Journal of the New York Botanical Garden

              JOURNAL
OF
THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
VOL. 46
Xo. 542
FEBRUARY
1 9 4 5
PAGES
2 5 ^ 8
JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
CAROL H. WOODWARD, Editor
L I V I N G M O N U M E N TS
FOR ALL OUR BOYS
By Millicent Easter
Marine
In memory of me, please don't erect
A dreary stone that would reflect—
No thought of joy or living things,
Or hope, for which the whole world 6ings.
I ask that you go plant a tree
To cast a shadow, cool, for me.
A tree to bless the weary earth,
Or any monument of vital worth!
Soldier
In haunting memory, on marble cold,
I want no story of my valor told.
Forlorn and desolate, they stand for years,
Despair they bring, and lonely tears.
Instead, I beg you plan a place—
A playground— where children race,
Where laughter rings, and children sing,
And mothers, there, their babies bring.
Sailor
I want a woodland— dark and deep—
Where ferns, like sea- weed shadows creep,
A little lake— a bathing beach—
A happy place— in easy reach.
For city children, denied the joy
That I once knew, as d. bare- foot boy.
Or ( of man- made ice) a skating rink—
Are among the worth- while things, I think.
Flyer
For all the boys— on sea or land—
For all the Flyers— who victory planned—
From the Spirit World— We unite our pleas—
For playgrounds— pools— and glorious trees!
No futile piles of stone to mar
The landscape view, both near and far!
Dead monuments are but idle toys—
Give living things for our noble boys!
( Reprinted by courtesy of The Matrix)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
February 194?
PRIMULA OBCONICA, from the February Members' Day Exhibit
Cover photograph by Elmer N. Mitchell
LONGEVITY OF SEEDS CURRENT LITERATURE 44
William Crocker 26 NOTES, NEWS, AND COMMENT 44
EPIPHYTIC ORCHIDS OF FLORIDA RED CROSS EXHIBIT 47
Alex D. Hawkes 38 TEACHERS' COURSE 48
The Journal is published monthly by The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, New York 58,
N. Y. Printed in U. S. A. Entered at the Post Office in New York. N. Y., as second- class matter.
Annual subscription $ 1.00. Single copies 15 cents. Free to members of the Garden.
JOURNAL
0/
THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
VOL. 46 FEBRUARY 1945 No. 542
S E E D S OF A N T I Q U I TY
O TORIES of wheat that has sprouted after centuries of burial in the dark'
^ ness of an ancient Egyptian tomb and of peas that have been grown in
gardens recently from seeds that had been stored beside a mummy long before
the Christian era are perennially appearing in print. In the past year par-ticularly
several accounts have been published of peas which had been taken
directly from a container sealed within the tomb of Tut- ankh- amen 3,300
years ago, and which germinated and grew.
No one today is a greater authority of the length of time that seeds may be
expected to live than William Crocker, Director of the Boyce Thompson
Institute for Plant Research, Inc., in Yonkers. To answer the many questions
that have been sent to the New York Botanical Garden lately regarding the
veracity of these repeated tales, Dr. Crocker has generously consented to
write the accompanying article on the life- span of seeds, presenting the facts
as they have been revealed through his own research and that of others here
and abroad.
It will be seen very shortly that wheat that has been stored ten years will
germinate almost 100 per cent; but if 15 years are added to this period, the
rate of germination is reduced to a negligible figure. A long way, this, from
the hundreds, possibly thousands, of years of storage in Egyptian tombs!
Seeds of the same kind of lotus ( H. elumbium) that was cultivated in the
waters of the Nile have germinated after they have been in storage 250 years,
and buried seeds of lotus from a lake bed in Manchuria, where they had lain
for perhaps two to four hundred years, have also sprouted successfully.
Members of the Pea family, which, like the lotus, are apt to have hard,
impervious seed- coats, also rank among the seeds of long life duration. Some
of these have been found to be viable after about 150 years and might be
25
26
viable even longer. But scientific tests remain to be made on seed 500, 1,000,
and 3,000 years old.
Dr. Crocker's statements should put an end to future speculation on mummy
wheat, at least, if not on the garden peas from Tut- ankh- amen's tomb; but, as
others have also predicted, these tales will without doubt be perpetually
revived.— C. H. W.
Longevity of Seeds1
By William Crocker
PROFESSOR EWART, in his booklet " On the Longevity of Seeds,"
1908, says in part: " . . . such fables as the supposed germination of
mummy wheat have long since been exploded." He was evidently too
optimistic about the ease of disposing permanently of the mummy wheat
fable, for it has been repeatedly revived and exploded since 1908 and will
probably recurrently revive and be exploded in the future.
Seeds of farm and garden plants are not long- lived. It is rare except
under very special storage conditions that any seeds of these crops will
remain viable more than 25 years.
Seeds of Short Life Duration
Seeds of a number of species of plants remain alive for relatively short
periods ( days, weeks, or months) when exposed to drying or other
detrimental factors of the atmosphere. Among such seeds are spring-fruiting
maples of this region, Indian or wild rice, chestnuts, hickory
nuts, walnuts and other nuts, acorns, poplar, willow, citrus, sugar cane,
Hevea, elm, and others.
In the river maple ( Acer saccharimun) and Indian rice ( Zizania
aquatica) the main and perhaps the sole injurious effect of the air is
drying. In the former the seeds bear about 58 per cent water when they
fall from the tree and are killed when the water falls to 30 to 34 per cent,
regardless of speed and temperature of drying. In nature, the seeds fall
with the radical pointing downward and many germinate immediately, thus
avoiding drying. These seeds retained full vitality for 102 days when,
stored at 0° C. in a way to prevent drying and accumulation of carbon
dioxide. This was the duration of the experiment so there is little doubt
1 Practically all facts and conclusions in this paper are based on two papers ( 2, 3)
written on this subject by the author: " Life- Span of Seeds" in the Botanical Review
4: 235- 274, 1938, and a chapter, " Life Span of Seeds," in Book of Boyce Thompson
Institute, to be published soon. Both of these papers are fully documented, con­sequently
few additional citations are called for in this article. For these few cita­tions,
referred to by numbers in parenthesis, see the end of the article.
27
that they will retain their vitality much longer than this under these con­ditions.
Indian rice stored in air also seems to be killed by drying. In nature
the seeds generally fall in water and remain in the cold water until spring,
when they germinate. These seeds can be stored in water at or a little
above the freezing point until spring. In this condition they after- ripen
as well as retain their vitality and are ready to grow in the spring.
Willow seeds endure thorough drying if the drying occurs rapidly and
at a low temperature as is the case when they are sealed with a desiccating
agent and placed in an ice- chest. Poplar seeds retain their vitality for
22 months if sealed in a vacuum and stored at a low temperature. American
elm seeds lose their vitality almost completely in 6 months in open air, but
retain full vitality for more than 5 years when kept in sealed storage at 5°
to - 5° C. with a water content of 2 to 7 per cent.
The two articles on life span of seeds on which this paper is based
describe experiments on several other short- lived seeds showing the
atmospheric factors that kill the seeds and the conditions necessary for
prolonging the lives of the seeds.
Seeds of Medium Life Duration
Seeds of most of our farm and vegetable garden plants still retain a low
percentage of viability after a few to possibly as much as 25 years in
some cases when stored in the manner of common practice. Vilmorin, the
well known seed and horticultural firm of France, kept many records of
the life span of seeds. According to these records, oats and barley had an
average life of 3 years and timothy and flax 2 years, and the extreme limit
of seeds were maize 4 years, lettuce 9 years, onion 7 years, crucifers
( cabbage, turnips, rape, and radish) 10 years, and cucurbits ( watermelon,
muskmelon, pumpkin, etc.) and beets 10- f- years. The climate of France
is evidently unfavorable for retention of viability of seeds, for the records
of the life span of the same kinds of seeds by other workers is much
greater than the Vilmorin records.
Robertson and Lute ( 5) of Colorado determined the percentage
germination of several varieties of wheat, barley, oats. Rosen rye. Wiscon­sin
Black soybean, and one variety of corn after various years of storage
in the Colorado climate. The following shows the percentage germination
after the periods of storage mentioned: varieties of wheat 89.8 to 98.4
per cent; varieties of barley 68.1 to 100 per cent; and varieties of oats
81.8 to 91.9 per cent ( all after 10 years of storage) ; rye 52 per cent after
9 years of storage; soybeans 48.1 per cent after 8 years; Black Amber
sorghum 97.9 per cent after 6 years; and corn 79 per cent after 9 years.
