Collecting Plants to Expand Louisiana’s Botanical Knowledge

Six Biological Sciences graduate students used their fall break to collect plant specimens in the Winn and Catahoula Districts of the Kisatchie National Forest and the Briarwood Nature Preserve in Saline, Louisiana. The trip was hosted by the LSU Herbarium and the team was joined by scientists at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT).

“It’s a good way to build and maintain connections," said Jennifer Kluse, Collection Manager at the LSU Herbarium. "Working together helps frame our understanding of evolutionary and ecological interactions while building partnerships to improve both science and conservation.”

The students resurveyed areas that hadn’t been studied in more than 20 years.

“Besides recording changes in habitats over time," said Kluse, "we’re able to experience plant finds like beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana), a parasitic plant on beech trees, or appreciate the 3-inch long spines of honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos).”

For the students, the trip was a hands-on way to improve their plant identification and collection skills.

“There is nothing like being in the field with students and seeing them have fun as they develop their collection and identification skills," said Sarah Mathews, Shirley C. Tucker Chair in Plant Systematics at LSU. "And we’re all such plant nerds, there was rarely a moment when someone wasn’t calling attention to an interesting find.”