Mason Heberling

 Collected on this Day in 1927
 
Well, collected on this month.  Maybe this day, who knows? 

The distinctively hairy twigs with large bud scars of staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) collected in January 1927 by Amy Neale in “dry soil” in Kittanning, Pennsylvania (Armstrong Co).  I’m not sure what motivated this collection or unfortunately, much about Amy Neale.  The Carnegie Museum herbarium has 261 specimens collected by Amy Neale, all near or in Kittanning, PA.  
 
You can  see these collections here: http://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/list.php?db=328&collector=neale&page=1
 
All of these specimens will be imaged in the next two years.
 
Staghorn sumac is an early successional small tree that is native to PA and often grows in clusters along highways, old fields, and other open habitats. Its twigs and fruit are distinctive, especially in winter --- a classic part of the Pennsylvania landscape in my opinion! It is often viewed as a “weed” or “junk tree” with cheap, fast growing stems.  But it is an incredible plant.
 
I’m always intrigued by specimens of twigs collected in winter.  There are several collectors in Western Pennsylvania who collected dozens to hundreds of such specimens.
 
This specimen image is now publicly available online: http://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/individual/index.php?occid=12232636&clid=0


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Check back for more! Botanists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History share digital specimens from the herbarium on dates they were collected. They have embarked on a three-year project to digitize nearly 190,000 plant specimens collected in the region, making images and other data publicly available online. This effort is part of the Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project (mamdigitization.org), a network of thirteen herbaria spanning the densely populated urban corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City to achieve a greater understanding of our urban areas, including the unique industrial and environmental history of the greater Pittsburgh region. This project is made possible by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1801022. ​

Black maple (Acer saccharum ssp. nigrum) collected by Herbert W. Graham on January 15 , 1927 along Big Sewickley Creek, just outside of Pittsburgh.  Black maple is sometimes considered is own species (Acer nigrum), depending on who you ask.

Who doesn't love a good herbarium specimen of sticks collected in winter?  We have quite a few specimens collected in Pennsylvania during winter when the species is leafless.  It is unclear exactly why they were collected in every instance, but it was likely for reference material to help with species identification in winter.  The downside is that specimens without leaves and/or reproductive structures can be difficult to definitively identify.  But what specimen is "perfect" anyway?