HEBERLING LAB

Wildflower specimens collected at Compton's Mills in 1952.
Welcomed signs of late summer and fall pictured below (left to right): common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), tall ironweed (Vernonia altissima), wreath goldenrod (Solidago caesia). 

​These specimens (and more) were collected on September 6, 1952 near Compton’s Mills (near Salisbury, PA, Somerset County) by Leroy Henry and Werner Buker. Henry was a long time Curator of Botany at the museum (1937-1973), and Buker was a math teacher at Perry High School, who was also a very active botanist at the museum.  Collectively, they collected nearly 50,000 specimens in the Carnegie Museum herbarium!
 
These specimens are part of a larger project ongoing in the Section of Botany at the Carnegie Museum.  Starting last year, we are revisiting historic sites across Western Pennsylvania, where former botanists have collected.  We are revisiting these sites in order to record and monitor biological change in the Anthropocene.  Are the same species present? (local extinction or persistence) Are new species present? (newly introduced invasive species)
 
We are also recollecting specimens from these historic sites to compare specimens collected decades to a century ago, to those collected today. For example, how are species affected by climate change? Are species flowering earlier? How are plant communities affected by invasive species and introduced pests? These are just a few of the many questions that can be answered.
 
With generous permission of the current landowner, we are able to recollect specimens at Compton’s Mills. Compton’s Mills is a site of a family-run historic grist/flour mill built in 1872 on the foundation of an even earlier mill. We have done some recollections at this site last spring, including specimens of the endemic Appalachian violet (Viola appalachiensis).  Compton’s Mills of also of special importance, as specimens collected from this site were used by Leroy Henry to formally describe the species new to science (known as “type” specimens.  Read about our recollection in Spring 2017 here: https://www.masonheberling.com/collected-on-this-day/collected-and-recollected-on-this-day).
 
This year we are revisiting in the late summer/early fall.
 
With data from Compton's Mills, in addition to repeatedly revisiting other sites across Western Pennsylvania, we will be able to document and understand a century of past, present, and future impacts of humans on the landscape-- a hallmark of the Anthropocene.

​Some of our first recollections were featured in the We Are Nature exhibition.  Although this exhibition recently ended, specimens from this project will remain on display in the Hall of Botany.

This specimen was collected near Compton's Mills (near Salisbury, PA in Somerset Co.) in 1952.  It is a type specimen, meaning it was specifically cited in the publication that formally described this species as new to science.  There was quite a bit of confusion regarding naming rules and ambiguities in the original publication, so this location is not technically the type locality. BUT it is certainly a botanically valuable specimen and site. It is a syntype... aka not THE specimen (holotype), but a specimen specifically mentioned in original publication. 

This week, we revisited Compton's Mills, on the same calendar day as this specimen was collected. Along with Bonnie Isaac and others at the museum, we are revisiting sites that we have historic collections and recollecting specimens.  We plan to compare old and new specimens to compare flowering phenology (e.g., is a species that was in full bloom on May 24 1952, now in fruit on the same calendar day 65 years later?), as well as other aspects of plant population and community changes at a particular site.  More soon on this project!

Both of these specimens were collected on May 17 in Highland Park– but 50 years apart. John Bright collected the specimen on the left in 1952.  Fifty years later to the day, Bonnie Isaac unknowingly recollected the same species in the same location! 
 
If you look closely, you’ll notice the 1952 specimen did not yet produce seed by mid-May, while the 2002 specimen has already started developing the characteristic maple-like seeds.  Due to increasing spring temperatures in recent decades, many plants tend to flower earlier, as shown through herbarium specimens. Botanists at the museum are studying the impacts of human-caused environmental changes over the past century by following in the footsteps of past collectors.  We are revisiting field sites on the same day to compare modern day plants to specimens collected over 100 years ago.
 
Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) is a common forest tree in Europe, where they simply call it “sycamore” but should not be confused with our native and introduced sycamores.  Sycamore maple has been intentionally introduced across temperate regions, including the US and New Zealand.  It has since become invasive, meaning it actively spreads across the landscape and can cause ecological damage. It is less common than other invasive maples (such as Norway maple) in this region, but is invasive in several sites in the Pittsburgh area.