This project will produce a searchable on-line compendium of information about the 2000+ species of the Leguminosae (Bean and Pea family) that were the subject of a half-century of study by Rupert C. Barneby, world-renowned expert on legumes. It will comprise a digital monograph of identification keys, species descriptions, and illustrations excerpted from Barneby's scholarly publications and a database of plant specimens upon which the publications were based. Information in the Catalogue will be particularly valuable because it derives from Barneby's scholarly studies and from accurately identified specimens.
Leguminosae are ubiquitous and the second most economically significant plant family. Many of the species studied by Barneby are abundant in the United States and in Latin America. Many are of conservation or regulatory concern because they are rare and endangered, toxic to livestock, or aggressive weeds. Some have commercial uses in medicine or soil stabilization or as forage, ornamentals, or timber. The Catalogue will be useful in scientific studies of species' evolutionary relationships and geographic distributions, the spread of exotic species, species' responses to environmental changes, conservation of rare or endangered species, and management of toxic species. In addition, however, it will provide a useful identification tool for conservationists, policy makers, resource managers, regulators, educators, students, and the interested public who wish to identify specimens of "Barneby's" legumes. Furthermore, the Catalogue will contribute data to initiatives to compile and share biodiversity information (e.g., National Digital Biological Collections Resource and Global Biodiversity Information Facility).
The images and digitized data from this project will be integrated into the online national resource as outlined in the community strategic plan available at http://digbiocol.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/digistratplanfinaldraft.pdf.
The collection of legume specimens (that is, plants in the Leguminosae, or Bean and Pea family) in the Steere Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden is a globally outstanding resource used for biodiversity research, conservation, and education. Comprising ca. 320,000 specimens, it is one of the most comprehensive collections of this large, ecologically and economically important plant family. About 25% of this collection is an extremely significant subset—the 2000+ species in the 33 genera studied by the late, world-renowned taxonomist Rupert C. Barneby and his collaborators. Many of these "Barneby genera," e.g., Astragalus, Mimosa, and Calliandra, are highly species-rich and found across large areas of the United States and Latin America. Many species occur in very restricted areas and are often rare or endangered, while others are invasive weeds. Several species of Astragalus are poisonous to livestock, while others have medicinal value. Species of some genera, e.g., Albizia, Dalea, and Senna, are important ornamentals, and species of Cassia and Samanea yield commercially important timber. The NYBG collection is a valuable resource because it includes specimens of most of the species collected across most of the geographic areas in which they occur and because Barneby studied and accurately identified most specimens. Barneby’s published works—many of them on species-rich, complicated genera—are also an outstanding resource. He had the abilities, rare among botanists, that allowed him to synthesize mountains of data obtained from lengthy study into published form and, thus, to lay the foundation for an understanding of these plants. Current and future studies of the species of the "Barneby genera" and of their evolutionary relationships are, and will be, based on Barneby's work; his hypotheses of species delimitations and relationships will be tested with additional specimens and different, newer methodologies. To enhance the accessibility and use of this important collection and to make information from Barneby's published works more widely available, funding was received to create "The Barneby Legume Catalogue: Digital Monographs and Specimens"—an online searchable catalogue that provides free access to electronic data from the specimens in the Steere Herbarium upon which Barneby’s studies were based and to digital versions of published identification keys, species descriptions and illustrations, and lists of specimens that he identified. Now completed, the Catalogue comprises three parts: 1) a database of label information from 80,000+ specimens and 33,000 images of specimens held in the Steere Herbarium; 2) a digital monograph of 4300 excerpts from Barneby’s publications; and 3) an online archive of biographical material, including photos and letters in Barneby’s papers, which are housed in The Garden’s Mertz Library. The Catalogue enhances the value of the specimens and publications for basic scientific research on evolution, relationships, and geographic occurrences of the species in the "Barneby genera." Many aspects of species ecology, morphological variation, and diagnostic characteristics, and uses can be seen directly from the specimen data and images and can be compared with the information in Barneby’s publications. Specimen records with geocoordinates of the collection localities can be used for GIS-based analyses of species diversity, endemism, and conservation status. Regional species checklists can be generated on demand from the Catalogue. The Catalogue also will benefit efforts other than scientific research. It provides easy access to specimen data, publications, and identification resources pertaining to species of the "Barneby genera," among which are many species of conservation and regulatory concern. Conservation of species or of habitats is possible only if you know where which species occur. Specimen occurrence data in the Catalogue will help to identify plant diversity hotspots for conservation and to assess the conservation status of rare taxa. Sharing specimen data freely and widely helps to meet the goals of the International Convention on Biological Diversity. The two most species-rich "Barneby" genera, Mimosa and Astragalus, are rife with both weedy, invasive species and also with endemic and endangered species—and in Astragalus, species that are highly toxic to grazing animals. To regulate trade in endangered species, to prevent imports species that are potential threats to US agriculture or environment, to monitor spread of invasives, and to identify poisonous species depends on accurate identification of specimens, which Barneby has provided. Images on the NYBG Virtual Herbarium have been, and will continue to be, used regularly as identification aids by the USDA-PPQ inspectors. The digital archive of letters and photos pertaining to Barneby provides a new resource for historical studies. Four young biologists were trained and got experience in the care and organization of natural history collections and archival material, plant morphology, bioinformatics, and mapping tools. In the last two years, about 10 doctoral students visited the Steere Herbarium to study specimens in "Barneby’s genera" and loans were sent to six of them. Their research is building on Barneby’s legacy of accurately identified specimens and comprehensive, published hypotheses of species relationships.
