Academy Research

The Early Years

The Botany Department was founded as part of the California Academy of Natural Sciences in 1853. The early herbarium (now CAS) included specimens collected by Dr. Albert Kellogg, a medical practitioner and one of the founders of the Academy. Over the next fifty years, Kellogg's collections were augmented by the collections of Dr. John Allen Veatch, Dr. Hans Herman Behr (author of the first flora of San Francisco), William G.W. Harford, Dr. Gustav Eisen, Dr. Katherine Layne Curran Brandegee, and Miss Alice Eastwood. These early collections of California, Oregon, Alaska, Baja California, and other parts of western North America were some of the most important of their day.

The Big Fire

By the early 1900's, the Academy's herbarium collection was extensive. However, most of what we know about that early collection comes from publications of the period. The Academy's Market Street building was destroyed by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and resulting fire. In a classic tale of heroism the CAS curator, Alice Eastwood, rescued nearly 1500 specimens, mostly types, from the damaged and burning building. These specimens, plus some specimens that were out on loan at the time of the earthquake, and nearly 3,000 specimens collected by Albar Stewart during the Academy's 1905 and 1906 Galapagos excursion became the foundation for the Academy's current collection.

Notables

During the tenure of John Thomas Howell, the collections doubled in size, due to his active collecting in California and the Galapagos as well as the collections of his collaborators. Elizabeth McClintock, among other achievements, was responsible for the fine collections of ornamental plants. Dennis Breedlove was an active collecter in Mexico, especially Baja California and Chiapas.

The Dudley Herbarium is Added

In the 1960's, as a result of Stanford University's decision to dismantle its natural history collections, arrangements were made to integrate the Stanford's Dudley Herbarium (DS) with the herbarium of the California Academy of Sciences (CAS). The integration was overseen by Dr. Alva Day and took 10 years to complete. Although each voucher continues to carry distinguishing identification, DS and CAS are now housed as a single unit and financed and curated by Academy staff.

History of the Dudley Herbarium

The Dudley Herbarium of Stanford University (DS) dates to 1891 when Douglas Houghton Campbell began teaching systematic botany at Stanford. He was joined a year later by William Russell Dudley. Dudley collected vascular plants, fungi, and lichens throughout California. His collections, including those he brought from Cornell, collections of students, and a set of duplicates acquired from the herbarium of William Harvey (focusing on Australia, the Cape region of South Africa, and cultivated material from botanical gardens of Europe, dating to 1758) became the Dudley Herbarium collection. Other notable staff in DS's history were Dr. LeRoy Abrams, Ms. Roxana S. Ferris, Dr. Ira L. Wiggins, and Dr. John Hunter Thomas.

A more detailed account of the History of Botany at the Califronia Academy of Sciences, written by Tom Daniel, PhD and Curator, can be found at the following link:

One Hundred and Fifty Years of Botany at the California Academy of Sciences (1853–2003)

Notable Collections and Collectors from the California Academy of Sciences and Dudley Herbarium

The Botany Department contains two herbaria, the herbarium of the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Dudley Herbarium of Stanford University (DS). These two herbaria function as a single unit although the Dudley Herbarium is still the legal property of Stanford University.

