in Eastern North America and Central America, the anatomy 

 of Tertiary woods and fruits), economic botany (ethnoecology of 

 Amazonian and Mexican tribes, generic monographic treat- 

 ments of economic plants of tropical America, ethnobotany of 

 Andean Indians, biological studies of maize and its relatives) 

 and in orchidology. 



Exhibits 



One purpose of a museum is public service, providing a link 

 between specialists and the public. In this activity, the Botanical 

 Museum has excelled throughout most of its century and a quar- 

 ter of existence. Although devoted primarily to university teach- 

 ing, its exhibits have always been open to the public. Although 

 now drastically limited, due to recent severe space restrictions, 

 thev still continue to draw more than 100,000 visitors a year 



Millions know the M 



W 



M 



M 



students on Pre-Cambrian plants variously dated at from 

 3,000,000,000 to 3,400,000,000 years of age. 



Until recently, two rooms housed extensive exhibits of eco- 

 nomic plant products (including a large collection of ambers and 

 Chinese laquer-ware), and an entrance hall presented displays of 

 ongoing Museum research on the origin and biology of maize, 

 on archaeoethnobotany and on narcotic and hallucinogenic 

 plants of the New World. These widely acclaimed exhibits were 

 unfortunately dismantled due to a reshuffling of space and its 

 loss to the Botanical Museum. 



Economic botany: ethnobotany 



The Museum's oldest field of interest, going back to the very 

 founding of the Museum in 1858, is economic botany which is at 

 present based on several unique collections, especially on the 

 Laboratory of Economic Botany with its collection of economic 

 plant products and herbarium of economic plants and on the 



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