Botany Associates
Dr. Timothy Block
Research Associate
215-247-5777 x130
Director of Botany
Morris Arboretum
University of Pennsylvania
9414 Meadowbrook Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
Interests: Flora of Pennsylvania Project, GIS.
My research interests are in the flora of Pennsylvania and in GIS mapping of plant distribution. See the Flora of Pennsylvania web site at www.upenn.edu/paflora.
Dr. Walt Cressler
Research Associate
610-436-1072
Associate Professor
West Chester University
Francis Harvey Green Library
9 West Rosedale Avenue
West Chester University
West Chester, PA 19383
Interests: Paleobotany and paleoecology of the Late Devonian Period; Development of terrestrial ecosystems.
My research interests focus on the evolution and ecology of plants and continental ecosystems of the Late Devonian Period, the time of the earliest forests and of the earliest seed plants. I work with Academy vertebrate paleontologist Ted Daeschler and others on characterizing the habitats of the earliest tetrapods which also date from this period.
Ms. Carrie Kiel
Graduate Research Associate
Interests: Herbarium techniques and plant systematics, in particular Acanthaceae.
B.S., University of Pittsburgh
Currently I am working on a very species rich group of plants within the Jusicieae lineage. These plants are predominantly from tropical regions and have a rich diversity of corolla morphologies. Working at the Academy stimulates my interests in taxonomy, research, and history. I have continued my research work on Acanthaceae and study botany in graduate school.
Mr. James C. Lendemer
Graduate Research Associate
Interests: Floristics and taxonomy of lichens and lichenicolous (specifically Usnea and Lepraria); typification.
My research focuses on the taxonomy and floristics of lichenized and Lichenicolous fungi, particularly those that occur in eastern North America. Primarily I am interested in documenting the biodiversity of Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America and the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. However I my interested have led me to conduct studies elsewhere in eastern North America, including the limestone barrens of the Northern Peninsula of the Island of Newfoundland (Canada), southern New Jersey, and the state of Pennsylvania. In recent years I have also become interested in taxonomy and evolution of the genus Lepraria. Using a multifaceted approach involving extensive field work to observe the species in nature and better understand their specific ecological role/requirements, molecular techniques, micro- and macro- morphological characters (particularly Scanning Electron Microscopy), chemical data, and culture data my colleagues and I hope to arrive at a better understanding this highly successful genus of lichenized fungi that has evolved to reproduce entirely asexually. I have also recently begun my PhD studies at The New York Botanical Garden which will involve a revision of the genus Lecania in North America using an approach similar to that which my colleagues and I have developed for Lepraria. In addition to my lichenological studies I edit and publish the primarily online lichenological journal Opuscula Philolichenum, am an associate editor of Bartonia (The Journal of the Philadelphia Botanical Club), and chair of the Bryophyte and Lichen Technical Commission (BLTC) of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey (PABS).
Dr. Ben LePage
Research Associate
Tel: 215-367-2475
Mobile: 610-453-4251
Senior Ecologist and Environmental Scientist
URS Corporation,
335 Commerce Drive, Suite 300,
Fort Washington, PA, 19034 and The Academy of Natural Sciences
Interests: Plant Evolution, wetlands, plant/habitat conservation
I want to better understand the evolution of our modern boreal and temperate forests through integration of the complex interactions between biotic and abiotic systems across multiple spatial and temporal scales.
Plant evolutionary studies have been traditionally compartmentalized and neglect to address the interrelationships, processes and feedbacks that cross traditional scientific boundaries. By integrating botanical, genetic, geological, paleontological and geochemical tools, my research identifies key drivers, processes, interactions and feedback mechanisms that regulate plant evolution.
Dr. James Macklin
Research Associate
(former Collection Manager of Botany at ANSP)
www.huh.harvard.edu/
Tel. 617-496-1566
Director of Collections and Informatics,
Harvard University Herbaria,
22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
Interests: Hawthorns (Crataegus, Rosaceae) and collections and informatics.
My taxonomic research continues to focus on species level variability influenced by complex breeding systems in one of the most economically important families of plants, the Rosaceae (Rose Family), especially Rubus (Raspberries and Blackberries) and Crataegus (Hawthorns). I have always been interested in historical botany and especially how botanists have influenced today’s nomenclatural nightmares.
My other growing area of interest is in biodiversity informatics. I am involved in several projects that involve data capture through taking high-resolution images of specimens, capturing their label and ancillary data in custom databases, and serving this information through secure, interactive websites.