I. From the California Academy of Sciences:

Almeda, F. - Central America, Madagascar, Mexico, and South America
Bartholomew, B. - Bhutan, California, China, and Mexico
Behr, H. - Early California
Breedlove, D. E. - California and Mexico
Cannon, E. - Early Central California
Daniel, T. F. - Arizona, California (particularly San Francisco), Honduras, Mexico, and Madagascar
Eastwood, A. - Western North America (particularly California and Arizona)
Heller, A. A. - Western North America
Ho, T. N. - China (Qinghai)
Hoover, R. - California (particularly San Luis Obispo County)
Howell, J. T. - Western North America and Galapagos Islands
Kearney, T. - Arizona
Kellogg, A. - Early California and Baja California
Liu, S. W. - China (Qinghai)
J. F. Maxwell - Thailand
Mexia, Y. - Mexico and Brazil
McClintock, E. - Cultivated plants of California
Pollard, H. - California (particularly Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties)
Raven, P. - California and Onagraceae
Rose, L. - Western North America and extensive person worldwide exchange program
Rubtzoff, P. - California (particularly marsh plants and Sonoma County)
Shevock, J. R. - southern Sierra Nevada vascular plants and bryophytes
Smith, G. - California (Mendocino County)
Stacey, J. W. - Carex
Stokes, S. - Eriogonum
Steward, A. - Galapagos Islands
True, G. - Sierra Nevada, California (Sierra Nevada particularly Nevada County)
Twisselmann, E. - Southern California (particularly Kern County and adjacent counties)
Wilson, E. H. - China and Japan

II. From the Dudley Herbarium of Stanford University:

Abrams, L. - Western North America (particularly Pacific States)
Anderson, C. I. - Poaceae
Applegate, E. - Northern California and Oregon
Beatley, J. - Southern Nevada
Carnegie Institute of Washington, Division of Plant Biology - Vouchers for the works of Clausen, Keck, and Hiesey
Congdon, J. W. - California (particularly Sierra Nevada foothills)
Dudley, W. R. - New York and California
Elmer, A. D. E. - Plants of California, Philippines, and Indonesia (Borneo)
Ferris, R. S. - Western North America and China
Heller, A. A. - Western North America
Knoche, H. - California, Mediterranean region, Canary Islands, and Balearic Islands
Orcutt, C. R. - Southern California and Mexico
Parish, S. B. - Southern California
Rattan, V. - California
Raven, P. H. - California and Onagraceae
Rzedowski, J. - Mexico
Smith, C. P. - Lupinus
Stokes, S. - Eriogonum
Taylor, R. and J. Calder - Canada (particularly Queen Charlotte Island)
Thomas, J. H. - Central California, arctic Alaska, and Baja California
Wiggins, I. L. - Western North America, Alaska, Baja California, Western Mexico, Galapagos Islands, and Ecuador
Wolf, C. B. - Cupressus and Western North America

Important Historic European Herbaria Included in the CAS Collections

The Albert Praeger Herbarium, purchased by the Academy in 1920, contains 40,000-50,000 specimens including collections of Boissier, Ecklon & Zeyher, Endress, Meyer, Schaffner, Schimper, Von Egger, and Schlechtendahl.

The herbarium of Gaston Gautier containing in excess of 126,000 sheets from the Mediterranean region, Asia Minor, the Balkans, North Africa, Madagascar, Cape of Good Hope, and the West Indies. These were purchased by Dr. Herman Knoche from the Gautier heirs and given to Stanford University in 1945. This collection contains specimens made by such prominent botanists as Berlandier, Bovin, Bosc, Commerson, Cuming, Dushassaing, Ecklon & Zeyher, Bombey, Forskal, Gaudichaud, Gautier, Guillemium, Kotschy, Miers, Perrottet, Schomburgk, Spruce, Verreaux, and Wallich. The Gautier Herbarium also contains about 15,000 Hieracium specimens that were the basis for Arvet-Touvet's 1913 monograph.

The Harvey Herbarium which represents one of several sets of duplicates from William Harvey of Trinity College, Dublin, was purchased by Mr. David Peel Secor and given to Stanford University in 1891. It contains some 70,000 specimens representing over 19,000 species. It is rich in early material from Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and from many botanical gardens in Europe, particularly Paris and St. Petersburg. Most of these specimens date from 1750 to 1865.

Selected Major Publications based on the collections in the herbarium

The Botany Department of the California Academy of Sciences contains two herbaria, the herbarium of the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Dudley Herbarium of Stanford University (DS). These two herbaria function as a single unit although the Dudley Herbarium is still the legal property of Stanford University.