At the beginning all the seeds gave 100 per cent germination except corn,
which gave 92 per cent.
28
Dillman and Toole found that flax stored in the dry climate of Mandan,
N. D., gave 58 per cent germination after 18 years of storage, and Goff
of Geneva, N. Y., found that rutabaga gave 50 per cent germination and
muskmelon 56 per cent after 14 years of storage; cucumber 14 per cent
after 19 years; beet 24 per cent after 15 years; and tomato 56 per cent
after 16 years.
Sifton of Ottawa, Canada, got 2 per cent germination for 17- year- old
wheat, 41 per- cent for 19- year oats, 10 per cent for 12- year timothy;
Karper and Jones ( Texas) got 4 per cent for 18- year and 0.4 per cent for
19- year- old sorghum. Finally, Percival of England got 16 per cent
germination in 25- year- old wheat that was especially dried and sealed in
a bottle.
All of the workers show that the life span given by Vilmorin is too short
for the same seeds stored in more favorable climates, but none of them
indicate that the life span is likely to exceed greatly 25 years for ordinary
storage. Sifton's ( 6) results are especially significant on the last point,
for his curves show that once the vitality drops 10 to 20 per cent the fall
is rapid thereafter. Oats may be a partial exception, for the vitality in
oats had not dropped 20 per cent until after more than 15 years and still
gave 40 per cent germination after 19 years. In Sifton's curves there is
a tendency for the curves to flatten out somewhat again after the viability
reaches a low value, indicating that there are a few seeds in each batch
that are rather persistent. Still, the mummy wheat fable gets no support
from these data.
Good Storage Conditions Increase Greatly the Life Span of Seeds
Table I shows how much improved but not optimum storage conditions
lengthen the vitality of relatively short- lived delphinium seeds. These
seeds were kept in a heated laboratory from harvest until December, when
they were put into storage. Judging from our records of the water con­tent
of various kinds of seeds in the laboratory during each month of the
year and from the fact that these seeds are fatty, they probably bore about
6 per cent water when put into storage.
The annual delphinium seeds stored open in the laboratory fell con­tinuously
in percentage germination with duration of storage and were all
dead after 46 months. In these, of course, both the water content and the
temperature fluctuated with the season.
Contrast with these the seeds sealed and stored at 8° and 5° C. These
had not fallen in percentage germination after 143 months and still gave
more than half of the original germination after 193 months, or more
than 16 years of storage. These seeds were kept constant both as to
moisture and temperature. They gave about the same percentage germina­tion
after 193 months of storage as those open in the laboratory gave after
29
TABLE I
Viability of Delphinium Seeds Stored under Various Conditions
Storage Germination percentages after
Seed conditions months of storage
11 22 46 69 111 123 143 168 193
Annual, 72% Open room temp. 57 44 0 0 — — — — —
germinated when Sealed room temp. 75 80 50 15 0 0 — —
stored Open 8° C* 50 41 31 5 0 0 — — —
Sealed 8° C* 70 67 66 80 76 71 71 48 43
Perennial, 43% Open room temp. 11 0 0 — — — — —
germinated when Sealed room temp. 35 21 0 0 — — — ���
stored Open - 15° C.** 44 45 37 27 8 6 8 3 —
Sealed - 15° C.* » 42 53 57 44 49 50 45 45 33
* After 7 years tlie temperature was changed to 5° C.
** After 7 years the temperature was changed to - 5° C.
22 months. Those sealed at room temperature and those stored open at
8° and 5° C. were intermediate in life span. The first had constant
moisture with higher and fluctuating temperature and the latter constant
temperature with changing moisture content.
For the perennial delphinium seeds, open and sealed storage at room
temperature were both unfavorable with the former more so. Sealed
storage at - 15° and - 5° C. was very favorable while open storage at sub-freezing
temperatures was considerably less favorable. In the 193 months
of storage sealed at the low temperature these seeds had lost only one-third
of their original germination capacity.
Both the annual and perennial seeds were stored at the 8° and 5° C. and
at the - 15° and - 5° C. combinations. The annuals retained their viability
best at 8° and 5° C, and the perennials best at - 15° and - 5°. Probably
with more thorough drying the lower temperature would also have been
more favorable for the annuals since freezing does not generally injure
seeds that are dried sufficiently. Judging from this table, sealed storage
at low temperature in contrast to open storage at room temperature
lengthened the life span of annual delphinium seeds about 9- fold and of
perennial delphinium seeds more than 17- fold. If even such short- lived
seeds as delphinium were stored under optimum conditions, it might take
a lifetime to watch over their slow complete demise.
Extensive seed storage studies by investigators at this laboratory and
by many investigators elsewhere show that for seeds that endure con­siderable
artificial desiccation there are three factors that increase their
longevity: low and constant moisture content, low temperatures, and
absence of oxygen. Changing one of these factors modifies the effect of
the other two; seeds with low constant moisture content are less injured
by high or low temperatures or oxygen pressure than those with high
moisture.
30
Different kinds of seeds vary greatly in the degree of desiccation they
will endure without injury; we have seen above that certain seeds are
killed by very moderate drying, certain pines are injured if dried much
below 3 per cent moisture, while radish seeds are apparently not injured by
complete withdrawal of the water. It would be of value to know the
lowest water content to which one could dry each kind of commercial seed
without injury, for that is probably the best water content for storage
of any particular kind of seed. It would also be fine to know the optimum
temperature for storing of each sort of seed when it was dried to the
optimum moisture content for storage. It may be that absolute zero is
the optimum temperature for storage of seeds that stand thorough desic­cation.
We do know that seeds that stand thorough desiccation keep well
and probably best in total absence of oxygen. It is interesting to speculate
how long the last seed of batches of oats, rutabaga, cucumber, beet, or
tomato would stay alive if stored at the optimum constant water content
and optimum temperature in absence of oxygen. No doubt the period
would be long.
Seeds of Long Life Duration
There are several records of seeds that remained alive after being kept
in seed cupboards or herbaria for a long time. The most interesting record
of this sort is that of Becquerel because of the great life duration of some
of the seeds he studied. He had access to a batch of old seeds in a storage
room in the National Museum of Paris. The time of collection of these
seeds varied from 1819 to 1853. He ran germination tests on these seeds
in 1906 and again in 1934. For the 1934 test, Humbert and Merman
furnished him about 20 seeds of Cassia multijuga which were collected in
1776. These seeds were all hard- coated, so they demanded special treat­ment.
They were sterilized, the coats broken, and put to germinate in tubes
TABLE II
Becquerel's Record of Old Seeds
Date Seeds grow- Seeds grozv- Determined Probable
Macrobiotic species collected ing in 1906 ing in 1934 longez'ity longevity
Mimosa gloincrala Forsk. 1853 5 out of 10 5 out of 10 81 years 221 years
Melilotus Intra Gueld 1851 3 " " 10 0 " " 10 55 " —
Astragalus massilieusis Lam. 1848 0 " " 10 1 " " 10 86 " 100 years
Cytisus austriacus Linn. 1843 1 " " 10 0 " " 10 63 " —
± avatcra Psendo- olbia Dcsf. 1842 2 " " 10 0 " " 10 64 " —
Dioclca pauciflora Rushy 1841 1 " " 10 2 " " 10 93 " 121 years
Ervum Lens Linn. 1841 1 " " 10 0 " " 10 65 " —
Trifolium arvense Linn. 1838 2 " " 10 0 " " 10 68 " —
Leucaena Icucoccphala Linn. 1835 2 " " 10 3 " " 10 99 " 155 years
Stachvs neltctifolia Dcsf. 1829 1 " " 10 0 " " 10 77 " —
Cytisus biflorus L'Herit. 1822 2 " " 10 0 " " 10 84 " —
Cassia bica/ tsularis Linn. 1819 3 " " 10 4 " " 10 115 " 199 years
Cassia multijuga Rich. 1776 — 2 " " 2 158 " —
31
under sterile conditions at 28° C. The seed stock was considered so
precious that only ten of each sort were used for the test. Of Cassia
multijuga only two seeds were used. Table II shows the results obtained
for the 13 kinds, showing germination in either the 1906 or the 1934 test.
In the last column Becquerel estimates the probable life span of several of
the seeds, based on the data for the two tests.
