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Torrey Botanical Society Annual Lecture
Series
Fall 2009 and Spring 2010
October, November, March, and April lectures will be presented at the
Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall,
The New York Botanical Garden,
200th Street and Kazimiroff Blvd, Bronx, NY 10458
December and May lectures will be presented at the Auditorium at
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1000 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225
Lectures
are free and open to the public
Great Goddess of Decay! - A History of Amateur Mycology in the United States
Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 6:30 PM
Presented by David W. Rose, archivist, writer, and past president of the Connecticut-Westchester Mycological Association.
Abstract:
This illustrated talk focuses on the role of amateurs in advancing
the science of mycology in the U.S. Beginning in the 1890’s, popular
interest in mushrooms was stimulated by mycology clubs that began to
form in cities on the East coast. Prominent professionals like Charles
Horton Peck of the New York State Museum and William Murrill of the New
York Botanical Garden, and amateurs like Charles McIlvaine, published
illustrated works on the fungi; by the twentieth century the study of
mushrooms became fixed as a popular adjunct of botany. By mid-century,
amateur mycology was re-invigorated by Robert Gordon Wasson’s discovery
of a mushroom cult among the Mazatecs in Oaxaca, Mexico. Soon after,
the North American Mycological Association was formed, enlisting the
help of noted composer John Cage in promoting the study of mushrooms.
This talk will trace the history of amateur mycology, the interactions
between amateurs and professionals, and the place of mycology in
American society from the 1890s to the present day.
Evolution of Pollination Mechanisms in Apocynaceae
Monday, November 2, 2009, 6:30 PM
Presented by Dr. Tatyana Livshultz, Assistant Curator of Botany, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
Abstract:
The relationship between plants and their pollinators is usually
regarded as a mutualism beneficial to both. In fact, it is a careful
balance between mutualism and antagonism since the two parties have
fundamentally different interests (reproduction and food,
respectively). For the average flowering plant, only 0.4% of the pollen
removed by the pollinator is delivered to stigmas of the same species;
the other 99.6% is lost or eaten, a stark illustration of the hazard of
relying on animal pollinators. Milkweeds (Apocynaceae, subfamily
Asclepiadoideae) have incredibly complex flowers that function as an
effective countermeasure to the unreliability of animal pollinators.
The average pollen transfer efficiency of milkweeds is 26%. In this
presentation, the function of the remarkable milkweed pollination will
be explained. A hypothesis of the evolutionary origin of milkweed
pollination will be presented and tested against an evolutionary tree
based on DNA sequences. Finally, current research on pollination
biology in Apocynaceae that may shed light on the origin of the
milkweed flower will be discussed.
The
Landscape of Scales – human influences on wetland loss in coastal
Louisiana supported by 24 yrs of study in the Mississippi River bird
foot delta
Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 6:30 PM
Presented by David A. White, full professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Loyola University, New Orleans
Abstract: Historically coastal Louisiana had 40% of the wetlands
within the continental United States. These lands formed over the
past 6–7000 years from sediment deposited by the Mississippi
River. This talk will present an Introduction to the Louisiana
coast’s ‘scales of landscape’ – the smallest scale of individual
deltaic lobe is nested in several increasingly larger scales to the
largest, the entire Mississippi delta. Following this
Introduction, details of this vital importance of the River to State’s
wetlands will be outlined from data collected over 24 years of study at
the mouth of the Mississippi River. Since their zenith in the mid
1950s, the coastal wetlands of Louisiana have been experiencing
unprecedented loss (currently 80% of all loss in the Unites States)
from human activity ranging from levee construction and maintenance for
flood prevention, to oil and gas extraction, and now to sea level rise
brought by climate change. Loss rates have dropped from highs of
50 square miles/yr to the now less than 20 – the reduction only because
there now is less land to loose. Hurricane Katrina in 2005
contributed another one time loss of over 100 square miles. The
PowerPoint talk will show dramatic aerial imagery as well as photos of
wetland communities and plants native to the Louisiana coast.