Additional Academy Publications

Use Policies

1. All specimen collections of the Academy shall be accessible for legitimate research and study by all responsible investigators, subject to procedures necessary to safeguard the specimens and to restrictions required by limitations of normal working hours, of exhibition requirements, or available study space and facilities, and of the Academy staff time necessary to protect the collections and to guide investigators as to specimen locations and documentation.

2. The use of departmental collections or facilities by outside commercial organizations, such as environmental consulting companies, will be at the discretion of the department chairman, and normally will involve a fee as reimbursement for curator or technical time involved in assisting such organizations.

3. Individuals requesting access to specimens or records must state in writing the purpose of their inquiries. Ordinarily, access shall be limited to legitimate scholarly and legal inquiry.

4. In order to protect our collections from insect infestations we do not allow dried plant material into the Department until the material has been frozen, on site, for a minimum of 72 hours.

Loan Policies

1. The Academy will lend specimens, from its collections, for research, to any recognized herbarium. Loans will not be made directly to individuals.

2. All loan transactions must be documented in writing, using appropriate forms.

3. The following criteria shall govern the availability of material:

a. The materials are not being studied by staff or students at the Academy.

b. The materials are not needed for display or educational programs at the Academy during the proposed loan period.

c. Objects shall not be loaned if, in the opinion of the department chairman, they are of such importance, rarity, and/or fragility that they must not be exposed to any danger or loss by removal from the Academy.

4. Length of Loans - Most loans shall be made initially for a period of one year or less. Short loan periods are appropriate for certain items, e.g. type specimens.

5. Modes of Study of Loaned Materials - Customary and usual methods of study in the particular discipline must be applied to materials on loan. If such studies require partial destruction or severe alteration of the materials, written permission of this must be obtained in advance from the department chairman.

6. All loans shall be subject to the following regulations, and no loans shall be made where these rules are not adhered to:

a. CAS will pay for shipment of the loans to the borrowing institution, but the return shipment will be paid by the borrowing institution.

b. Adequate care and security of the specimens while on loan must be assured.

c. Only properly trained personnel shall be permitted to handle loaned specimens.

d. Loaned material or associated records may not be used for profit-making purposes without specific written permission from the Collection Manager. Photographic rights for exhibition, catalog, or publication purposed normally shall be for one time only. In many instances, a fee to the Academy may be appropriate.

e. No objects may be re-loaned by a borrowing institution without written permission from the Collection Manager.

f. Loans must remain at the borrowing institution unless written permission has been given by the Collection Manager to move the loan to another location.

g. Return shipping must be in the same manner as, equivalent to, or better than the original shipping.

h. Specimens used in research publications must be cited as either CAS or DS depending on their accession number.

7. Damages:

a. Loss or damage to a specimen or object must be reported in writing to the department chairman.

b. No repairs will be undertaken without written permission of the Collection Manager.

c. Repair or replacement shall be at the discretion of the Academy with costs borne by the borrower.

Acquisition Policies

A. Priorities for Acquisition
1. First priority: to strengthen collection areas in which a department has a current specialization and recognized holdings and historical interest. This includes materials of direct use in present or projected research or in current educational or exhibition programs; materials of high quality needed to fill gaps or supplement specimens of lesser quality in the current holdings; and materials from biotas, geologic strata, and cultures where technological changes of habitat modification by man or nature place a time limit on the period in which sampling can take place.

2. Second priority: to broaden the comparative base of our established collection areas. This includes archival materials such as voucher specimens for published research, synoptical materials from specialists, and materials which will strengthen a collection area adjacent to a previously established one.

3. Third priority: to obtain collections of general nature which are within the broad interest of the Academy. This includes interesting or unique but inadequately documented specimens that are of limited use in a scientific sense by may be used for exhibit or other educational purposes.

B. Mode of Acquisition
1. The Academy will acquire specimens primarily through field collection, but also by gift, bequest, exchange, and purchase, for the purposed of preservation, research, teaching, and exhibition.

a. The Academy will provide for storage, protection, and preservation of objects under conditions that insure their availability and in keeping with professional accepted standards.

b. It is intended that the objects shall remain in the collections as long as they retain their physical integrity, their authenticity, and their relevance for the purposed of the Academy.

