Catalogue of legume specimens in The New York Botanical Garden Herbarium, Part 2: The Barneby Digital Monograph and Specimen Catalogue

New York Botanical Garden, Bronx NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project will produce a searchable on-line compendium of information about the 2000+ species of the Leguminosae (Bean and Pea family) that were the subject of a half-century of study by Rupert C. Barneby, world-renowned expert on legumes. It will comprise a digital monograph of identification keys, species descriptions, and illustrations excerpted from Barneby's scholarly publications and a database of plant specimens upon which the publications were based. Information in the Catalogue will be particularly valuable because it derives from Barneby's scholarly studies and from accurately identified specimens. Leguminosae are ubiquitous and the second most economically significant plant family. Many of the species studied by Barneby are abundant in the United States and in Latin America. Many are of conservation or regulatory concern because they are rare and endangered, toxic to livestock, or aggressive weeds. Some have commercial uses in medicine or soil stabilization or as forage, ornamentals, or timber. The Catalogue will be useful in scientific studies of species' evolutionary relationships and geographic distributions, the spread of exotic species, species' responses to environmental changes, conservation of rare or endangered species, and management of toxic species. In addition, however, it will provide a useful identification tool for conservationists, policy makers, resource managers, regulators, educators, students, and the interested public who wish to identify specimens of "Barneby's" legumes. Furthermore, the Catalogue will contribute data to initiatives to compile and share biodiversity information (e.g., National Digital Biological Collections Resource and Global Biodiversity Information Facility). The images and digitized data from this project will be integrated into the online national resource as outlined in the community strategic plan available at http://digbiocol.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/digistratplanfinaldraft.pdf.