work<br />
there. For<br />
instance,<br />
according<br />
to recently published<br />
information, the entire region <strong>of</strong> Madre de<br />
Dios has 1,833 plant species (excluding<br />
ferns). Yet, preliminary botanical surveys <strong>of</strong><br />
just the smaller area around the Los Amigos<br />
Conservation Concession in Madre de Dios<br />
by the AABP team have already found more<br />
than 2,000 species <strong>of</strong> plants. Among these,<br />
at least 20 are new to science.<br />
Thanks to the NSF, the AABP<br />
will expand its botanical and ecological inventory.<br />
Then, via the Atrium Biodiversity Information System<br />
at BRIT, it can organize and distribute a huge database<br />
<strong>of</strong> all existing and new botanical data, images, and<br />
descriptions.<br />
There are both practical and intellectual benefits.<br />
By integrating science, education, and technology,<br />
the proposed project will serve as a foundation <strong>of</strong><br />
information for many researchers and projects in<br />
Madre de Dios and beyond. It’s also a testbed for<br />
connecting inventory data with new information<br />
management techniques. Plant and habitat surveys and<br />
inventories will provide data and images for a color field<br />
guide to the study region: Guide to the Plants <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Los Amigos Biological Station and Conservation Area.<br />
Expect other digital and paper manuscripts as well.<br />
Users <strong>of</strong> Atrium will benefit from multiple points <strong>of</strong><br />
access to all data and images, assuring that the project<br />
will have an impact on studies reaching across other<br />
disciplines, including herpetology, entomology, forest<br />
ecology, mammalogy, ornithology, and conservation<br />
management. The first inventory <strong>of</strong> its<br />
kind to be dynamically integrated, it will<br />
feature a new generation <strong>of</strong> high-resolution<br />
aerial digital imagery and Geographic<br />
Information Systems (GIS) analyses.<br />
BRoAdER iMPActs<br />
In the larger sense, this project<br />
moves people closer to the<br />
techniques and products <strong>of</strong><br />
plant and habitat inventory. It will<br />
underscore the value, diversity, and<br />
beauty <strong>of</strong> the Amazonian<br />
ecosystems. It will<br />
make readily available,<br />
to everyone, the plant data, images, and<br />
ecological datasets in the Atrium Biodiversity<br />
Information System. Over the project’s fouryear<br />
period and beyond, digital and print products<br />
promise to contribute baseline data to encourage<br />
and improve other regional projects by promoting<br />
conservation in Peru. Importantly, it is a way to reach<br />
both local Peruvian communities and the general<br />
public, worldwide.<br />
Direct benefits to individuals and families <strong>of</strong><br />
residents in communities in Madre de Dios include<br />
income, education, technical training, and newfound<br />
appreciation for the diverse forests surrounding them.<br />
The project also involves education, training, and<br />
outreach activities to engage a postdoctoral fellow<br />
in botany/ecology, a graduate student, Peruvian<br />
undergraduate students, and the many students<br />
and teachers that pass through the BRIT Education<br />
program every year.<br />
Thank you to the National Science Foundation<br />
from BRIT and the colleagues, students, and people<br />
who are enlightened by such generosity—in the Andes,<br />
the Amazon, and all around the world.<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2 25
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
26<br />
Donations<br />
1 December 2006 to 31 May 2007<br />
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE<br />
Anonymous*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Edward P. Bass*<br />
Amon G. Carter Museum**<br />
Mrs. Frank Darden*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William S. Davis*<br />
Frost Bank**<br />
Mr. and Mrs. George C. Hixon*<br />
Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP#**<br />
Mr. and Mrs. john R. Lively*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Howell Mann<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy W. McKinney<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy L. Petrus*<br />
Plaza Medical Center <strong>of</strong> Fort Worth#**<br />
Leo Potishman Fund - Bank One Trustee<br />
Mary Potishman Lard Trust**<br />
The Richard E. Rainwater & Darla Moore<br />
Charitable Remainder Unitrust No. 2<br />
Mrs. Lawrence Gabriel Rawl*<br />
S & B Technical Products#/Corbett<br />
Companies**<br />
The Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust<br />
Star-Telegram#**<br />
Mrs. john Reese Stevenson<br />
Sundance Square**<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Capital Bank**<br />
Mrs. Philip K. Thomas*<br />
Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust, Bank <strong>of</strong><br />
America, Trustee#**<br />
