Examples of type specimens in the OSU herbarium

After reading Monday’s post on type specimens in The OSU herbarium, I wanted to see some of these type specimens, and so, I set up an appointment with Mesfin Tadesse, curator of vascular plants in the herbarium. Mesfin led me straight to the cabinet that houses all type specimens, each in its own red folder. He pulled out the following type specimens, some of which were collected in Ohio.

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I was curious to find out more about these specimens and hence I looked up the labels and the notes left with the specimens. While the labels were provided by the plant collectors, the notes, on the nature of the type, were supplied, at a later time, either by curators or by students who were working towards a Ph.D. degree in plant systematics at the time.

The Red Maple variety viride was collected at Buckeye Lake, Licking county, in 1917, by Freda Detmers, an American botanist.  She knew that the species of Acer are quite variable and she described and named this new variety based on “a young tree, about 9.5 m. tall with smooth light gray bark” that she found on  Cranberry Island in Buckeye Lake. You can see a photograph of the tree posted with the type specimen. She published her description in the Ohio Journal of Science 19: 235-236.

The variety subinermis of the Devil’s Walkingstick Aralia spinosa was described by Harold Moldenke, another American botanist / txaonomist. He collected this particualr specimen as an escape from cultivation along a fence, North Appalachian Experimental Watershed, near Coshocton, Coshocton Co., Ohio, on July 25, 1942. It was originally deposited in the herbarium of the North Appalachian Experimental Watershed which was transferred to the OSU herbarium at a later time. He gave the original description in Latin which was the norm until very recently: Haec forma a forma typica speciei recedit petiolis rhachidibusque costisque foliolorum inermibus; caulibus ramisque subinermibus vel paullo armatis (in case you are not fluent in Latin, check the translation at the bottom of this post).

Of course I was intrigued by my name’s sake California Angelica Angelica callii, a plant collected at an elevation of 4,600 feet near Sequoia National Park on 18 October 1965 (almost to the date and 10 years before I was born). The plant was so named in honor of Tracey and Viola Call, the collectors of the type specimens deposited both in the University of California Herbarium (UC: holotype) and in The Ohio State University Herbarium (OS: isotype).

map with exact location marked where the isotype specimen for Angelica callii was found in 1965

Exact location where the isotype specimen for Angelica callii was found in 1965

The map shows the exact location of where this isotype specimen of Angelica callii was found.

Did you know that the tree houseleek is a succulent, subtropical plant? The holotype held at the OSU herbarium was collected in the Canary Islands in 1984.

The description and the wonderful drawing of the variety of maidenhair fern Adiantum pedatum var. laciniatum was published in the 10th volume of the Ohio Naturalist in 1910. Lewis Sylvester Hopkins – you guessed right – another American botanist, described this variety as follows: “For several years while collecting in the woods of Wayne County, Ohio, I have noted here and there occasional plants of Adiantum pedatum L. whose fronds [another term for a fern’s leaf consisting of multiple leaflets] differ very materially from those of the normal type. The difference consists mainly in the normal pinnules [any of the smaller leaflets into which each leaflet of a compound leaf is subdivided] being replaced by linear branching pinnules which are partly fertile and partly sterile at their tips. This transposition may occur either at the end or in the middle of the pinna, more often the latter.

One of these plants was transplanted to the yard of the McFadden homestead in Wooster where it has been under observation for a period of four years. It seems to thrive in its new home and each year has continued to produce fronds of the type described.

The form is probably a sport [slang for a genetic mutant or variant] but as such it seems to deserve a name as it is likely to occur elsewhere. Therefore, I propose the name: Adiantum pedatum L. var. laciniatum Hopkins var. nov.”

Last but not least the oppositeleaf spotflower Acmella oppsitifolia var. repens as described by Robert K Jansen in his article “The Systematics of Acmella (Asteraceae-Heliantheae)” in Systematic Botany Monographs, Vol. 8 in 1985. I will leave the description for you to figure out: “Outer and inner series of phyllaries lanceolate, apex acuminate. Ray and disc achenes sparsely to densely ciliate with short (30-50 µm) straight-tipped hairs; pappus absent. Chromosome number n = 26.

Phenology. Flowering commonly from April to November, except in Florida where the flowering season extends throughout the year.

distribution map of Acmella oppsitifolia var repens

distribution map of Acmella oppsitifolia var repens

Distribution. In moist, weedy habitats, especially along roadsides and stream banks on the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States (i.e., Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina) and along the Mississippi River from southern Mississippi to southern Louisiana; sea level to 200 m.

This variety has also spread west and south into western Arkansas and eastern Texas; one disjunct population is known from northern Mexico.”

The neotype specimen in The OSU herbarium was collected in Texas.

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Here are some definitions that may make it easier for you to appreciate the terminology taxonomists use when describing type specimens:

Protologue = Everything associated with a name at its valid publication, i.e. description or diagnosis, illustrations, references, synonymy, geographical data, citation of specimens, discussion, and comments.

Holotype = The one specimen or illustration used by the author or designated by the author as the nomenclatural type.