Ms. Christine Manville
Research Associate
215-322-4105
Warminster, PA 18974
Interests: Bryophytes of Pennsylvania
B.A. (1968), M.A. (1971) Biology, University of Colorado;
Post-graduate work, University of British Columbia, P.O. Box 3072
My primary botanical interest is in the distribution of bryophytes (i.e., mosses, liverworts and hornworts) and lichens. I have been associated with the Academy's department of botany since 1984. I have worked on other museum collections, as diverse as vascular plants and molluscs. My primary emphasis is on the distribution of bryophytes and lichens in Pennsylvania. Previous research included work on peat bogs and lake sediments for pollen and subfossil remains. These bits of evidence can be assembled to provide detailed information on vegetation history. I am also interested in the history of botanical work in Pennsylvania.
Ms. Elizabeth P. McLean
Research Associate
By training as a historian (University of Pennsylvania, BA and MA) with a focus on research.
I became fascinated by plants. I studied three years at the Barnes Arboretum under Jack Fogg. Participation in the activities of the Philadelphia Botany Club (President 1979-1981), and guidance from Ernie Schuyler increased my understanding of plant material. I annotated the type collection in the herbarium at the Academy under James Mears (1978 -1983). I have focused on plants collected by John Bartram, and co-authored a paper with Dr. Schuyler "The Versatile Bartrams and Their Botanical Legacy" to be published by the American Philosophical Society. My most recent project for the Academy was a field trip with Ernie Schuyler in 1997 to Montana to do on-site research for the Academy's Lewis and Clark exhibit at he Philadelphia Flower Show in 1998.
Dr. Lucinda McDade
Research Associate
Interests: Vascular plants, Acanthaceae systematics.
Ph.D. Duke University
My research has three interrelated centers of focus. First, I seek to understand the evolutionary history of plants by unraveling their phylogenetic relationships. I have studied the large (>4000 species), worldwide (but mostly tropical and subtropical) plant family Acanthaceae for nearly 25 years, both at the species level and at higher levels.
Second, phylogenies permit us to understand the evolution of specific traits of plants or of interactions between plants and other organisms. I have a long-standing interest in plant reproductive biology, in particular the evolution of pollinator relationships and breeding systems in members of the Acanthaceae. I also have a collaborative project studying the evolution of floral scent in multiple lineages in which hawkmoth pollination has been gained and lost. This project depends upon the fragrance and taxonomic expertise of colleagues Rob Raguso and Rachel Levin email: .
Third, hybridization is widely understood among botanists to be an important evolutionary mode but current phylogenetic methods cannot discover hybridization. I have studied the impact of hybridization on phylogenetics from both theoretical and empirical perspectives.
My research has field, lab and herbarium components. Since my graduate student days, I've done a great deal of fieldwork in the New World tropics. More recently, I've begun to work in Africa as well; I spent three very productive months in South Africa in 2000.
For more details on my research (with images!), click here.
Dr. Gerry Moore
Research Associate
www.bbg.org
718-623-7332
Director, Department of Science Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1000 Washington Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11215
Interests: Floristics of the northeastern United States, especially the New York Metropolitan region and southern New Jersey; taxonomy of Cyperaceae, especially Rhynchospora, and Rosaceae, especially Rubus; botanical nomenclature.
My floristic interests focus on the local region. I am especially interested in documenting change, such as the spread of non-native invasive species and decline of native species. My current taxonomic interests focus on revisional work on Rhynchospora sect. Paniculatae found in the neotropics and developing a better understanding of our local Rubus species. I am active in botanical nomenclature, being a former nomenclature co-editor for Taxon and former member of the Committee for Spermatophyta. I am also the incoming editor of Bartonia, the journal of the Philadelphia Botanical Club.
Dr. Robert F. C. Naczi
Research Associate
Tel: 302-857-6450
cars.desu.edu/faculty/rnaczi/
Curator, Claude E. Phillips Herbarium (DOV)
Dept. of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Delaware State University
Dover, DE 19901
Interests: Systematics of Cyperaceae
My research interests are the systematics of sedges (Cyperaceae) and of Western Hemisphere Pitcher Plants (Sarraceniaceae). In my sedge research, I am reconstructing phylogeny and revising the taxonomy of several groups of Carex (particularly sections Careyanae, Deweyanae, Granulares, and Griseae) and of Rhynchospora section Plumosae. Most species in these Carex groups inhabit forests in North America. Most of the Rhynchospora species occur in pinelands and savannas in Central America and southeastern North America.