All these seeds are Leguminosae, except those of Lavatera ( Malvaceae)
and Stachys ( Labiatae). The seeds of Cassia multijuga germinated after
158 years of storage. This exceeds the former records of Robert Brown
for Nelumbium speciosum2 from the British Museum, which were 150
years; also the records of Ewart for Goodia lotifolia and Hovea hetero-phylla,
which were 105 years. Becquerel believes the long life span in all
these seeds is made possible by impermeability of the coats, which prevents
any exchange of gases or water between the embryo and endosperm and
the outside atmosphere, and by the high degree of desiccation, 2 to 5 per
cent moisture, and absence of oxygen in which the embryos exist within
the hard coats.
Later work shows that hard seeds of Albizzia julibrissiit in the British
Museum ( 4) were alive after 149 years and seeds of Nelumbium ( Robert
Brown's collection) after 250 years of storage.
It is interesting that the seeds that remained alive so long in seed cup­boards
and herbaria had hard coats which give to the living parts of the
seeds two conditions which we have mentioned as good storage conditions
for long life span, namely, low constant moisture and low oxygen pres­sure.
Perhaps neither of these was at the optimum and of course these
seeds did not have the advantage of low constant temperatures.
Life Span of Seeds in Soil
There is little doubt of Ohga's claim of great age of the Nelumbo
nucifera seeds excavated from a naturally drained lake bed in Manchuria.
The seeds were buried about 1.5 meters deep in a layer of grav mud
covered in turn by a layer of peat and a layer of loess. The eroding river
which drained the lake has now cut a channel through the lake bed about
13 meters deep. Since there were no Nelumbo plants growing in the
region, and the seeds were buried so deep, Ohga concludes that the seeds
were from plants growing in the lake before it was drained. Judging from
the rate at which the river is eroding its bed, the age of the trees growing
on the land since drainage of the lake, and the records of a family that has
been farming the drained lake bed for several generations, Ohga concludes
, that the seeds have been buried for at least 120 years and more likely for
200 to 400 years. These seeds are hard- coated and those that were
2 Nelumbium speciosum and Nelumbo nucifera are synonyms, and both are
synonymous with Nelumbium Nelumbo Karst.
32
excavated had not absorbed water. They gave 100 per cent germination
when the coats were broken so the seeds could swell.
Since these seeds did not swell naturally, the retention of vitality in the
soil was not unlike that of hard seeds in herbaria and seed cupboards
except for lower and more nearly constant temperature which was provided
by deep burial. This condition would of course favor longevity. We noted
above that Nelumbo seeds in the British Museum retained their viability
for 250 years. On the other hand, the hard coats in moist soil are more
subject to attack by bacteria and fungi. Indeed, Ohga noted that the
epidermis and the outer portion of the palisade layer in these old seeds were
eaten away. As soon as the corrosion reaches the " light line" of the
palisade layer ( this is the inner limit of impermeability) these seeds swell,
germinate, and the seedlings perish due to the deep burial. It is likely that
this had been occurring with many of the seeds through the centuries so
that only those with more resistant coats were left in the seed bed.
Some seeds that absorb water remain in the soil intact and viable for
many years. In 1879 Dr. Beal of East Lansing, Michigan, buried 20 sets
of seeds as follows: 50 seeds each of 20 kinds of plants were mixed with
sand and placed in pint bottles, and the 20 uncorked bottles were buried
in sandy soil 20 inches deep with the mouths tilted downward to avoid
TABLE HI
BealV Buried Shells— Results of All Germination Tests to Date
Plus Sign Indicates Germination
5th 10th 15th 20th 25th 30th 35th 40th 50th 60th
Name of species yr. vr. yr. yr. yr. yr. vr. yr vr yr
tested 1884 1889 1894 1899 1904 1909 1914 1920 1930 1940
Aiuaranthus retrofiexus
Ambrosia elatior
Brassica nigra
Broinus seca/ inns
Bursa Bitrsa- pastoris
Erechtitcs hieracifolia
Chamaesyee iiiacuhia
Lepidium ; irginieum
Agrostcimua Githago
Authemis Cotula
Mak- a rotundifolia
Oenothera biennis
Planfar/ o nuijor
Polygonum Hydro piper
Porhtlaca oleracea
Rum ex crispus
Chaetochloa lutesccns
Alsinc media
Trifolium rc/> ens
Verbascum Thapsus
Verbascum Blattaria
+ 0
0
0
+ 0
0
4-
0
+ 4-
+ 0
0
0
+++ 0
+
4-
0
+ 0
0
0
0
+ 0
+ 0
+ 0
4-
4-
?
4+-
0
•?
+ 0
+ 0
+ 0
0
4-
0
4-
0
++ 4-
+ j _
4- i--
0
4-
4-
0
4-
0
4-
0
0
4-
0
0
4-
4-
0
4-
4-
4-
0
4-
0
4-
+ 0
4-
0
4-
0
0
+ 0
4-
0
4-
0
4-
4-
4-
4-
4-
0
0
+ 0
4-
0
4-
0
0
4-
0
0
0
4-
0
?
6 4-
+ + 0
0
0
0
4-
0
4-
0
0
4-
0
?
6 0
0
0
0
4-
0
0
0
4-
4-
4-
4-
0
0
0
0
4-
0
0
0
4-
4-
0
4-
4-
0
0
0
0
0
0
+ 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4-
0
4-
0
4-
0
0
0
0
4-
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4-
0
0
0
4-
0
0
0
0
4-
33
TABLE IV
Seeds Alive After 60 Years' Burial
Number of Percentage of
Name of plant individuals germination
1930 1940 1930 1940
Rumex crispus 26 2 52 4
Oenothera biennis 19 12 38 24
Verbascum Blattaria 31 34 62 68
Percentage of all seeds buried still germinating: 4.8%.
filling with water. It was originally planned to take up a bottle every 5
years for vitality tests so that the experiment would extend over a period
of 100 years. So many seeds were still alive at the 40- year period that it
was decided to test the other 12 samples at 10- year periods, thus extending
the experiment over a total period of 160 years. Table III shows the
seeds some of which were alive at each period of test, and Table IV lists
the three kinds of seeds that had lived 60 years in the soil, along with the
percentage still intact and alive.
In 1902 the U. S. D. A. buried many replicates of seeds of 107 different
kinds of plants, wild and cultivated. The seeds were planted in soil in
flower pots and triplicate pots buried at three different depths in the soil.
The last report published was for the 20- year period and for that period
the results confirm the findings of Beal for weed seeds. Seeds of many of
the cultivated plants, such as cereals and vegetable garden plants, were
dead before 20 years of burial with most of them dying within 1 year,
probably due to lack of dormancy and prompt germination. A percentage
of seeds of certain cultivated plants— timothy, Kentucky blue grass,
clovers, beet, tobacco, celery, and black locust— were alive after 20 years'
burial. Depth of burial had little effect on longevity.
Seeds with Greater Longevity in Soil than in Air Storage
As we have seen above, seeds of most cultivated plants remain intact
and alive much longer in dry storage than in moist soil. According to the
records, this is true of seeds of some wild plants. On the other hand, it
has been shown for seeds of a number of wild plants that they live much
longer in soil outside than they do in dry storage inside. Table V shows
this relation for 13 different kinds of seeds. Recorded life span of these
seeds in vseed cupboards is compared with the recorded life span in the
buried seed experiments of Beal and the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Very recent work by Kjaer confirms this conclusion. In 5- year tests
he found that the seeds of the following retained their vitality in soil better
than in dry storage: Polygonum tomentosum, 20 vs. 0 per cent; Thlaspi
anvusc, 87 vs. 1 per cent; Vicia hirsuta, 50 vs. 5 per cent; Daucus carota,
34
TABLE V
Comparative Life Span of Certain Seeds in Dry Storage and in Soil
Life span in soil and per
Life span in dry storage cent germination according
Species of seeds according to Ezvart to Beal and U. S. D. A.