XTO Energy, Inc.**<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Bill j. Zimmerman*<br />
SUSTAINING LEVEL<br />
Anonymous*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Harry E. Bartel<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Lee M. Bass*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Bass<br />
Ms. Connie Beck and Mr. Frank Tilley*<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Robert W. Brown*<br />
Mr. William R. Burk<br />
Mrs. Katherine Campbell*<br />
Cantey Hanger, LLP**<br />
Corgan Associates, Inc.**<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Ivan Danh<strong>of</strong><br />
Mr. jeff R. Davis*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. james B. DeMoss III*<br />
Ms. Caroline M. Dulle<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin j. Fortson<br />
GideonToal<br />
Mrs. Helen Groves*<br />
Craig Hamilton and Company/Mr. and Mrs.<br />
Craig R. Hamilton*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. james j. Hayes<br />
Hodges Fund <strong>of</strong> the Community Foundation <strong>of</strong><br />
North <strong>Texas</strong>*<br />
Huitt-Zollars Inc.*<br />
Luther King Capital Management**<br />
Komatsu Architecture**<br />
Mrs. Phillip Laughlin*<br />
Ms. Erica Laughlin<br />
Dr. and Mrs. W. S. Lorimer, jr.*<br />
Ms. Barbara H. Marshall<br />
Mrs. Thomas F. Mastin, jr.<br />
Mrs. Ruth A. May<br />
McCaslin & Company, LLP**<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence H. Meeker*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Miller<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Moncrief<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Tom O. Moncrief*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. j. David Nivens*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William j. Nolan*<br />
North <strong>Texas</strong> Medical Associates<br />
Capt. Robert j. O’Kennon<br />
Ms. Mary G. Palko*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Sebert L. Pate*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. j. Olcott Phillips*<br />
The Projects Group and The Beck Group**<br />
Ms. Regina j. Rogers*<br />
Mrs. Rosalyn G. Rosenthal*<br />
Mrs. A. Hardy Sanders<br />
Mr. and Mrs. john A. Schrader<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Self<br />
Southern Methodist University#**<br />
Southwestern Exposition & Livestock Show**<br />
Mr. Richard D. Steed, jr.*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Sterling*<br />
Dr. and Mrs. George C. Sumner*<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Christian University**<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Christian University Environmental<br />
Sciences**<br />
Thompson & Knight LLP and Thompson &<br />
Knight Foundation**<br />
Dr. and Mrs. William E. Tucker*<br />
TXU Electric Delivery**<br />
University <strong>of</strong> North <strong>Texas</strong> Health Science<br />
Center, Fort Worth<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas yorio<br />
PATRON LEVEL<br />
Mrs. Frances Allen<br />
Ms. Sally B. Allsup<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William C. Bahan<br />
Mr. john T. Bailey<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William V. Boecker<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Martin C. Bowen<br />
Mrs. Evelyn H. Breaux<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Frank P. Carvey, jr.*<br />
Mr. Carroll W. Collins<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph F. Cox<br />
Mr. Chris Davidson and Ms. Sharon Christoph<br />
judge and Mrs. Patrick W. Ferchill<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Findlay*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Diego O. Giordano<br />
Mrs. W. K. Gordon, jr.<br />
Mr. Donald D. Grantges<br />
H3 Hardy Collaboration<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Henderson<br />
Dr. and Mrs. joe F. Hennen<br />
Mr. and Mrs. john P. Hickey*<br />
Ms. Tracy Holmes<br />
Mr. C. Brodie Hyde II*<br />
Mrs. S. Gordon johndroe, jr.<br />
Mollie L. & Garland M. Lasater, jr. Charitable<br />
Fund <strong>of</strong> the Community Foundation <strong>of</strong> North<br />
<strong>Texas</strong><br />
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Lawrence*<br />
Ms. Martha V. Leonard*<br />
Mr. jerry j. L<strong>of</strong>tin<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Wm. F. Mahler*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Scott McDonald*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. David M. Porter<br />
Dr. Gwynn W. Ramsey*<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Larry E. Reaves<br />
Reynolds Cattle Company<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Edward D. Richardson*/Ms.<br />
Scottie<br />
Richardson*<br />
Mrs. Margret M. Rimmer*<br />
Rylander, Clay & Opitz, LLP/Don and Linda<br />
Craig*<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Sergio Sanchez-Zambrano*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. jack A. Schutts<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Tim Sear<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Sherwood*<br />
