Research Projects:
VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY HERBARIUM
Valdosta State University supports the mission of the GPCA through its herbarium and research activities. The Valdosta State University Herbarium is the second largest herbarium in Georgia and contains the most extensive collection of Georgia coastal plain plants in the state. The herbarium contains about 50,000 mounted specimens. Users of the herbarium are diverse. The primary purpose of this collection is to document the flora of the Georgia coastal plain. Specimen loans are sent out by mail to specialists doing taxonomic research. The specimens are used by these researchers to document distribution and morphological variation of the species under study. Also, researchers or others who have questions about plants in our region may visit the herbarium and work with specimens while there.
Botanists with the Natural Heritage Program of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service use herbarium specimens as sources of data to document the distributions of rare, threatened and endangered species, and U.S. Department of Agriculture personnel use specimen data to track noxious weeds in their weed regulation and control programs. Additionally, poisonous plants are identified by the herbarium curator as a public service, and routine plant identifications are done for wildlife managers with Georgia Department of Natural Resources, students, local schools, and the general public.
Presently new specimens are being added to the Valdosta State University Herbarium at the rate of 2,000-3,000 per year. At this rate of growth the herbarium should consist of about 100,000 specimens by the year 2020. One long term research objective of the curator is to write a manual with identification keys, descriptions, and distribution maps of all indigenous or naturalized plants in the Georgia coastal plain. In addition to increasing knowledge of plants in our region, such a book would be of use to a variety of people including foresters, natural resource managers, agricultural researchers, environmental scientists, botanists, teachers, students, and the general public. Such a book is based upon an examination of many herbarium specimens. Most present field research conducted from the Valdosta State University Herbarium is designed to increase our knowledge about poorly known parts of the coastal plain region or about poorly known plant groups, by providing voucher specimens for study. In January 2001, the herbarium was moved into a new building providing a safe, healthy, and pest-free environment for the botanical collections.
The normal hours of operation are 8:00-5:00 pm Monday through Friday when the University is in session. The curator's schedule includes teaching various biology courses and field-based research; therefore, visitors are advised to arrange use of the herbarium by contacting the curator well in advance of visiting. This is especially important during summer session.
Research at Valdosta State University that pertains to native plants in Georgia is primarily done by Drs. Richard Carter and John Pascarella.
Contact Dr. Richard Carter, 1040 Biology-Chemistry Building, Biology Department, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA 31698-0015; 229-333-5759, ext. 5763, rcarter@valdosta.edu.