"mounted flat on pages, stored in folders and stacked in dry cabinets at the Ohio State University Herbarium...
To the researchers who study them, however, the collection is as kaleidoscopic as the day each specimen was collected. ... John Freudenstein gently flips through a folder, points to a faded orchid mounted decades ago and describes its drab petals as "pinkish." ... the herbarium's three libraries... hold on their shelves tens of thousands of volumes, some dating to the 16 th century. ... The herbarium collection, located in the OSU Museum of Biological Diversity... serves as a source of data for research projects at Ohio State and at universities worldwide. The specimens serve as reference points for plant identification and a bank for specimen DNA. Freudenstein... is working with a researcher at the University of Alaska to study the evolutionary relationship between coral root orchids and the fungi that inhabit them." article URL : http://www.dispatch.com/science/science.php?story=dispatch/2007/03/06/20070306-D6-00.html ************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