Paratype = A specimen cited in the protologue that is neither the holotype nor an isotype, nor one of the syntypes if two or more specimens were simultaneously designated as types.

Neotype = A specimen or illustration selected to serve as nomenclatural type if no original material is extant or as long as it is missing.

Isotype = A duplicate specimen of the holotype.

References:  Glossary of terms used and defined in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature

The University and Jepsen Herbaria specimen portal, University of California, Berkeley (map of Angelica callii)

Original descriptions of these type specimens have been published in the following journals:
Acer rubrum: Detmers F (1918). Two new varieties of Acer rubrum L. The Ohio Journal of Science 19: 235-236.
Acmella oppsitifolia: Jansen RK (1985). The Systematics of Acmella (Asteraceae-Heliantheae). Systematic Botany Monographs, Vol. 8: 1-115.
Adiantum pedatum: Hopkins LS (1910). New varieties of common ferns. The Ohio Naturalist 10: 179-180.
Aeonium davidbramwellii: Liu, H.-Y. (1989). Systematics of Aeonium (Crassulaceae). National Museum of Natural Science (Taiwan) Special Publication 3: 88-89, Fig.29
Angelica callii: (1977). Madrono 24:80.
Aralia spinose: Moldenke HN (1944). A Contribution to Our Knowledge of the Wild and Cultivated Flora of Ohio: I. Castanea, Vol. 9, No. 1/3 (Jan. – Mar., 1944), pp. 1-80

About the Author: Angelika Nelson is the outreach and multi-media coordinator at the Museum of Biological Diversity, on a mission in the OSU herbarium. Mesfin Tadesse edited the text.

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Here is the translation of the Latin description of Aralia spinosa var. subinermis by Harold Moldenke: This form differs from the typical form of the species in having its petioles, rachis, and the midribs of the leaflets unarmed and the trunk and branches practically unarmed or with only comparatively few thorns – just what you thought, right?

Vascular Plant Type Specimens in The Ohio State University Herbarium

Today we introduce type specimens kept in The Ohio State University Herbarium. But first let us briefly introduce the herbarium and what a type specimen of a plant is.

The Ohio State University Herbarium was established in 1891, 21 years after the founding of the university. Since its inception, the vascular plant collections [all seed-bearing plants and ferns], as well as the non-vascular plant collections [mosses and liverworts], have grown rapidly through the efforts of the many plant collectors from Ohio and beyond, and through gifts, exchanges and purchases. The total holdings of vascular plants are estimated at over 550,000 specimens. The collection, having been built up over a period of nearly 126 years, is a state treasure. It continues to be augmented and studied by many experts interested in various groups of plants as well as in some aspects of Ohio vegetation. The herbarium preserves specimens as vouchers to document past and present research studies on vegetation. Such documentation may increase the value of the research study by making it possible for future workers to determine, without any doubt, what plants were used in the original research. An important special case of this is the preservation of specimens of the original plant material that was used to describe and give a name to a new species or sub-specific entity. These are called type specimens and are often simply called “types”. They are specimens on which the naming of plants and plant populations (as variety or subspecies)  are based, and in a sense they serve as the key to the name of a plant. In the event of any discrepancy between independent descriptions of a species or any element of it, now or in the past, researchers can go back to the type specimen, and clarify the matter. For this reason, type specimens are among the most valuable entities in any collection, including the OSU herbarium. The effort is to have only a single type specimen for each name associated with a plant or its population, although in the past, that is, before the adoption of the type concept, many specimens were often used to describe and name a particular plant species.

Because of their value, type specimens are given special care by curators of herbaria. Since a while back an active search has been conducted to find and remove type specimens from the OSU collection for storage in a special cabinet (see photo).  Currently over 470 sheets representing more than 100 vascular plant taxa have been confirmed as type specimens and photographs of types in our collection. Type specimens along with type photographs are, therefore, treasures of all times. Their preservation and safety is one of the priorities in the herbarium. Type specimens are kept in a separate and special case. This precludes unnecessary handling and permits more adequate inspection for possible harm (e.g. insect infestation). The case containing type specimens is placed on a wheeled cart with a sign “TYPE COLLECTION REMOVE FIRST IN CASE OF FIRE” consequently it’s easy to take it out first or quickly, during an emergency.

A greater and more tragic loss of literally thousands of type specimens resulted from the partial burning of the great herbarium at Berlin, The Federal Republic of Germany, in 1943. Type specimens are not, and should not, be used or handled any more than is necessary. Curators of many herbaria are reluctant to send out type specimens on loan to other botanists or institutions. They insist that researchers must first attempt at establishing identities of their research materials with the help of protologues (all original materials associated with a newly published name, including its description, diagnosis, illustrations, synonyms, studied specimens, etc.), the original species description, and the available electronic images of many types in databases of institutions and herbaria.  It is only after these have failed and that the researcher is in dire need of examining particular details of these types, that they are willing to send types on loan. In our previous post, we illustrated how the type specimen of the Ohio Buckeye was brought, not sent by mail, to Ohio from Berlin. Part of the agreement with the Berlin herbarium then was that it will have to be taken from Berlin and sent back to Berlin with a staff member of the department, thus indicating the level of care that the institution placed on its type collections. Today, many of the type specimens kept in The Ohio State University Herbarium are available for viewing online through Global Plants, the world’s largest database of digitized plant specimens. Researchers are encouraged to check this and similar websites first in order to examine a type  specimen, be it from Ohio or elsewhere.