Ms. Carole Ann Taggart<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen L. Tatum<br />
Mr. and Mrs. George Vavrek<br />
SUPPORTING LEVEL<br />
Ms. Anne Adams<br />
Dr. and Mrs. H. Barry Bailey<br />
Mrs. Theodore M. Barkley*<br />
Ms. Claire M. Barry<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Clifton H. Beasley, jr.<br />
Mr. Robert E. Birk<br />
Mr. Robert L. Bowen, jr.<br />
Mrs. Malcolm Bridges<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Don Brunson<br />
Ms. Martha Burg<br />
Dr. Tony Burgess<br />
Mrs. Karen and Mr. Mike Burkett<br />
Mr. Kerry Burns<br />
Calloway’s Nursery/Mr. james C. Estill*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. H. Paul Carl<br />
Casa Flora, Inc.<br />
Mr. and Mrs. james H. Cashion, jr.<br />
Ms. Sally Channon<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Lee F. Christie<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Fred T. Closuit<br />
Ms. Martha Cole<br />
Mrs. William A. Colley<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Ernest F. Couch<br />
Mr. and Mrs. john M. Craddock<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Crow<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Baker<br />
Mr. Tom Dera<br />
Mr. and Mrs. David Diesslin<br />
Mr. Edward D. Doherty<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Nowell Donovan<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Terry K. Dunlap<br />
Ms. joan Echols<br />
Dr. Maureen A. Finnegan<br />
Mrs. Bayard H. Friedman*<br />
Ms. Lauren Geffert<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen E. Geis<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Preston M. Geren, jr.<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Robert W. Gracy<br />
Mr. Stanley Graner<br />
Mr. and Mrs. B. Doug Harman<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick j. Harrison<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Harrison<br />
Mrs. Carol P. Hendrix*<br />
Dr. and Mrs. William j. Hess<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Hill<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay B. Holland<br />
Ms. Sally A. House<br />
Mr. Gordon Hultmark<br />
Mr. and Mrs. john H. james<br />
jammy, Inc./Mr. and Mrs. Ralph L. Bradley<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip G. john<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Allen S. Kent<br />
Mrs. Arch P. Kimbrough<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Kleuser<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Norval Kneten<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis F. Kornfeld, jr.<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Martin L. Lazar<br />
Mr. and Mrs. David Leaverton<br />
Mrs. Rachel j. Ledbetter<br />
Dr. and Mrs. David P. Lewis<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William C. Lewis<br />
Dr. Benjamin G. Liles, jr.<br />
Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy III<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Lynn<br />
Mrs. Lynne Manny<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Martin, jr.<br />
Mrs. Paul Warren Mason<br />
Mr. R. john McKay and Ms. jo Deaton<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Clyde McKinney<br />
Ms. Becky Meadows<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William W. Meadows<br />
Medical Dames Club<br />
Mr. and Mrs. john L. Merrill*<br />
Mr. j. Harris Miller<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William A. Mizell<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Mosher<br />
Native Plant Society <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Dr. and Mrs. William H. Neill<br />
Ms. Betty Norvell<br />
Mr. F.L. Orman*<br />
Ms. Elizabeth B. Parks<br />
Ms. Elizabeth Patterson<br />
Mrs. joseph Roman Pelich, jr.*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Pinkus<br />
Mr. Robert L. Powell<br />
Ms. Mary H. Pritchett<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Richard K. Rabeler<br />
Mr. and Mrs. jerry Reedy<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Roger B. Rice<br />
Ms. Ann M. Robinson<br />
Mr. john B. Rohrbach and Ms. joan H. Massey<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Nealie E. Ross, jr.<br />
Mr. Brian F. Rowe<br />
Shannon Gracey Ratliff & Miller LLP<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Shaw<br />
Mr. Ed Shipman<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Martin D. Siegel<br />
Mr. Charles M. Simmons<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Nick A. Stoyn<strong>of</strong>f<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Gordon E. Sylvester<br />
Dr. and Mrs. joseph Tarride, jr.<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Gerald L. Vertrees<br />
Mrs. Dieter W. Wagener<br />
Mr. Donald L. Wall and Mrs. Mary Ann Faucher<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William P. Warner<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William R. Watt, jr.<br />
Mrs. james M. Watts<br />
Ms. Marjorie Weir<br />
Mr. jeffrey K. Wentworth<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Widmer<br />