My research on pitcher plants concerns resolving ongoing problems in circumscription of the species, reconstructing the phylogeny of the family, and testing the hypothesis of cospeciation between the plants and their symbiotic mites. Despite the carnivorous nature of pitcher plants, several species of insects and mites resist being captured and digested by the plants, and actually thrive inside their leaves. Among these are all members of the histiostomatid mite genus Sarraceniopus. These mites are highly host-specific, and possess several traits suggesting probable co-speciation with the plants.
Dr. Terry O’Brien
Research Associate
Assistant Professor,
Rowan University, NJ
www.rowan.edu/biology/faculty/obrien
Interests: Systematics and ecology of bryophytes, especially mosses.
Dr. Ann Rhoads
Research Associate
215-247-5777 ext. 134
Senior Botanist
Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania
100 Northwestern Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19118
Interests: Floristic Botany of Pennsylvania, plant conservation.
My research interests are focused on the floristic botany of Pennsylvania. I want to document the natural vegetation of the state and better understand historical and contemporary influences that have shaped the patterns of plant distribution we see today.
Mr. William H. Roberts
Research Associate
215-569-5632
Blank Rome LLP, One Logan Sq,
130 N 18th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
My research interests focus primarily on the flora of the West Coast of Newfoundland, Labrador and the Canadian arctic; Cyperaceae; the history of systematic botany; and botanical references in ancient Greek and Latin literaturein including Homer, Theocritus and Virgil.
Ms. Amada Treher
Graduate Research Associate
Interest: Systematics of Rhynchospora (Cyperaceae)
M. S., Graduate Student at Delaware State University, Advisor, Dr. Robert Naczi
B.S., Shippensburg University
Ms. Erin Tripp
Graduate Research Associate
919-660-7302
Biology Graduate Student
Duke University
fds.duke.edu/db/aas/Biology/grad/erin.tripp
I study the evolution of a diverse and geographically widespread plant family, Acanthaceae (~4,000 species). For my dissertation research, I am using molecular phylogenetics to investigate species relationships and morphological evolution in the large genus Ruellia (~300 species). Well-supported and well-sampled phylogenies are among the best tools that allow us to understand how and why some of the most interesting plant traits and plant symbioses have evolved over time. In Acanthaceae, this includes relationships to pollinators and floral (or vegetative) traits that affect such relationships. Beyond Acanthaceae, I have studied the flora of the tepuis in western Guyana. On a more local level, I am involved in studies on vegetation dynamics in the Great Smoky Mountains, and lichen diversity in the mountains and coastal plain of North Carolina. I believe that the more we learn and share about our own rich diversity and ecology, the greater are our chances to prevent native habitat destruction in a country where so little remains.
Dr. Rachel Wilson
Research Associate
215-951-2880
Associate Professor of Biology
Philadelphia University
Interests: Biochemistry of germination, algal evolution.
My research interests are in the physiology and biochemistry of plant development. I have studied the hormonal regulation of embryogenesis in bean (Phaseolus) and the roles of specific enzymes in the mobilization of stored protein during barley grain germination. More recently I have become interested in the evolution of land plants which has led to a focus on spore germination in one group of charophycean algae (Zygnematales).
Howard Page Wood, M. D.
Research Associate
3300 Darby Road C-802
Haverford, PA 19041
Interests: Dendrobium orchids
I practiced psychiatry from 1954 until retirement in 1989. A visitor to the Academy since childhood in the 1920s and 1930s, I have longtime interests in nature, travel, and photography, and have been growing orchids since 1950s. I specialized in dendrobium species in the 1970s and have published c. 20 papers on orchids. My longtime project has been a book, The Dendrobiums, published in the summer of 2006. (American distributor: Timber Press, Portland, OR. List price $150). A primary source of my research was the Ewell Stewart Library.
This work comprises c. 1000 pages, including c. 100 pages of color (659 images). I took c. 90% of the photos. My approach to the subject is very broad, including evolution and distribution (emphasizing plate tectonics); history; anatomy, physiology, etc.; taxonomy; cultivation; ecology, including habitats and pollinators; taxonomy, encompassing 55 sections; and discussion of c. 600 out of a total of c. 1400 species. Dr. Wood was the recipient of the Engler Silver Medal for 2006, awarded by the International Association for Plant Taxonomy for the publication of this work.