Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Blogs by Mason Heberling

Mason Heberling is the assistant curator in the Section of Botany and co-chair of collections at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Heberling is a plant ecologist and botanist whose research explores plant functional strategies in deciduous forest understories, especially in the context
of environmental change. Much of his current research focuses on the ecology
and evolution of non-native, invasive plants in the eastern United States, the ecophysiological strategies of the herbaceous layer in deciduous forests, and the impacts of climate change on the timing of leafing out and flowering in temperate deciduous forests.

by

Collected on this Day in 2001

Herbarium specimen of Prenanthes crepidinea (nodding rattlesnake root)
Herbarium specimen of Prenanthes crepidinea (nodding rattlesnake root)

Collected on May 12, 2001, this specimen was found in Indiana County by Bonnie Isaac, along with her family Joe and Hannah Isaac. Bonnie is the collection manager in the Section of Botany at the museum and an expert on the plants of Pennsylvania. Research for her master’s degree focused on the ecology and distribution of this species, Prenanthes crepidinea (nodding rattlesnake root).

Of conservation concern and endangered in some states, this species is native to rich woods and wet areas in north-central United States, including western Pennsylvania. Bonnie discovered that young plants emerge early in the spring, often before the canopy fully leafs out, and die back by the end of June. Few larger, older individuals persist and send up a flowering stalk August through November. The species is monocarpic, meaning that once a plant gets enough energy to flower (which may take several years), it blooms once and then dies. Her research informs conservation efforts to locate new populations of this uncommon species, finding that the best time to spot it is in early spring, before young plants disappear for the season. This specimen of a young, nonflowering plant serves as a voucher specimen that provides verifiable documentation of this population and for use in future research.

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden
collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

by

Collected on this Day in 1950

Dutchman’s breeches specimen pressed and dried

Collected on May 6, 1950, this specimen was found in by Werner E. Buker. Buker was a math teacher at Perry High School in Pittsburgh and a long-time affiliate with the museum and the Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania. This spring ephemeral has a great name—Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). The white flowers look like little pants hung out on a line to dry. Bumblebees get nectar from this plant with the help of a long proboscis (tongue-like appendage). Native Americans are said to have used the dry bulbs of this species as a blood purifier, spring tonic, and to treat syphilis. However, it contains alkaloids that are poisonous if eaten in large quantities and can cause skin irritation. It has been found to induce trembling, vomiting, and convulsions in cows that wandered into the forest in early spring looking for food.

Dutchman’s breeches flower

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

by

Collected on this Day in 1845

mouse-ear cress, a weed in the mustard family

Collected on April 28, 1845, this specimen was found in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania (Franklin County) by Thomas Conrad Porter. Porter (1822-1901) was a botanist associated with the herbarium at what is now the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia.

This plant might not seem like anything to write home about, but it is well known by most scientists. Arabidopsis thaliana (mouse-ear cress) has played, and continues to play, a huge role in plant biology research. This weed in the mustard family (Brassicaceae) is native to Europe and Asia and has been widely introduced to the United States.

Because of its small genome (fully sequenced 16 years ago), rapid life cycle (Germination to reproducing adult takes only six weeks!), mutant genotypes, and a long history of genetic research, this species has become an important model organism for cellular, molecular, evolutionary, agricultural, and even ecological studies. It is the international “lab rat” for plant science.

It was discovered in Germany in the 1500s, but did not really become famous as a model organism for research until 1943—nearly 100 years after this specimen was collected!

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

by

Collected on this Day in 1919

Skunk Cabbage specimen

Collected on April 12, 1919, this specimen was found by Otto Jennings “North of Saunders” in Allegheny County. Jennings was an extremely influential botanist, focusing on nearly all aspects of plants in our region. He made many contributions throughout his career, serving as the curator of botany, director of education, and eventually director of Carnegie Museum of
Natural History. He was also a professor and head of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and advised many students. His legacy is his influence on the museum, botany, conservation, and environmental education.

Skunk cabbage grows in wet, forested areas across the eastern United States.  Although easily overlooked, it is one of the
earliest plants to flower in our region. Its flowers produce heat that melts the snow around it. The flowers smell like rotting meat, which attracts the flies that pollinate it. As the name suggests, the leaves smell like skunk when they are crushed.

Skunk cabbage coming up in the snow

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

by

Collected on this Day in 1983

Herbarium specimen of Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Collected on March 31, 1983, this specimen was found by Fred Utech and Masashi Ohara in Cullman County, Alabama. Fred was a curator of botany at the museum and studied the biology and evolutionary relationships among understory species of eastern
United States and east Asia. Native to forest understories across the eastern United States, Virginia bluebells (Mertensia
virginica) are aptly named for their bell-shaped, blue flowers, although it is not just found in Virginia. It is a spring ephemeral species, meaning it emerges with beautiful blooms early in the spring during the short window before trees leaf out, and it disappears underground before summer. Fortunately, you can see this and other spring ephemerals any time of year at the museum in the Hall of Botany!

Botanists at Carnegie Museum of Natural History share pieces of the herbarium’s historical hidden collection on the dates they were discovered or collected. Check back for more!

by

What is a Shamrock?

white clover
Trifolium repens (collected 1974 in Louisiana), aka white clover.

by Mason Heberling

What is a shamrock? There is no overwhelming scientific consensus on which species is the well-known Irish national emblem. There was survey of Irish botanists in the early 1890s asking which species was the true shamrock. A similar survey was repeated in 1988. The results suggest the shamrock is either Trifolium dubium (aka lesser trefoil) or Trifolium repens (aka white clover).

The plants commonly sold around St. Patrick’s Day as shamrocks or four-leaf clovers are in the plant genus Oxalis (wood sorrel), which belong to a different plant family than true clovers.

Trifolium dubium (collected 1961 in Pennsylvania), aka lesser trefoil.

 

Oxalis tetraphylla (collected 1981 in India), aka lucky clover, although not a true clover.

 

Oxalis debilis (collected 1989 in cultivation), aka pink woodsorrel.

 

Mason Heberling is a postdoctoral research associate at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences working with museum collections.

Related Content

Section of Minerals and Earth Sciences Celebrates Being Lucky!

Collected on This Day in 1957: Coltsfoot

Ask a Scientist: How do you find rare plants?

Share this post!