Research Training Program

Luther Raechal
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
Stevens Point, Wisconsin

Thomas Soderstrom, Ph.D.
Supervising Scientist
Department of Botany

17 June 1985 - 23 August 1985

Gramineae Curation / Bamboo Fruit Collection

Totaling over a half million specimens, the grasses make up a large portion of the herbarium collection. Several curators have worked with this family in the past and currently two technicians are actively involved in caretaking but due to the size, they cannot curate the entire collection. This project involves refiling specimens that have been returned; preparing loans at the request of other researchers; sorting duplicate specimens to be sent as exchange to other herbaria; checking filing systems; updating genus and species lists; filing new specimens; and checking recent literature for newly published names and name changes. Included in the grasses are the bamboo. A recent change in the bamboo collection was the separation of the bamboo fruit collection, probably the largest (almost 300 specimens) and best of its kind in the world. Although specimens have been separated into containers, data still needs to be incorporated with specimens and a list of the collection holdings and gaps in the collection identified. Library research and word processing are involved.