Amaranthus graechaus 7 spp., less than 15 yrs. Beal, 40 yrs., 66%
Apium graveolens Less than 10 yrs. U. S. D. A., 20 yrs., 10.5%
Chenopodium album Less than 20 yrs. U. S. D. A., 20 yrs., 65.5%
Datura Stramonium Less than 15 yrs. U. S. D. A., 20 yrs., 78%
Nicotiana tabacum 6 spp., less than 10 yrs. U. S. D. A., 20 yrs., 56%
Oenothera biennis Less than 15 yrs. Be^ l, 50 yrs., 38% ;
U. S. D. A., 20 yrs., 87.5%
Plantago major Less than 10 vrs. Beal, 40 yrs., 10%;
U. S. D. A., 20 yrs., 83.5%
Poa pratensis 5 spp., less than 12 yrs. U. S. D. A., 20 yrs., 18.5%
Polygonum Hydropiper \ ,, , , ., fBeal, 50 yrs., 4%
Polygonum persicaria f 15 s p p " less t h a n 15 y r s ' [ U. S. D. A., 20 yrs., 55%
Portulaca oleracca Less than 15 vrs. Beal, 40 yrs., 2%;
U. S. D. A., 20 yrs. 38%
Verbascum Blattaria Less than 15 yrs. Beal, 50 yrs., 62%
Verbascum Thapsus Less than 15 yrs. U. S. D. A., 20 yrs., 92.5%
43 vs. 10 per cent; Plantago major, 30 vs. 0 per cent; Cirsium arvense, 55
vs. 0 per cent. He reports Dorph- Petersen's results with seeds of Sinapis
arvensis buried 10 years 87 per cent germination, dry stored 21 per cent;
buried 18 years 17 per cent, dry stored 0 per cent. Avery and Blakeslee
( 1) state that Datura seeds stored in the laboratory are all dead after 9
or 10 years but Datura seeds buried in the soil outside ( U. S. D. A. buried
seeds) still show 97.5 per cent germination after 39 years.
The fact that seeds of some wild plants remain in the soil for long
periods in a dormant viable condition means that the soil is always well
stocked with seeds which are capable of germination when the soil is
disturbed. This assures the persistence of the species. It also makes the
task of the farmer and gardener in fighting weeds difficult, for when the
soil is once well stocked with seeds it takes years of cultivation for the
complete germination and final destruction of the weeds. While the old
imbibed seeds in the soil are of necessity dormant, or they would have
germinated, the dormancy in the main is due to a rather delicate equilibrium
that is overcome by exposure to light, by fluctuating temperatures of the
top soil, or even by mechanical disturbance or better oxygen supply. Dis­turbing
dormant weed seeds in soil starts them to germinate. Many of
the seeds just mentioned as living longer in soil than in dry storage absorb
water. Imbibed seeds of course respire so there is danger of exhaustion
of stored foods. Barton, for seeds, and Denny, for gladiolus corms, have
shown that in the soil these dormant organs curtail respiration greatly.
This reduces the rate of exhaustion of stored foods and thus may enable
them to live much longer.
35
Why Do Seeds in Storage Finally Die?
We have seen that some seeds in air storage are killed by moderate
desiccation. It is probable that many seeds in the soil that swell up and
remain dormant die because the stored foods are used up in respiration.
Several explanations have been offered for the final death of seeds in dry
storage. Among these are exhaustion of stored foods or enzymes. These
explanations are doubtful for foods are little exhausted in dry storage
though they may be denatured to a degree and dry seeds are poor in
enzymes— the enzymes are largely formed by the embryo or living tissue
after germination starts. A number of other explanations have been
offered. The one that seems most likely is that the delicate mitotic
mechanism of the embryo cells degenerates so that normal cell division
and growth can no longer occur. Avery and Blakeslee ( 1) noted that
Datura seeds degenerate much faster in dry storage than in the soil. They
also show a much higher mutation rate in dry storage. The changes in
the nuclei that lead to mutations may be the changes that lead to death if
they go far enough. If space permitted, other evidence could be furnished
for this explanation of age- degeneration of seeds.
Summary
We have seen that some seeds live for only a few hours or days when
exposed to the air, while others live for much more than a century under
the same conditions. Cereals and seed of many other farm and garden
plants do not live beyond 25 years in ordinary air storage. This disposes
of the mummy wheat fable. The life span of seeds of medium life dura­tion
can be greatly lengthened by proper storage conditions. For longest
life, seeds that will withstand drying should be dried to as low a water
content as possible without injury and kept in sealed storage at a low
temperature in absence of oxygen. Hard- coated seeds which do not permit
an exchange of air or water with the atmosphere and bear little water have
been known to live well over a century in seed closets— Nelumbium 250
years in a herbarium. Hard- coated seeds live in the soil for long periods or
until the coats become pervious to water. Some weed seeds that swell
readily remain in the soil dormant and viable for more than 60 years. A
number of weeB seeds live much longer in the moist soil in nature than
they do in dry storage. It has been suggested that age- degeneration of
dry seeds is due to gradual degeneration of the nuclear mechanism which
leads to mutation in the earlier stages and later to death of the seeds.
• « -<£ »
For references to the literature cited in this article, see page 48.
ORCHIDS OF FLORIDA
SOME OF THE EPIDENDRUMS
AND OTHER EPIPHYTES
Vanilla fjlanifolia /
Brassia caudata*- 1 <"<• » -
All illustrations used in this and the accompanying plate have
en ta\ en from paintings made for Addisonia, where four
. ve already appeared as Plates 214, 273, 437 and 607. ^ A& A
- ^ B. tampense
38
The & piphytic Orchids of Florida
By Alex D. Hawkes
IN the Florida peninsula, more than a third of the native orchids live
in the trees. They do not exist on trees as parasites, as many people
think, but rather they perch there like strange and colorful birds and
live as epiphytes, or plants upon plants. Instead of drawing their
sustenance from the ground, as do the terrestrial or earth- dwelling orchids,
these epiphytes simply sit on the trees and secure most of their nourish^
merit from the air and rain. Their thick, white, spongy roots fasten the
plants securely to the tree and absorb minerals from the water which pours
on them from above and from the debris which usually lodges near their
bases.
Epiphytic orchids have highly specialized organs and are able to exist
for long periods under the most adverse conditions. Besides developing
fleshy roots adapted to procuring water for the plant, orchids usually have
thick leathery leaves capable of storing large amounts of liquid, thus
enabling them to survive during prolonged dry seasons. Many of the
epiphytic species, in addition, have specially thickened stems, called pseudo-bulbs,
which also store water for the plant.
Some of the tropical species grow attached to hard rocks, fully exposed
to the blazing sun and torrential rains, and thus furnish an excellent
example of the fact that these plants are epiphytes, not parasites. If
these orchids were parasitic and therefore required the absorption of food
from a living host, those which live on stones would certainly have long
since died.
Most of the orchids in tropical countries grow either in trees or on
rocks as epiphytes. Florida, however, the most tropical state in the union,
has only a scant 29 species of its orchid flora living in this way. The
remaining 65% of the 84 native species are either terrestrials or sapro­phytes.
Occasionally, a stray plant of the epiphytic group finds its way
to a congenial spot on the ground and continues to thrive there, and some
of the terrestrials get up into the trees, but these will be mentioned later
in this paper.
Most of the 14 genera of epiphytic orchids found in Florida are rep­resented
only by a single species, but Epidendruni, Oncidium. and Vanilla
all have several different plants indigenous to the area. The first genus
has a total of 10 native species, and is therefore the third largest group of
Florida orchids, the first being the terrestrial genus Spiranthes, with 15
native species and varieties, and the second another ground- dwelling group,
Habenaria. which has 12 Floridan representatives.
The two most widely distributed species of Epidendruni in the state are
the Florida butterfly orchid, E. tampense, and E. conopscum, which has
39
no widely used common name. On the mainland the butterfly orchid is
restricted to this one state, but it occurs in more robust phases off the coast
in the Bahamas and Cuba. Epidendruni conopseum, which is more northern
in its distribution, is the only epiphytic orchid found outside of Florida in
the entire country. Very common in the central and much of the northern
part of the state, it has also been found in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,
North Carolina, and South Carolina.
While looking for orchids in the jungles of central Florida, I have found
specimens of this plant as much as five feet long and four feet wide, almost
covering the trunks of huge old oak trees. When these plants are in
flower, there are absolutely thousands of blossoms, and they perfume the
jungle for some distance with their distinctive honey odor. Quite fre­quently
these large plants are impossible to collect, because of the hordes
of large ferocious ants which build their nests under the roots and
rhizomes of the orchid. The insects protect the orchid from marauders
and in turn receive shelter from the rain and sun.
Since epiphytic orchids in general are lovers of the tropics, the majority
of those that dwell naturally in Florida are to be found in the southern,
warmer portion of the peninsula. In addition to the previously noted
pair, the following species of Epidendruni are to be seen in the lower
part of the state: E. anceps, E. Boothianum, E. coehlcatum var. triandrum
( which is found only in southern Florida and no place else in the world),
E. difforme, E. nocturnum, E. pygmaeum, E. rigidum, and E. strobilif erum.
These plants usually grow on large trees in rather shady woods, where
they frequently form huge clusters, several species often being found
intermingled. Many of them have beautiful and interesting flowers, and
several, such as E. tampense, E. difforme, and E. nocturnum, emit a de­lightful
perfume, especially at night.