We will show you more samples of type specimens and how researchers make these first descriptions on Friday!

 

Mesfin Tadesse, curator OSU herbariumAbout the Authors: Mesfin Tadesse is curator of vascular plants at Ohio State University Herbarium; Azam Abdollahazadeh is a Research Scholar on a short-term visit to the OSU herbarium.

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Why describing new species is exciting and important!

For many researchers describing a new species seems like a tedious task. The differences between species might not be obvious, and the language confusing and foreign. This fact became apparent to me when I first presented my work to the Ant Lab at the Museum of Biological Diversity (MBD). As I described subtle differences in morphology, a little spine here and the shape of a hair there, I could tell that I had lost my audience by the dulled looks on my lab mates faces. How could they not see the differences in these two species?

comparison of Trachymyrmex new species and T. zeteki

Fig. 1 – Trachymyrmex new species on the left and T. zeteki on the right

“Some key differentiating characters: The integument is granulose, spatulate bi-colored setae occur between the frontal carina, the scape extends past the occipital corners. This is compared to a weakly irrorate integument, simple bi-colored setae between the frontal carina, and the scape reaching the occipital corners.”

Fig. 2 – In case you are not familiar with the some terms used in describing ant species


Totally clear, right?

While the differences in characters that separate Trachymyrmex new species and T. zeteki, are exciting for me, it seems to bore people to death. After my presentation, I received very helpful constructive criticism from my lab group. They thought it was interesting but a lot of my presentation went over their heads. My advisor, Dr. Rachelle Adams (Assistant Professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology), encouraged me to find a way to turn the jargon into something people can digest and appreciate. I am still working on that, and it is a challenge many researchers face.

Species descriptions are important and a necessary part of daily life

Hopefully your parents told you when you were younger, never eat mushrooms you find in the woods. Taxonomy helps us understand what kind of mushroom you found, if it is edible, or if it might seriously hurt you if you eat it. Mushrooms are a great example of why taxonomy is important. Scientists need to describe and name species so that others can learn which characteristics define a species. Then chemists can tell us which are toxic. This information communicated to the public can potentially save lives! Taxonomists donate representations of species in museums so that they can be compared by other scientists in the future. Aside from publishing their species description, they submit the specimen used to describe the new species, a type specimen. Anyone who works with any type of animal or plant should be submitting voucher specimens, physical specimens that serve as a basis of study, as representatives of their work.

Cody working at microscope

Fig. 2 – Photo courtesy of Plain Janell Photography

My Taxonomic Conundrum

While working on my species description, I reviewed all the literature that included T. zeteki. The 30 papers covered a number of areas such as fungus-growing ant genomes, mating systems, alarm pheromones, larvae development, and gut bacteria. Sadly, almost half of the papers do not mention depositing voucher specimens! Two articles deposited their DNA sequences as vouchers to a database for molecular data. Any research that uses DNA sequences has to submit DNA vouchers to that database; without it your work cannot get published. However, they do not have any physical vouchers linked to their sequences! This lack of physical vouchers was quite a surprise to me. The time I spent as an intern at the MBD Triplehorn Insect Collection, my advisors and other mentors strongly advocated the deposition of vouchers. Without being able to link your DNA sequence to a correctly identified organism, that DNA voucher loses its value. You cannot quickly identify an organism from DNA. Using morphology is the easiest way to do so! It seems many researchers don’t recognize the importance of vouchering and most non-taxonomic journals do not demand it. Research published without vouchers lacks reproducibility, an essential component of the scientific method.

In my research project, I am cleaning up the mess left behind from nearly twenty-years’ worth of poor vouchering and misidentification. I’m not only describing a new species and key characters that differentiate two cryptic species, I am listing all of the papers that have been published in the past twenty years using the names Trachymyrmex zeteki and Trachymyrmex cf. zeteki. By linking the new species description to these articles scientists can move forward knowing the proper identification of these hard-to-identify fungus-growing ants.

The deposition of vouchers should be required for all publications, and is crucial for, past, present, and future research in biology. In my undergraduate research, I discovered there is a disconnect between research museums like the MBD and many scientists. While I am still struggling to turn the technical jargon into information that can be swallowed by non-experts, there are discussions to be had about the importance of taxonomy as a cornerstone in biology.

If you want to learn more about fungus-growing ants and the importance of university research collections, come see us at the MBD Open House April 22, 10am – 4pm.

CodyCardenas, undergraduate student ant lab, EEOBAbout the Author: Cody R. Cardenas is a Senior Undergraduate student in Entomology  working in the Adams Ant Lab.

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