Dt 



1958 



C.\rti:r: Ai'I'MUD Botann and Plant Pathoi.oc.y 



153 



first known for their occurrence in Illi- 

 nois. Although some specimens have been 

 added to the plant disease survey collec- 

 tion by all botany staff members since 

 1924, most of the specimens have been 

 added by Boewe, the plant pathologist 

 now responsible for the plant disease sur- 

 vey. Specimens of special interest sent to 

 the laboratory for diagnosis of disease are 

 added to the collection. 



Gilbert L. Stout was the first plant 

 pathologist to devote full time to plant 

 disease survey work. He was succeeded 

 by Boewe in 1Q30. In this work diseased 

 plant material is carefully examined to 

 determine the specific disease involved. 

 IVIany specimens are collected not only as 

 characteristic examples of the disease but 

 for further study in the laboratory to 

 determine the organism causing the dis- 

 ease. Specimens of diseases new to the 

 United States, Illinois, or a county of the 

 state are preserved in the plant disease 

 collection. 



As of April, 1958, the plant disease 

 collection contained 32,624 specimens. Al- 

 though this collection contains mostly 

 fungi that cause plant diseases, it also 

 contains specimens affected by disease- 

 causing bacteria, viruses, and noninfectious 

 agents. Information on new diseases has 

 been published in Mycologia, Phytopa- 

 thology, and the Plant Disease Reporter. 



Vascular Plant Collection. — The 

 collection of vascular plants in Illinois by 

 Natural History Survey staf¥ members 

 was begun in 1927 with the establish- 

 ment of a project on the accumulation of 

 plants of the state. By 1931 three addi- 

 tional projects had been added: mainte- 

 nance of a herbarium containing repre- 

 sentative plants of Illinois, maintenance 

 of a bibliography of Illinois plant records, 

 and maintenance of a card record of the 

 occurrence of plants in Illinois. 



The first systematic collection of Illi- 

 nois vascular plants for the Natural His- 

 tory Survey was made by James Schopf, 

 who collected 1,676 specimens during the 

 summer of 1931. In September of 1931 

 Dr. Herman S. Pepoon joined the Survey 

 staff. Pepoon, with the assistance of E. G. 

 Barrett, collected 1,300 specimens. After 

 Pepoon left the Survey in 1933 the ac- 

 cumulation of Illinois plants was added 

 to the duties of the plant pathologists. 



-Much of the collecting was done by 

 Boewe in conjunction with his work on 

 the plant disease survey. In October of 

 1946 R. A. Evers joined the staff and 

 was assigned the botanical survey work. 

 His work is devoted almost exclusively 

 to a study of the flora and vegetation of 

 the state. Since 1946 he has collected 

 plant specimens annually in each of the 

 102 counties of the state. 



Previous to 1947 the number of speci- 

 mens in the vascular plant collection was 

 increased by gifts of specimens from R. A. 

 Dobbs of Geneseo, R. A. Evers then of 

 Quincy, and G. D. Fuller of the Illinois 

 State Museum. Also, the herbarium of 

 Charles Robertson of Carlinville was ac- 

 quired. Since 1947, plant specimens, as 

 gifts or exchanges, have been received 

 from Franklin Buser (graduate student), 

 James Long of Amboy, Dr. V. H. Chase 

 of Peoria, Dr. Sidney Glassman of the 

 University of Illinois staff at Navy Pier, 

 Chicago, Dr. John Voigt of Southern 

 Illinois University, Dr. John Thieret of 

 the Chicago Museum of Natural History, 

 and others. 



Thirteen species of plants have been 

 added to the known flora of Illinois by 

 Natural History Survey staff members 

 since 1947. They are Daucus pusillus, 

 Medicago arabica, Setaria faherii, Spec- 

 ularia biflora, Rudheckia missouriensis, 

 Heliotropium teuelliim, Eriochloa villosa, 

 DicUptera brachiata, Cyperus lancas- 

 triensis, Haplopappus ciliatus, Verbascum 

 virgatum, Helianthus angustifoUus, and 

 Jussiaea leptocarpa. 



Publications resulting from the collec- 

 tion of vascular plants of Illinois include 

 a 339-page bulletin on native and nat- 

 uralized trees of the state (Miller & 

 Tehon 1929), two fieldbooks, one on 

 wild flowers (Anon. 1936) and one on 

 native shrubs (Tehon 1942), and articles 

 on genera and species of Illinois plants, 

 including several new to the state (Evers 

 1949, 1950, 1951, 1956; Evers & Thieret 

 1957). 



Identification and preservation of vas- 

 cular plants in the Natural History Sur- 

 vey herbarium were under way to a 

 limited extent by 1927. In succeeding 

 years students have been employed to 

 mount specimens for the herbarium. In 

 1936 Richard A. Schneider was em- 