Very few people realize that the vanilla extract of the kitchen shelf is
the product of an orchid, Vanilla planifolia, made by crushing the seed
capsules after they have been cured. Florida is fortunate enough to have
this interesting vanilla- producing species growing wild in the extreme
southern tip of the peninsula, though it is very rare there. The plant
forms a rather long fleshy vine which clambers over low shrubs and up
trees in the swamps and jungles.
In addition to the widely known commercial one, three other species of
this genus are known from southern Florida. Vanilla Eggersii, V.
phaeantha, and V. articulata have also been reported, but, except for
V. Eggersii, they are all extremely rare. The rather large and very beauti­ful
flowers of V. Eggersii last less than a single day.
The genus Oncidium is also represented by four species in the Florida
orchid flora: O. carthaginense, O. floridannm, 0. guttatum, and O.
varicgatum. The second species is one of the few members of the Orchid
family which is found only in Florida and not any place else. It is a
40
fairly showy plant, usually found growing in rich moist earth or on rotting
logs, but sometimes on trees, expanding its medium- sized yellow and
brown flowers on tall, arching spikes. Oncidium carlhaginense and
0. guttatum are both commonly known as " mule ears," because of the
large, erect, leathery leaves. Both species bear very long, usually arching
spikes of rather small brownish or purplish flowers which are so numerous
as to make these two among the showiest of our native epiphytic orchids.
For the average person it is frequently extremely difficult to believe that
a certain insignificant weedy- looking plant is a member of the famed and
exotic Orchid family. The two native species of the genus Campylocen-trum
are particularly good examples of this class. These tiny orchids to
the uninitiated certainly do not even resemble anything in the vegetable
kingdom known to the ordinary flower grower, but would seem to make
better bait for fish than plants worthy of cultivation.
Both species consist of a tangled mass of fleshy greenish- grey roots
sprawling over small twigs and branches of relatively smooth- barked trees.
In C. porrectum there springs from the approximate center of this pile of
Medusa- like roots a tiny irregular spike bearing two or three minute
greenish flowers which even when in full bloom seem to be mere buds.
If one looks at one of these wee blossoms under a lens, however, the
" bud" resolves itself into a perfect little orchid of very interesting structure.
The other Florida species in this fascinating and unusual genus is
Campyloceutrum pachyrrhizuni. When measured side by side, the name
is sometimes almost as long as the plant itself. The inflorescence is
shorter than that of C. porrectum, although the plant itself is considerably
larger, and bears a zigzag bunch of tinv. somewhat bell- shaped, green
flowers.
The remaining nine indigenous genera all consist of a solitary species in
Florida, but all of them have several or many more species found outside
of this area. Of these nine plants, one of the most interesting is the
totally leafless Polyrrhiza Lindenii, a species which greatly resembles a
large Campylocentrum in vegetative habit. In addition to being a leafless
species, it bears the distinction of having the largest flowers of all the
native orchids, including both epiphytes and terrestrials. These blossoms,
which are green and white and very fragrant, are borne singly on long,
jointed spikes which arise from the center of the cluster of roots. In
large specimens the flowers measure up to nine inches long and about four
inches across. They are of very peculiar structure and on first glance
seem to belong to the animal rather than the vegetable kingdom.
One of the commonest of all epiphytic orchids in many parts of southern
Florida is Polystachya luteola. a medium- sized plant with branching spikes
of very small, fragrant, yellowish- green flowers. This species is of
particular interest to botanists because it has probably the largest distribu­tion
of any orchid. The plant ranges from southern Florida over most of
FOUR OF FLORIDA'S
TREE- DWELLING ORCHIDS
42
tropical America, and is also found in several localities in the eastern
tropics, notably the Mascarene Islands, Ceylon, and the Philippines.
Of all the native epiphytic orchid plants, Cyrtopodium punctatum attains
the largest size. The pseudobulbs are massive and sometimes attain a
length of three feet and a thickness of four inches. These huge bulbs
earn for the plant two of its vernacular names of " cigar orchid" and " cow's-horn
orchid," but the name of " big fish orchid" comes from the sharp points
which remain attached to the bulbs when the leaves fall, and " bee-swarm
orchid" refers to the inflorescence. The yellow flowers, spotted
with red- brown, are rather large and are borne profusely on long branched
scapes which reach a height of about three feet. This species usually
grows in cypress swamps, which are often called " hammocks" here in
Florida, where it frequently forms huge masses, generally growing near
the tops of the trees.
The Orchid family is divided into a great many groups which include
genera and, in turn, species of fairly close relationship. Of these sections,
one of the largest and most complex is the strictly neotropical sub- tribe
Pleurothallidinae. In our Florida orchid flora two species of this group,
representing two different genera, are very rarely found in the extreme
southern part of the peninsula. Pleurothallis gelida, the commoner of the
two, is a rather large plant bearing long arching racemes of tiny bell- shaped
yellowish flowers. The racemes arise from the base of a single large fleshy
paddle- shaped leaf at the top of a slender stem.
The other native species of this group, Lcpanthopsis melanantha, is an
exceedingly rare and very small plant with tiny red- purple flowers. It has
been found mostly in the Big Cypress Swamp, where so many of our
rare and little- known orchids live.
Sometimes on trees or vines in southern Florida, one will find an unusual
fleshy- leaved orchid with its myriads of slender white roots tightly
wrapped around the branch to which it clings. Perhaps this plant will be
in flower ; a rather tall spike waves in the breeze, at the top of which are
arranged a large number of somewhat triangular- shaped, white blossoms,
that are frequently marked with light or dark purple on the lip. This is
Ionopsis utricular* aides, one of the most beautiful of all our native
epiphytes, but now unfortunately a rather rare plant. This is another
species with a large distribution, but since it is confined to this hemisphere,
it does not approach Polystachya luteola in the immensity of its range.
Deep in the heart of the Everglades there are localities in which this
beautiful epiphyte covers huge grapevine lianas from top to bottom and
carpets the adjoining trees with great masses of plants. It must be a
beautiful sight to see an area like this during the blooming season, with
thousands of the white flowers scattered through the dense jungle growth.
Although not even in the same sub- tribe with it, the genus Macradenia
is fairly closely related to Ionopsis. Our native species, if. lutescens. is
43
a medium- sized plant with a generally pendent raceme of yellowish flowers
spotted on the inside with dull brown or purple. It seems to be excessively
rare, but has been found in the Big Cypress Swamp and other localities in
the extreme southern part of the state.
One of the most spectacular and beautiful of our native epiphytic
orchids is the very variable spider orchid, Brassia caudata. In the phase
which is found in southern Florida, where it is very rare, the plant is large,
with big flattened pseudobulbs and long spikes of spidery yellow flowers
that are spotted with brown and that have a foetid odor. The blossoms
last several weeks in perfection.
Even with our native orchids, we occasionally find a species that is very
difficult to grow under artificial conditions. Such a plant is the rare
Maxillaria crassifolia; it is usually found in the Big Cypress Swamp, where
it frequently grows as a terrestrial plant. Under cultivation it usually
grows much better if treated in this way instead of as an epiphyte.
At first glance this species certainly does not resemble an orchid, but
looks much more like a small iris, if out of flower. The plant consists of
irregular fans of fleshy leaves without any visible pseudobulbs. The blos­soms
appear singly on short stems near the base of the plant, are yellow
in color, and do not open completely. It is not a particularly beautiful
plant, but the flowers are very interesting if studied closely.
Several of the so- called " terrestrial" species occasionally exceed their
territory and get up into the trees, thus becoming epiphytic or semi-epiphytic
in habit. Usually these plants are found in cavities or crevices
that have filled with humus or other debris which gives them all the nourish­ment
they need. Chief among the species of this class, intermediate be­tween
the terrestrials and the epiphytes, are Liparis data and Bletia
tuberosa. Many more of the normally ground- dwelling species, however,
have been found growing in this manner.
And now we have finished with the epiphytic orchids of Florida— or
should I say " finished" ? For these interesting air- plants may be studied
for years and years without learning everything about them. Orchids are
perhaps the most famed and yet most misunderstood of all plants, and if
one delves into their history a little, a fascinating subject is revealed. We
have the material for this study in our own country, growing wild in the
southernmost state of Florida, where strange and beautiful orchids flourish
in the tropical jungles and hammocks, for all to see and admire. These
are orchids at their best— wild ones at home.