2. The Academy normally will not acquire items for sale but may acquire for exchange.

a. If gift/bequest collections, or parts of collections, are acquired with the intent of disposal of a portion by exchange, outright gift, or other means, the donor or heirs will be so informed.

b. If gift/bequest collections or parts of collections, are acquired for use by one of the educational units of the Academy the donor will be so informed.

3. It is recognized that acquisition of materials often must be opportunistic. From time to time, collections of recognized national or international significance become available, either from individuals or institutions that no longer are able or willing to preserve, maintain, and use them in research and educational activities. Acceptance of responsibility for such collections may involve establishing a new interest area for the Academy. Acquisition and accessioning of such collections must be judged on their individual merits, carefully weighing the values and costs of such acquisitions against the evolving programs and emphases of the Academy.

C. Laws Concerning Specimen Acquisition
Specimens will be acquired by the Academy only when they have been obtained in full compliance with the law and regulations of the countries of origin, of the federal government of the United States, and of the individual states within the United States. The staff will not knowingly support illegal trade by authenticating or expressing opinions concerning material, and will discourage the collection or exhibition of such materials. Every reasonable effort must be made to insure that these conditions be met, that titles of the specimen or specimens may properly be transferred to the Academy, and that the Academy keeps up to date on the changing laws and regulations concerning permits, specimen collecting, ownership, and movement across political boundaries

D. Ethics of Specimen Acquisition
Specimens shall be accepted that have been collected in such a way as to preserve their scientific value, e.g., biological materials with adequate documentation or archaeological and geological objects taken with proper recording of site and stratigraphic data. Collections that involve unnecessary destruction of sites, or decimation of populations having limited numbers of tenuous existence shall now knowingly be made by staff members or accepted by the Academy from others. In all actions, the Academy and its staff must act as responsible conservationists and scientists aiming to preserve and guard the living cultural heritage of the earth.

E. Conditions of Acceptance
1. Minimum requirements of documentation vary in the several scientific departments. Such standards are necessary prerequisites for specimens to be added to the collections.

2. Specimens with inadequate date, but having scientific or other value, may be accepted at the discretion of the department chairman.

3. Undocumented specimens that are good examples of their type may be acquired for use in exhibition and educational programs.

4. All acquisitions must conform to the following conditions.

a. Approval of the department chairman.

b. The legal and ethical stipulations set forth in Sections C and D above.

c. The material must be the legal property of the donor/institution/dealer making the offer, or he/she/it must have legal authority to dispose of said material.

5. The Academy cannot accept specimens on which restrictions are placed with would prevent effective research use, normal exhibition use, loan, or disposal. The Academy will not normally accept specimens on conditions which would require that they be placed on exhibition, or that the collections of which they form a part should be kept together permanently and/or displayed only as a discrete collection. Permission to deviate from this procedure must receive approval of the Executive Director.

F. Evaluation of Acquisitions and Other Materials
No person acting as an employee of the Academy shall give appraisals for any purpose, including establishing the tax-deductible value of gifts offered to the Academy, nor shall he or she identify or otherwise authenticate for persons or agencies specimens under circumstances that could encourage or benefit illegal, unethical, or irresponsible traffic in such materials, or when there is reason to believe such identifications will be used primarily for commercial purposes. Identification and authentication (but not appraisals) may be given for scientific or educational purposes or in compliance with the legitimate requests of government bodies or their agents.

Commercial Use Fees

The use of departmental collections or facilities by outside commercial organizations, such as environmental consulting companies, will be at the discretion of the department chairman and subject to the following fees:

$50/day (min. 1 day)

plus $100/hour (min. 1 hour) if help is required by a curator or the collection manager and $25/hour (min. 1 hour) if help is required by a curatorial assistant.