Mrs. Suzanne S. Williams*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Wisdom<br />
Woman’s Council DABG
PARTNER LEVEL<br />
Ms. Florence L. Adams<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Marshall W. Amis, jr.<br />
Anonymous<br />
Arlington Garden Club<br />
Mr. jim Atkinson and Ms. judy Wood<br />
Avant-Garden<br />
Mr. H. Bruce Ayars<br />
Mrs. john R. Bain<br />
Ms. Barbara S. Baker<br />
Mr. and Mrs. joseph D. Bennett<br />
Dr. james E. Brooks<br />
Ms. Tommie W. Broyles<br />
Ms. jane A. Bruckner<br />
Ms. Gail Carswell<br />
Mrs. M. Karen Carter<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Kenton L. Chambers<br />
Ms. Sherry Clark<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Alan Cook<br />
Mr. F. Lee Cook<br />
Mrs. Diane M. Cornwall<br />
Mrs. Robert G. Craft<br />
Ms. Carol L. Davis<br />
Ms. Carol Doogs<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Eugene j. Dozier<br />
Ms. Sher Dunaway<br />
Ms. Kimberly Edge<br />
Ms. jerilyn R. Edmunds<br />
Ms. Lori Eklund<br />
Mrs. Hal D. Ferrell<br />
Ms. Trish Flaster<br />
Mr. Bill Forbes<br />
Ms. Sharon V. Foster<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Freedman<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Fritz<br />
Mr. Bob Gamble<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Elliott Garsek<br />
Mr. Robert George and Mrs. Frances Polster<br />
Dr. Russell D. Greaves<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Ira M. Gross<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Grover<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Hamilton<br />
Mrs. Tommy Hancock<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Gary S. Hartshorn<br />
Mr. Dan Hays<br />
Ms. Felecia Hays<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Thad Heartfield<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hesson<br />
Mr. B.F. Hicks<br />
Dr. john janovec<br />
Mrs. Irvin jarrell, jr.<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Gary L. jennings<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Carl Bruce jones<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Karl K. Keffer<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Byron L. Keil, Sr.<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Gordon B. Kelly<br />
Mr. and Mrs. David R. Kent, jr.<br />
Mr. and Mrs. W. Cleve Lancaster<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William A. Landreth, jr.<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Leavens<br />
Mr. Barney L. Lipscomb<br />
Mr. Landon Lockett<br />
Ms. Shirley D. Lusk<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Michael MacRoberts<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Coy Martin<br />
Ms. Beth Maxwell<br />
Mr. and Mrs. joe j. McEntire<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Paul M. McKenzie<br />
Mrs. Elizabeth M. McMath<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Michero<br />
Ms. janet G. Miller<br />
Mockingbird Garden Club<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Steve B. Moss<br />
Ms. Mary Thorpe Parker<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Robert j. Patton<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Paup<br />
Mr. P. Michael Peck<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Penz<br />
Ms. Doris Peterson<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Phillips<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Cal Porcher<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Om Prakash<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Manfred G. Reinecke<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Ray Rhyne<br />
Mr. and Mrs. james j. Richardson<br />
Ms. joyce G. Roach<br />
Mr. Wade Roitsch<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Robb H. Rutledge<br />
Mr. joseph Salgado<br />
Mr. Graham Schadt<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Schweitzer<br />
Ms. judy Secrest<br />
Dr. Varsha P. Shah<br />
Dr. Richard W. Spellenberg and<br />
Ms. Naida D. Zucker<br />
Ms. jo Spencer<br />
The Reverend and Mrs. john H. Stanley<br />
Mr. Henry Stewart<br />
Dr. john L. Strother<br />
Mrs. jack Sutherland<br />
Dr. Kathleen Swigger<br />
Mrs. Louis E. Taylor<br />
Mrs. joy Terry<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Thompson<br />
Ms. Anita Tiller<br />
Mr. and Mrs. jack Umberson<br />
Mrs. Warren Wagner, jr.<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Frederic H. Wagner<br />
Mr. and Mrs. john R. Walker<br />
Mrs. Kathleen Walker<br />
Waverly Park Garden Club<br />
Mrs. Laura Whitelaw<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Williams<br />
Ms. Gloria T. Winfree<br />
Mr. Steve Winter<br />
Ms. june Wolff<br />
The Woman’s Club <strong>of</strong> Fort Worth, Inc.<br />
Mrs. julie Zobal<br />
Foundations<br />
Bass Foundation<br />
BNSF Foundation**<br />
Amon G. Carter Foundation<br />
Kenneth and Cherrie Garrett Foundation*<br />
Kent Foundation<br />
Dr. Max and Dr. Susan Mitchell Foundation*<br />
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation<br />
Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation<br />
Roach Foundation, Inc.<br />
Sid W. Richardson Foundation<br />
The Arch & Stella Rowan Foundation, Inc.<br />
William E. Scott Foundation*<br />
Matching Gift Companies<br />
AT&T Foundation Matching Gift Program<br />
ExxonMobil Foundation<br />
Hallmark Corporate Foundation<br />
Pepsico Foundation<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Instruments Foundation<br />
In-Kind<br />
Fort Worth Business Press**<br />
Fort Worth Museum <strong>of</strong> Science and History<br />
Dr. and Mrs. B. O’Dell Molpus, jr.*<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Sterling<br />
The University <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong> at Arlington<br />
In-Kind to the Library<br />
Anonymous<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Edward P. Bass<br />
Mr. William R. Burk<br />
Mr. Richard Clifford<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Nikolaus Fischer<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Gary L. jennings<br />
Ms. joann Karges<br />
Mrs. Rachel j. Ledbetter<br />
Mr. Barney L. Lipscomb<br />
Dr. Lee Luckeydoo and Mr. john Dreese<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Guy L. Nesom<br />
Mrs. Elizabeth Reid<br />
Mrs. Sharon Schoech<br />
University <strong>of</strong> Wisconsin<br />
In Honor <strong>of</strong><br />
Mr. Barry Kessler Bailey<br />
Drs. Bonnie and Louis jacobs<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Tom O. Moncrief<br />
Mrs. Ruth Carter Stevenson<br />
Mrs. Elaine Petrus<br />
Mrs. Ruth Carter Stevenson<br />
Tim’s Landscape<br />
Ms. Ruth May<br />
Mrs. Ruth Carter Stevenson<br />
Drs. Leo & Georgine Vroman<br />
Petal Pusher’s Garden Emporium<br />
Ms. Susan Urschel & Mr. Paul Schmidt<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Craig Kneten<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Chapman R. Mays<br />
Dr. Henri Liogier<br />
Mr. George Diggs<br />
Ms. Shirley D. Lusk<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Bill j. Zimmerman<br />
Dr. Barton H. Warnock<br />
Steve, Randy & Michelle Moree<br />
Mrs. Frank Darden and Mr. Carroll Collins<br />
Mr. Van Cliburn<br />
Mrs. Ruth Carter Stevenson<br />
Gail and Bill Landreth, jr.<br />
Mrs. Pat Harrison<br />
In Memory <strong>of</strong><br />
Ms. A. Wilhelmine Gibboney<br />
Ms. Mary Ellen Boecker<br />
Dr. Frank W. Gould<br />
Ms. Gina Thomas<br />
Mrs. Adrienne Baker<br />
Mr. Duncan Forbes<br />
Mrs. Adrienne Baker<br />
Ms. Margaret Hays<br />
Mr. Steve yanik<br />
Mrs. Adrienne Baker<br />
Ms. Edith Keith Alderman<br />
Mrs. Adrienne Baker<br />
Mr. Lloyd Shinners<br />
Mrs. Adrienne Baker and<br />
Mrs. Elizabeth Cirone<br />
* Host Committee 2007 Award <strong>of</strong><br />
Excellence in Conservation Gala<br />
** Corporate Sponsor 2007 Award<br />
<strong>of</strong> Excellence in Conservation Gala<br />
# Corporate Conservator<br />
Gifts to the Capital Campaign will<br />
be<br />
published separately<br />
From<br />
Dr. and Mrs. H. Barry Bailey<br />
Dr. james E. Brooks<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Alan Cook<br />
Mr. and Mrs. john M. Craddock<br />
Mr. and Mrs. john M. Craddock<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Crow<br />
Ms. Carol Doogs<br />
Dr. Maureen A. Finnegan<br />
Mrs. W. K. Gordon, jr.<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Robert W. Gracy<br />
Ms. Felecia Hays<br />
Mr. and Mrs. jerry K. Hendrix<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Norval Kneten<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Norval Kneten<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Leavens<br />
Native Plant Society <strong>of</strong> <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Mrs. Elizabeth M. McMath<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William M. Miller<br />
Mr. j. Harris Miller<br />
Ms. Doris Peterson<br />
Mrs. Lawrence Gabriel Rawl<br />
Ms. Regina j. Rogers<br />
Mrs. Louis E. Taylor<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Widmer<br />
The Woman’s Club <strong>of</strong> Fort Worth, Inc.<br />
From<br />
Ms. Sally B. Allsup<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William V. Boecker<br />
Mrs. Malcolm Bridges<br />
Mr. and Mrs. William S. Davis<br />
Mr. and Mrs. David Diesslin<br />
Mr. Bill Forbes<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Harrison<br />
Mr. Dan Hays<br />
Ms. Elizabeth B. Parks<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy L. Petrus<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Nealie E. Ross, jr.<br />
Dr. and Mrs. George C. Sumner<br />
Dr. and Mrs. Frederic H. Wagner<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Bill j. Zimmerman<br />
Thank You!<br />
iridos volume 18 no 2<br />
27
<strong>Botanical</strong> research<br />
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509 Pecan Street, Suite 101<br />
Fort Worth, <strong>Texas</strong> 76102-4068 USA<br />
herbaria <strong>of</strong> sMu, BRit and vanderbilt<br />
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