Unfortunately many of the more showy species of our native orchids
are rapidly being brought perilously close to the point of extinction, and
since orchids take so very long to reproduce themselves from seed, a great
deal of temperance in orchid collecting must be observed. Otherwise our
Florida epiphytic orchids will go the way of so many of the beautiful
wild plants of this nation.
44
Current Literature*
At a Glance
New Cactus Genus. In the December
number of the Cactus and Succulent
Journal, E. J. Alexander describes a new
genus in the Cactaceae, from a plant
collected in 1939 by Thomas MacDougall,
with whom he is now exploring in
Mexico. Lobeira is the new genus and
Mac Doug allii the specific name accorded
to the novelty, which somewhat re­sembled
an epiphyllum until it bloomed
with large silky flowers of mallow- purple.
Mr. Alexander named the genus for
Senora Lobeira ( pronounced lo- i/ ay- rah)
who was growing the plant in her garden
from material brought to her by a
native from nearby Cerro Hueitepec.
Araliads and Umbellifers. The latest
issue of North American Flora, Part 1
of Vol. 28B, contains the Araliaceae by
Albert C. Smith and part of the treat­ment
of the Umbelliferae by Mildred E.
Mathias and Lincoln Constance.
Brittonia. The two numbers of Brit­tonia
which appeared in September ( Nos.
1 and 2 of Vol. 5) contain studies in and
of the genera Schisms, Lotus, Cornus,
Erigeron, Carex, Scirpus, Strychnos.
Sedum, Phlox, and others, in addition to
miscellaneous papers bv E. D. Merrill,
Charles L. Gilly, Rogers McVaugh, Otto
Degener. John D. Dwyer, and Arthur
Cronquist.
Western Nature Studies. Margaret
McKenny is the author of a loose- leaf
book of Washington Nature Notes pub­lished
by tlie Washington Book Society
in Otyvnpia, where she has been engaged
in presenting nature study radio programs
for children. Trees, flowers, mushrooms,
birds, and animals are treated and all
are illustrated, many of them with her
own photographs.
Notebooks and Checklists. Published
a generation and more ago, the numerous
notebooks and checklists of plants and
animals issued by the Slingerland- Com-stock
Co, in Ithaca, N. Y., are still being
made available to nature- study groups
and individuals, Included in these pocket-size
booklets are simple guides to mosses,
* All publications mentioned here— and many
others— may be found in the Librarv of the
Botanical Garden, in tlu- Museum Building.
trees, wild flowers, and ferns. There is
also a plant notebook, containing ques­tions
with spaces for their answers and
some drawings to be filled in, and a
pocket- size folio of outline drawings of
98 wild flowers on watercolor paper.
Day- Length for Beans. Whether the
days are long or short may affect the
form of the plant or the flowering and
fruiting of beans and other legumes, ac­cording
to studies by H. A. Allard and
W. J. Zaumeyer, published as Technical
Bulletin No. 867 of the U. S. Department
of Agriculture. While the majority of
beans grown in the vegetable garden are
day- neutral, these investigators found, the
semi- pole varieties would become bushy
on short photoperiods and twining on
the longer ones. Plants belonging to other
leguminous genera exhibited different re­actions,
and species of Phaseolus native
to the equatorial zone refused to flower
under the longer midsummer days at
Washington, D. C.
Notes, News, and Comment
Surinam J'isitors. Lieutenant Lisa
Stahel, who is the wife of Dr. Gerold
Stahel, Director of the Agricultural Ex­periment
Station in Paramaribo, Surinam,
and the author of several articles that
have appeared in this Journal, brought
some of her group of 20 Surinam girls
to the New York Botanical Garden Dec.
29, to see the conservatory displays and
to view some of the kodachrome pictures
taken by Dr. Bassett Maguire in Surinam
last year. Mrs. Stahel, who is com­manding
officer in Paramaribo for the
Netherlands West Indian Woman's Army
Auxiliary Corps, was in New York for
about two weeks on her way to the Far
East. The score of young women ac­companying
her had all volunteered for
service with the Netherlands Army Medi­cal
Corps in Asia.
Annual Meeting. New Corporation
members elected at the annual meeting
of the New York Botanical Garden Jan.
16 in the office of President Joseph R.
Swan are William H. Bell. President of
the American Cyanamid Company; Mrs.
Melvin Sawin, who became a member of
the Garden's Advisory Council last year;
45
Manfred Wahl, retired industrialist of
Philadelphia and a sustaining member
of the Garden; and Alain C. White of
Litchfield, Conn., also a sustaining mem­ber
and the author of several notable
books on succulent plants.
All officers were re- elected, and the
seven board members whose terms were
expiring were re- elected for another
three- year period. They are Arthur M.
Anderson, Pierre Jay, Clarence McK.
Lewis, E. D. Merrill, Henry de la
Montagne, Francis E. Powell, Jr., and
William J. Robbins.
New committee appointments made
were William Felton Barrett on the City
Relations committee with Henry de
Forest Baldwin and Mrs. Harold I. Pratt,
and Francis E. Powell, Jr., on the
Finance committee with Pierre Jay and
H. Hobart Porter.
Mrs. Robert H. Fife read the annual
report of the Advisory Council.
Among the out- o f- town members of
the Board and Corporation who came
to New York for the meeting were E.
C. Auchter, Research Administrator,
U. S. D. A. Agricultural Research Adminis­tration,
of Washington, D. C, and E.
D. Merrill, Administrator of Botanical
Collections, Harvard University H. R.
Kunhardt, Jr., of Caracas, Venezuela,
also attended the meeting.
Dr. Robbins interrupted the reading of
his annual report with a demonstration
of the significance of herbarium speci­mens,
showing examples of several " lost"
plants that have lately been rediscovered
and giving the history of several speci­mens
taken from the herbarium, some
of them gathered in the early part of the
19th century. The report in full will be
published in the spring as a supplement
to the Journal.
Robert T. Morris. Hailed as " one of
America's first great modern surgeons,"
Dr. Robert T. Morris died at Stamford.
Conn., Jan. 9 at the age of 87. He had
been a member of the Corporation of
the New York Botanical Garden for 20
years, and from his home, Merribrook
Farm, in Stamford, he had written many
letters of comment and query to the
Garden.
Dr. Morris was the author of note­worthy
scientific and popular books
chiefly dealing with medicine, one of the
last of which was " Fifty Years a
Surgeon," published in 1934. Nut- grow­ing
was one of his occupations on his
430- acre farm, which was also a wild- life
sanctuary and arboretum, and he wrote
a book on this subject in 1921.
He is credited with bringing many
modern ideas into the practice of surgery,
championing antiseptic methods and
initiating techniques which greatly re­duced
the death rate in operations.
One of the four books he published in
1918 was " Microbes and Men" in which
he attempted to " diagnose" famous
writers from their works.
Conference. Dr. H. A. Gleason spoke
on " A Collection of Melastomes from
Colombia" at the monthly conference of
the staff and registered students of the
Garden Jan. 18, and Dr. A. B. Stout on
" Intra- specific Incompatibilities in Rela­tion
to Populations" the same day. The
melastome collection consists of some
300 specimens sent from Colombia by
Jose Quatrecasas.
Lectures. Two Garden Club Affiliates
hearing talks by members of the Botani­cal
Garden's staff last month were the
Little Gardens Club of Greenwich Vil­lage,
where Elizabeth C. Hall spoke on
" The Literature of Gardening" Jan. 8
and the Garden Club of Mamaroneck,
N. Y., where Dr. H. W. Rickett spoke
Jan. 29 on " Gardens of Cloister and
Castle."
Orchids. H. R. Kunhardt, Jr., who
is a member of the Corporation, returned
last month from Venezuela bringing the
Garden a collection of 50 or more orchid
plants which he had gathered in the wild.
Visitors. Dr. Harold St. John, Pro­fessor
of Botany in the University of
Hawaii, who is returning from two years
of cinchona exploration in Colombia, was
at the Garden Jan. 22. Dr. Sterling
Hendricks of the Division of Soils and
Fertilizers, Division of Fruit and Vege­table
Diseases, of the U. S. Department
of Agriculture, came to the Garden Dec.
28 to consult with Dr. William J. Rob­bins
on hormones and growth substances.
Among other visitors of recent weeks
have been C. K. Tseng of the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla,
Calif.; C. L. Huskins of McGill Uni­versity,
Montreal; Jack Ziffer, head of
the department of zymomycology for
Schenley Research Institute, Lawrence-burg,
Ind.; S. H. Hutner of Haskins
Laboratories; Cecil Yampolsky of New
46
York City; and Harvey Bassler of the
American Museum of Natural History.