Botany and Natural History of the Remote Island of Rapa Iti, French Polynesia
Sunday, March 7, 2010, 1:00 PM (Annual Banquet)
Presented by Timothy Motley, J. Robert Stiffler Professor of Botany, Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University
Abstract: A
land of unique music, plants, culture and geography Rapa Island (Rapa
iti or Oparo not to be confused with Rapa nui or Easter Island) is a
volcanic island 650 km south southeast of Tahiti and 200 km southeast
of Raivavae the nearest island in the Austral archipelago. The island
is the remains of a volcanic cone that collapsed on one side making the
aerial view of the island resemble the letter “C” surrounding a large
lagoon. The view from the lagoon reveals an amphitheater of towering
peaks connected by razor-shape ridges. The highest peak on the island
reaches 650 m in elevation and several others are well over 400 m in
height. Atop each peak are built ancient fortresses or pa that were
abandoned before the time of European discovery in 1871. The geographic
location 400 km south of the Tropic of Capricorn and resulting
temperate climate make Rapa Iti botanically unique and a hotspot for
plant diversity and endemism in French Polynesia. Scientists have found
the vegetation of Rapa Iti to be one of the most difficult to classify
and one of the most botanically distinctive islands of central
Polynesia. Typical Polynesian crops such as breadfruit and coconut do
not thrive in this climate. Plant species endemism does. The
small island contains three, endemic, monotypic genera (Apostates and
Paciferigeron, Asteraceae and Metatrophis, Urticaceae) and 70 % species
endemism. Join Dr. Timothy Motley and his team of botanical experts on
a National Geographic expedition as he recounts the their unique
discoveries of new plant species, rare birds, unusual animals,
archaeology, ethnobotany, and ship wreck adventures while on isolated
island of Rapa iti.
The Flora of the Northeastern U.S.A. and Adjacent Canada: Advancing the Legacy
Tuesday, April 6, 2010, 6:30 PM
Presented by Robert F. C. Naczi, Curator of North American Botany, The New York Botanical Garden
Abstract: Since
its founding, The New York Botanical Garden has made the study of the
plant life of northeastern North America an institutional
priority. In the process, Garden scientists have published a series of
Floras that enable users to identify the plants that grow spontaneously
within this huge region. The past two decades have seen considerable
advances in understanding botanical relationships and knowledge of
plant distributions. Accordingly, the Garden has renewed its
commitment to research on northeastern plants by embarking on a program
to produce a new Flora for northeastern North America. This
presentation will review the Garden's legacy, explain the need for a
new Flora of this region, and describe progress on this Flora.
Wildflowers, climate change and Walden Pond Thursday, May 6, 2010, 6:30 PM
Presented by Richard Primack, Professor of Biology, Department of Biology, Boston University
This lecture is presented in collaboration with NYC Wildflower Week (nycwildflowerweek.org)
Abstract: From
1851 to 1858, Henry David Thoreau recorded plant flowering times,
leafing out dates, and bird arrival times at Walden Pond and elsewhere
in Concord. When compared with modern observations, these records
demonstrate that plants and birds are already responding to a warming
climate. In addition, these warming temperatures are already affecting
the abundance of many wildflower species.
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The TORREY BOTANICAL SOCIETY
collects and diffuses information on all topics relating to botany.
Membership is open to all those interested in any phase of botanical
activity. Please check our website:
http://www.torreybotanical.org/ for further information.
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NOTES: For information on how to get to the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) in the Bronx, please check their website: http://www.nybg.org/visit/directions.php
MetroNorth Harlem line trains stop at Botanical Garden Station. Subway
D and 4 trains have stops on Bedford Park Blvd., and the connecting bus
26 stops just outside the Botanical Garden's Mosholu entrance.
For information on how to get to Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG), please check their website: http://www.bbg.org/vis2/directions.html
Subway 2 and 3 trains stop at the Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum
station, B and Q trains stop at the Prospect Park station, and 4 and 5
trains stop at the Franklin Avenue station.
In extremely inclement weather, you can email or call the Program
Coordinator (see Officers and Committees Page) to inquire about meeting
changes.

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