I am very interested in the introduced plants that were brought over by various settlers and ethnic groups, and are still found in certain specific areas of Virginia. A long time ago I read an article about this. As I recall, there was a type of thistle from Canada that has been found in one place, a type of purple onion originally from Russia that is somewhere else. A type of small daffodil that you can find along roadsides, sort of gone wild, is a very old type planted by early settlers. I love the old, almost-extinct varieties of garden plants like that. It would make an interesting study, if someone hasn't already done one. Thanks for letting me know about this. Nancy ------- I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. --Daniel Boone On Jan 19, 2007, at 8:38 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote: > http://www.state.va.us/dcr/dnh/vaflora.htm#project > > The Project > "The Flora of Virginia Project has been initiated to prepare and > publish a comprehensive manual of Virginia's 3700+ native and > naturalized plant taxa, from oaks to cattails, ferns to pines, > kudzu to coneflowers. Designed as a book with an accompanying web > site, this Flora will serve the urgent needs of scientists, > students, and citizens interested in plants and their habitats in > Virginia. Access to this information provides a deeper > understanding of Virginia's plants and ecosystems, and increases > our ability and desire to conserve the Commonwealth's plants and > environments they inhabit. Development of the Flora, the first in > Virginia's modern history, already has the support of a broad > spectrum of Virginia organizations, institutions, and > individuals....." > > The Flora of Virginia project has begun and is already receiving > rave reviews, mostly due to the work of Lara Call Gastinger who is > the illustrator for this important work. The last time anything > like this was done for Virginia native plants was in the mid 18th > century and it was by a Dutchman named Johannes Frederick Gronovius > (1690-1762) who did his work with the help of Mark Catesby and John > Clayton who was the County Clerk of Gloucester County from 1720 > until he died in 1773. John Clayton was an avid plant collector and > amateur botanist (there is a lovely, soft-lemon colored honeysuckle > around today (Lonicera sempervirens 'John Clayton') that he > identified. Anyway, the Flora of Virginia task is underway and > some of you folks might be interested in knowing about it. > > Below is some info I gleaned from the John Clayton website and his > association with Linnaeus and Catesby and Gronovius. > > Deane Mills, > > York County, VA > > John Clayton (1694-1773) was one of the early collectors of plant > specimens in Virginia, where he was Clerk to the County Court of > Gloucester County from 1720 until his death 53 years later. > Although he published almost nothing himself, Clayton's specimens > have considerable nomenclatural importance as, having reached > Europe and the hands of J.F. Gronovius (1690-1762) by 1735, many of > them were studied by the Swedish biologist Carolus Linnaeus > (1707-1778) and were among the earliest North American specimens > that he had seen. > 'Clayton began sending to Gronovius large numbers of dried plant > specimens for identification as early as 1735, if not earlier. > These plants, many of which were unknown, could not have reached > him at a more auspicious time. On August 30, 1735, Gronovius wrote > to his English friend, Dr. Richard Richardson: "You will remember > that at the time you arrived here in town, you met at Mr. Lawson's > a gentleman from Sweden, that went the same night to Amsterdam, > where he is printing his Bibliothecam Botanicum. His name is > Carolus Linnaeus..." ' Berkeley and Berkeley (1963: 58). > Without Clayton's knowledge, Gronovius prepared and published a > Flora Virginica (1739-1743), based on a manuscript of Clayton's and > his specimens. When, in his monumental Species Plantarum (1753), > Linnaeus introduced the consistent use of binomial nomenclature, > his knowledge of North American species was based heavily on > Clayton's specimens, along with those of his own student, Pehr Kalm > (1716-1779). Consequently, many of Clayton's specimens are types of > Linnaean names. > > Although Linnaeus obtained some duplicates of Clayton's specimens, > now to be found in Linnaeus's own herbarium at the Linnean Society > of London, the specimens that Gronovius had studied were bought in > 1794 by Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), the naturalist who travelled > with Captain Cook. They subsequently passed, with the rest of > Banks's collections, to the British Museum (Natural History) - now > The Natural History Museum, in London. Until recently, the > specimens were dispersed through the main collection. However, > increasing interest in Clayton's plants recently led to the > specimens being extracted and curated as a separate collection so > that they could be studied more easily. > > As potential type specimens for Linnaean names, they are of > interest to the Linnaean Plant Name Typification Project, based at > this Museum, and have also been a major focus for studies of the > early botanical exploration of North America, notably by Professor > James Reveal (University of Maryland). In 1993, thirty of Clayton's > sheets formed part of an exhibition organised by Dr Norlyn Bodkin > at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, generating > considerable interest. This display subsequently travelled to > Colonial Williamsburg and the Chicago Field Museum. > > As historically important collections, they are not normally > available for loan but the interest in them has encouraged us to > make images of them available as a pilot project for herbarium > specimens from The Natural History Museum's collections. > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the > instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html