Mason Heberling

Do you think Punxsutawney Phil was ever overcome by the beauty of this very violet 71 years ago? 

Or perhaps he nibbled off a leaf or two? 

After all, legend has it that Phil is over 100 years old! This specimen of Labrador violet (Viola labradorica) was collected near Phil’s home in Punxsutawney , Pennsylvania on June 2, 1948 by Carnegie Museum botany curator Leroy Henry.
 
In case you wondered, on Groundhog Day 1948, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.
 
This specimen was imaged recently (along with many others in the violet family) and is publicly available online: http://midatlanticherbaria.org/portal/collections/individual/index.php?occid=11964316&clid=0

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!