Dean. Prof. E. W. Sinnott, who was
a member of the Board of Managers of
the New York Botanical Garden for
seven years, until he left Columbia Uni­versity
in 1940 to go to Yale as Sterling
Professor of Botany and Director of the
Osborn Botanical Laboratories, has been
appointed Dean of the Sheffield Scientific
School at Yale, to succeed Prof. C. H.
Warren upon his retirement at the end
of the current academic year. Dr. Sin­nott
was the author, with Robert Bloch,
of an article entitled " Luffa Sponges, A
New Crop for the Americas," which ap­peared
in this Journal in June 1943.
Thomas Little. Superintendent of the
estate of Col. Robert H. Montgomery
at Cos Cob, Conn., Thomas Little died
Jan. 19. For the past five years be had
been an instructor in several of the
courses in practical gardening given by
the New York Botanical Garden, be­ginning
with the Three- Day Short
Course offered in the spring of 1941.
Two years later he also was one of the
six instructors on the roster for the new
Three- Day Short Course in Vegetable
Gardening. He was likewise one of the
lecturers in the six- weeks' course in
vegetable gardening presented by R. H.
Macy & Co. under the supervision of the
New York Botanical Garden in 1943, and
in the afternoon and evening series of
gardening lectures organized early in
1941 by the New York Times in co- opera­tion
with the New York Botanical
Garden. In April 1944 Mr. Little gave
one of the Garden's Saturday afternoon
lectures, speaking on " Late Spring Work
in the Vegetable Garden."
On the Montgomery estate, where he
had been superintendent for about IS
years, Mr. Little had worked extensively
in building up the collection of ever­greens,
for which the property was
famous. He also won acclaim for his
successful culture of many other kinds
of plants, both outdoors and in the
greenhouse.
Trophy. George H. Gillies, Head
Gardener for the Marshall Field estate
and an instructor at the Botanical Garden,
was awarded the silver trophy for 1944
by the Horticultural Society of New
York. He had competed in all shows
and monthly meetings during the year.
Anti- hiotics. Jeane Onslow of the
Institute of Pathology of Western Penn­sylvania
Hospital in Pittsburgh has
come to the Botanical Garden to work
for a month or two in the laboratory of
Dr. William J. Robbins, to become ac­quainted
with methods used in studying
antibiotic substances produced by molds.
H. H. Whetzel. For 43 years a member
of the Department of Botany at Cornell
University, Prof. H. H. Whetzel died
after a long illness Nov. 30 at the age
of 67. He was head of the department
there from 1906 to 1922. A plant
pathologist, he worked particularly on
Botrytis and on Sclerotinia and its re­lated
genera, studying their taxonomy as
well as the diseases they caused. Until
the last few years he had been a fre­quent
visitor to the New York Botanical
Garden. In October 1942 he contributed
an article to the Journal on his leading
hobby of growing wild flowers from seed.
He also contributed many papers to
Mycologia and had worked on Sclerotinia
for North American Flora, but this work
was never finished. He was one of the
founders of the Mycological Society of
America.
William T. Davis. An entomologist
who had been a lifelong friend of Drs.
N. L. Britton and Arthur Hollick, par­ticularly
in the early days when they
were making some of their first botanical
collections, died in the Staten Island Hos­pital
Jan. 22 at the age of 87. He was
William Thompson Davis. Though his
primary interest was the cicadas of
North America, he did considerable work
on the local flora, and in years gone by
was well known around the New York
Botanical Garden. He published about
25 papers on native plants.
Scirpus tatora. According to a letter
received from Alan A. Beetle too late for
making corrections in the January
Journal, all species of Scirpus illustrated
in his article, " Sedge Boats in the Andes,"
are S. tatora, the narrowly endemic sedge
of the shores of Lake Titicaca. S. cali­fornicus.
Dr. Beetle savs. is a more
common, low- elevation relative.
Lecturer. Rupert C. Barneby is giving
the Saturday afternoon lecture Feb. 17 on
" Plant Life of the Mediterranean Re­gion."
Mr. Barneby, who is a graduate
47
R E D C R O S S E X H I B IT
I N C O N S E R V A T O R I ES
rT", 0 aid the Red Cross in its spring campaign, the New York Botanical
-*- Garden is staging in the conservatories in March a huge red cross of
a newly patented blood- red azalea which has been named for Lambertus
C. Bobbink. The background of the cross will be made of plants of a
hardy white azalea named " Snow."
There will also be a typical field dressing station of the Red Cross,
designed after the stations that are being set up in the Philippines and
other islands of the Far East, directly back of the battle lines. Plants that
are native to these islands will be used for the surroundings of the station,
and Red Cross nurses, with their customary field equipment, will be
in attendance.
The Bronx County Red Cross 1945 War Fund office is co- operating in
arranging the exhibit.
A special ceremony Sunday afternoon, March 4, will precede the
opening of the display to the public.
of Cambridge University, England, has
done botanical exploring in the area.
Frank E. Egler, who was originally
scheduled for this program, was at last
report at Camp Pickett in Virginia and
said he was headed for southern Texas.
Tropical Fruits, To illustrate the three
talks given by Otto Degener in the
current Saturday afternoon series on
" Plants of the Regions Where our Men
and Women are Serving," tropical fruits
of many varieties were displayed on the
stage of the lecture hall. The Garden
is indebted for these to Dr. David Fair-child
of Coconut Grove, Florida, to
Edwin A. Menninger of Stuart, Florida,
and to Dr. George D. Ruehle of the
Agricultural Experiment Station of the
University at Homestead, Florida.
Dancer. East Indian hand positions
and movements which illustrate flowers,
trees, vines, and other forms of plant
life were demonstrated by Juana of the
Ethnologic Dance Center in New York
at the lecture on " Vegetation of India
and Burma" given by Otto Degener at
the Garden Feb. 3. A brief talk on the
form and symbolism of the Hindu dance
preceded the demonstration. Tlie pro­gram
was concluded with a Burmese
dance representing a flower swaying in
the wind.
Radio. The first broadcast in the New
York Botanical Garden's next series over
WNYC will have Mrs. Elizabeth Wil­liams,
a Red Cross overseas worker who
has recently returned from two years
of sen ice in the South Pacific, as the
speaker. The program will be given
March 9 at 3 : 30 p. m.
Saturday Programs. The spring series
of Saturday afternoon programs at the
Garden will deal with " The Great
Groups of Plants— How They Live from
Year to Year." Speakers will be mem­bers
of the staff. Starting March 17, the
series will be preceded on March 10 and
followed April 28 by a motion picture.
48
LITERATURE CITED
In " Longevity of Seeds" by William Crocker
Ap'pcaring on pages 25- 35
1. Avery, A. G., and A. F. Blakeslee. Mutation rate in Datura seed which had been
buried 39 years. Genetics 28: 69- 70. 1943.
2. Crocker, William. Life- span of seeds. Bot. Review 4: 235- 274. 1938.
3 Life span of seeds. In Book of Boyce Thompson Institute.
( To be published later.)
4. Duration of viability in seeds. Gard. Chron. I l l : 234. 1942.
5. Robertson, D. W., and Anna M. Lute. Germination of the seed of farm crops
in Colorado after storage for various periods of years. Jour. Agric. Res.
46: 455- 462. 1933.
6. Sifton, H. B. Longevity of the seeds of cereals, clovers, and timothy. Amer.
Jour. Bot. 7: 243- 251. 1920.
New Term Announced for Teachers' Course
A SECOND term of study in
^ *• the course for New York City
public school teachers, inaugurated last
September at the New York Botanical
Garden in co- operation with the Board
of Education, will begin Feb. 21. While
none of the work will duplicate that of
the autumn term, neither series of talks
and demonstrations is considered a pre­requisite
for the other.
As before, the course will be in charge
of Dr. E. E. Naylor, with the co­operation
of Marvin M. Brooks, Director
of School Gardens for the New York
City Board of Education, and the ma­jority
of the sessions will be directed by
them. In addition, one lecture each will
be given by Dr. B. O. Dodge, T. H.
Everett, and Elizabeth C. Hall of the
Botanical Garden's staff.
The course will occupy 15 successive
Wednesday afternoons with the omis­sion
of April 4, meeting in the Museum
Building from 4 to 6. It will comprise
30 hours of work, applicable toward
alertness credit awarded to teachers by
the Board of Education. Below is the
tentative schedule of subjects.
