OSU Vascular Plant Types </types> <BODY> <table width = 85%><tr><td align = center> <img src = "vastypes3_sm.gif"> </td> <td align = left> <font size = +2>Oregon State University Herbarium Vascular Plant Types</font> </td></tr></table> <table width = 100%><tr><td> The collections of the Oregon State University Herbarium are worldwide in scope, with a strong emphasis on the state of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. The collections encompass three historically separate, and complementary, herbaria: <A HREF="#OSC">Oregon State University</A>, <A HREF="#ORE">University of Oregon</A>, and <A HREF="#WILLU">Willamette University</A>. This database provides access to all known vascular plant (ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms) holotypes and isotypes in these three herbaria. Like most databases, this one is still under construction. Please send comments and reports of errors or inconsistencies to <br> <A HREF="mailto:listona@science.oregonstate.edu">herbtypes</A>. </td></tr></table> <hr> <h2>Database Searching</h2> <br> <table width = 100%><tr><td> All fields have "drop-down" menus to facilitate searching. To initiate a search, choose a field and one of the values from the drop-down menu. An example would be a collector's name. If you press the "retrieve" button, the query will return the label data for all of the specimens collected by that individual. Alternatively, you can press "refine query" button to produce a new query screen with drop-down menus containing only the field values resulting from your first choice. This would be the best way to see all of the represented species in a genus, for example. Now you can choose the species of interest from the drop-down menu, and press "retrieve" to obtain its label data. </td></tr> <tr><td> Note that searches can be conducted on both basionyms (the original published name) and current names (i.e., the most recent annotation of the type specimen). <br> </td></tr> <tr><td> The first "results screen" gives limited label information. For complete label data, press the "accession number" link to obtain the "browse screen". To see the annotations of that specimen, press the accession number link on the browse screen. </td></tr> <tr><td> <br> <h2>Collection Descriptions</h2> <A NAME="ORE"></A> The University of Oregon herbarium (110,000 specimens, 1,022 types) contains the historically invaluable collections (including 695 Oregon types) of the region's first resident botanists from the late 19th and early part of the 20th century. The personal herbaria of seven pioneer botanists (Thomas J. Howell, William C. Cusick, Louis F. Henderson, J.B. Leiberg, M.W. Gorman, E.P. Sheldon, Lilla Leach) form the core of the vascular plant collection. Transfer of the herbarium to OSU was first proposed in November 1991 and a formal agreement was signed in January 1993. The University of Oregon herbarium was moved to Corvallis in May, 1993. </td></tr> <tr><td> <A NAME="WILLU"></A> The Willamette University herbarium (32,000 specimens, 243 types) consists of the personal collection of Morton E. Peck, Professor of Biology at Willamette University, Salem, Oregon from 1908 until 1941. Peck collected in every county of the state and wrote the only statewide Flora. In Peck's obituary, Lincoln Constance wrote that the collection "will long remain the indispensable basis for studies on the plant life of all sections of the State." The collection was moved to Oregon State University on "indefinite loan" in 1976 and is maintained separately as specified in the transfer agreement. </td></tr> <tr><td> <A NAME="OSC"></A> The Oregon State University herbarium (160,000 specimens, 432 types ) is the oldest of the three herbaria. It was established in the 1880's at Oregon Agricultural College. This institution, later called Oregon State College, is now the present Oregon State University. The history of the herbarium from its origins up to the 1950's is preserved in an unpublished manuscript by Helen M. Gilkey. This remarkable woman began her long association with the herbarium in 1904 and served as its curator from 1918-1951. In her manuscript, the evolution of OSC from a collection devoted primarily to student training and the identification of weeds and fungal plant pathogens to a modern research herbarium can be traced. Gilkey was succeeded by Albert Steward (curator from 1951-1959) and Kenton Chambers (curator from 1960-1990). The collections of Chambers and his students considerably enriched the collections. Efforts were concentrated on systematically difficult taxa, floristically rich and/or poorly known regions of Oregon, and plants of conservation concern. The herbarium is currently under the direction of Aaron Liston (director) and Richard Halse (curator). </td></tr> </table> <BR> <BR> </BODY> </HTML>