Feb. 21. Registration at Museum Building. 4 o'clock
Trip to the Conservatories.
28. Garden Publications, Journals, Catalogues.
Mar. 7. Tender Plants from Bulbs. Greenhouse Studies.
14. Soil Study and Weather.
21. Foliage Plants for the Class Room.
Observations in the Greenhouses.
28. Cuttings & Problems of Propagation.
Studies in the Propagating Houses,
Apr. 11. Planning the Vegetable Garden.
18. Science in the Garden.
25. Early Spring Garden Plants.
Seeds, Planting, Watering and Care.
May 2. School Garden Management & Vandalism.
9. Later Garden Plantings.
16. Animal Life in the Garden.
23. Insect Pests & Diseases of Garden Plants.
June 6. Garden Tour. Transplanting, Thinning, etc.
13. Note Books and Examinations.
The fee for New York City teachers is $ 2.
Dr. Naylor
Miss Hall
Dr. Naylor
Mr. Brooks
Dr. Naylor
Dr. Naylor
Mr. Everett
Mr. Brooks
Dr. Naylor
Mr. Brooks
Dr. Naylor
Mr. Brooks
Dr. Dodge
Dr. Naylor
\ Mrs. Thomson
} Dr. Naylor
THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
Officers
JOSEPH R. SWAN, President
HENRY DE FOREST BALDWIN, Vice- president
JOHN L. MERRILL, Vice- president
ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, Treasurer
HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE, Secretary
Elective Managers
E. G AUCHTER MRS. ELON HUNTINGTON H. HOBART PORTER
WILLIAM FELTON BARRETT HOOKER FRANCIS E POWELL JR
EnwiN DE T. BECHTEL PIERRE JAY ,, „ u ' T o ' '
HENRY F. DU PONT CLARENCE MCK. LEWIS M R S ' HAHOLD I. PRATT
MARSHALL FIELD E. D. MERRILL WILLIAM J. ROBBINS
REV. ROBT. I. GANNON, S. J ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY A. PERCY SAUNDERS
Ex- Officio Managers
FIORELLO H. LAGUARDIA, Mayor of the City of New York
MARY E. DILLON, President of the Board of Education
ROBERT MOSES, Park Commissioner
Appointive Managers
By the Torrey Botanical Club
H. A. GLEASON
By Columbia University
MARSTON T. BOGERT MARCUS M. RHOADES
CHARLES W. BALLARD SAM F. TRELEASE
THE STAFF
WILLIAM J. ROBBINS, P H . D . , SC. D. Director
H. A. GLEASON, P H . D . Assistant Director and Curator
HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE Assistant Director
FRED J. SEAVER, P H . D . , SC. D. Head Curator
A. B. STOUT, P H . D . Curator of Education and Laboratories
BERNARD O. DODGE, P H . D . Plant Pathologist
JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A. M., M. D. Bibliographer Emeritus
H. W. RICKETT, P H . D . Bibliographer
BASSETT MAGUIRE, P H . D . Curator
HAROLD N. MOLDENKE, P H . D . ( On leave of absence) Associate Curator
ELIZABETH C. HALL, A. B., B. S. Librarian
ELMER N. MITCHELL Photographer
ROBERT S. WILLIAMS Research Associate in Bryology
E. J. ALEXANDER, B. S. Assistant Curator and Curator of the Local Herbarium
W. H. CAMP, P H . D . ( On leave of absence) Assistant Curator
FRANCES E. WYNNE, P H . D . Assistant Curator
E. E. NAYLOR, P H . D . Assistant Curator
ARTHUR CRONQUIST, P H . D . Assistant Curator
SELMA KOJAN, B. S. Technical Assistant
ROSALIE WEIKERT Technical Assistant
CAROL H. WOODWARD, A. B. Editor of the Journal
THOMAS H. EVERETT. N. D. HORT. Horticulturist
G. L. WITTROCK, A. M. Custodian of the Herbarium
OTTO DEGENER. M. S. Collaborator in Haimiian Botany
A. J. GROUT, P H . D . Honorary Curator of Mosses
ROBERT HAGELSTEIN Honorary Curator of Myxomycetes
JOSEPH F. BURKE Honorary Curator of the Diatomaceae
B. A. KRUKOFF Honorary Curator of Economic Botany
ETHEL ANSON S. PECK HAM Honorary Curator, Iris and Narcissus Collections
A. C. PFANDER Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds
To reach the Botanical Garden, take the Independent Subway to Bedford Park Blvd.
station; use the Bedford Park Blvd. exit and walk east. Or take the Third Avenue
Elevated to the Bronx Park or the 200th St. station, or the New York Central to the
Botanical Garden station.
PUBLICATIONS OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
Books* Booklets, and Special Numbers of the Journal
An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, by Nathaniel
Lord Britton and Addison Brown. Three volumes, giving descriptions and illustra­tions
of 4,666 species. Second edition, reprinted. $ 13.50.
Flora of the Prairies and Plains of Central North America, by P. A. Rydberg
969 pages and 601 figures. 1932. Price, $ 5.50 postpaid.
The Bahama Flora by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Charles Frederick Millspaugh.
695 pages. Descriptions of the spermatophytes, pteridophytes, bryophytes, and
thallophytes of the Bahamas, with keys, notes on explorations and collections,
bibliography, and index. 1920. $ 6.25.
North American Cariceae, by Kenneth K. Mackenzie, containing 539 plates
of Carex and related plants hy Harry C. Creutzburg, with a description of each
species. Indexed. 1940. Two volumes, 10^ 4 x 1 3 1 / inches; bound $ 17.50; un­bound
$ 15.50.
Keys to the North American Species of Carex by K. K. Mackenzie. From
Vol. 19, Part 1, of North American Flora. $ 1.25.
Plants of the Holy Scriptures by Eleanor King, illustrated, and accompanied
by a list of Plants of the Bible with quotations, in the March 1941 Journal. 15 cents.
Food and Drug Plants of the North American Indian. Two illustrated articles
by Marion A. 6? G. L. Wittrock in the Journal for March 1942. 15 cents.
Vegetables and Fruits for the Home Garden. Four authoritative articles reprinted
from the Journal, 21 pages, illustrated. Edited by Carol H. Woodward. 1941. 15 cents.
The Flora of the Unicorn Tapestries by E. J. Alexander and Carol H. Wood'
ward. 28 pages, illustrated with photographs and drawings; bound with paper. 1941.
25 cents.
An Herbal. First published by Richard Banckes in London. 1525. Edited and
transcribed into modern English with an introduction by Sanford V. Larkey, M. D.,
and Thomas Pyles. 200 pages, including facsimile of original. Prepared by
Scholars' Facsimiles and Reprints. 1941. Price to members of the Garden, $ 2.50;
to others, $ 3.50.
Catalog of Hardy Trees and Shrubs. A list of the woody plants being grown
outdoors at the New York Botanical Garden in 1942, in 127 pages with notes, a
map, and 20 illustrations. 75 cents.
Succulent Plants of New and Old World Deserts by E. J. Alexander. 64 pages,
indexed. 350 species treated, 100 illustrated. Bound in paper. 1942. Second
edition 1944. 50 cents.
Periodicals
Addisonia, annually, devoted exclusively to colored plates accompanied by
popular descriptions of flowering plants; eight plates in each number, thirty- two in
each volume. Now in its twenty- second volume. Subscription price, $ 10 a volume
( four years). Not offered in exchange. Free to members of the Garden.
Journal of The New York Botanical Garden, monthly, containing news, book
reviews, and non- technical articles on botany and horticulture. Subscription, $ 1 a
year; single copies 15 cents. Free to members of the Garden. Now in its 45th volume.
Mycologia, bimonthly, illustrated in color and otherwise; devoted to fungi,
including lichens, containing technical articles and news and notes of general in­terest.
$ 7 a year; single copies $ 1.50 each. Now in its thirty- sixth volume.
Twenty- four Year Index volume $ 3.
Brittonia. A series of botanical papers published in co- operation with the
American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Subscription price, $ 5 a volume. Now in
its fifth volume.
North American Flora. Descriptions of the wild plants of North America,
including Greenland, the West Indies, and Centra! America. 100 parts now issued.
Not offered in exchange. Prices of the separate parts on request.
Contributions from The New York Botanical Garden. A series of technical
papers reprinted from journals other than the above. 25 cents each, $ 5 a volume.
Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden. A collection of scientific
papers Contents and prices on request.