FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Flora Novae Angliae Published

Lecture and Book Signing Scheduled for Comprehensive Manual to New England's Plants

New England Wild Flower Society's Flora Novae Angliae by Arthur Haines, illustrated by Elizabeth Farnsworth and Gordon Morrison, has been published by Yale University Press. 1,008 pages, 945 illustrations. New date for lecture and book signing at Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA - Saturday, December 3 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

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Flora Novae Angliae – Published by New England Wild Flower Society – Lecture and Book Signing Scheduled

Framingham, MA – New England Wild Flower Society’s Flora Novae Angliae: A Manual for the Identification of Native and Naturalized Vascular Plants of New England has been published by Yale University Press. The Society’s research botanist Arthur Haines is the author of this 1008 page book which includes 945 illustrations by Elizabeth Farnsworth and Gordon Morrison. On Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. (PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE-due to the snow storm in late October) at Garden in the Woods, 180 Hemenway Road, Framingham, MA, join the author for a discussion of the underlying philosophies, a look at some of the research and novel finds on which the manual was written, and discussion of the many collaborators (and their exciting finds) who helped make the book possible. The lecture will present some interesting botanical information pertinent to each New England state. After the lecture, there will be a book signing for Flora Novae Angliae and other titles by the author and illustrators in the Garden Shop.

This partly illustrated work presents the latest in nomenclatural, taxonomic, and distribution information for New England’s tracheophytes (i.e., higher vascular plants). The manual makes a departure from its predecessors in several respects. First, well-supported information was incorporated into the text, regardless of how unpopular it may have been viewed. Second, many thousands of herbarium specimens were reviewed to verify not only recent collections but the early ones as well. Third, identification keys were written, where possible, with focus on characteristics that do not display substantial phenotypic (i.e., environmental) variation. And fourth, all hybrid plants that could be verified as part of the New England flora were included (rather than just the well-known or named ones). These underlying philosophies have contributed to building a floristic manual with many substantial changes from earlier works covering the region.

Haines states, “The initial view of this manual may be one of greater complexity, but the goal was simply to write a manual that reflected, as accurately as plant taxonomists understood, our best understanding of the species growing on the New England landscape.”

Arthur Haines is a plant biologist specializing in the taxonomy and identification of New England tracheophytes. Through study of living populations, herbarium collections, and literature, Haines aspires to gain the regional knowledge possessed by biologists such as Harry Ahles, Bruce Sorrie, and Edward Voss. In order to attain this goal, high emphasis is placed on study of all taxonomic groups, communication with botanical authorities, and currency of nomenclature. Haines commits a significant portion of personal time to the pursuit of newly described species and forms. The combination of these attributes contributes greatly to landscape analyses, floristic inventories, and rare species surveys.

Arthur Haines is currently employed by New England Wild Flower Society as a research botanist. His was first hired to examine specimens of ca. 530 rare or poorly known native species in regional herbaria. The goal was to verify the accuracy of determinations and enter the corresponding label information into a Microsoft Access database named HERB. The information is being used to update distributions and Natural Heritage Program files, as well as complement on-going studies in New England (e.g., Conservation Plan writing and relocation of historic taxa). Haines is presently working with the Society on Go Botany, an online botany education site using Flora Novae Angliae as a resource. In addition to his work with New England Wild Flower Society, Haines owns and manages the Delta Institute of Natural History in Canton, Maine, a school for small group instruction on a diversity of natural history topics with focus on plant taxonomy and primitive technologies. Arthur Haines began his botanical study in the mountains of western Maine searching for state rare species with Les Eastman. His early experience involved working at the University of Maine Herbarium and participating in field trips of the Josselyn Botanical Society. He performed graduate studies in systematics at the University of Maine under Christopher Campbell (Flora of Maine and hybridization in Schoenoplectus). In addition to taxonomic classes, he is also is involved in primitive skills instruction. These skills include edible, medicinal and useful plants; knapping stone; fire making; shelter fabrication; constructing wooden bows and arrows; fiber arts; hide tanning; etc. Various classes are taught around New England and make use of wild-collected materials from local landscapes. For more information, please visit www.arthurhaines.com.

Elizabeth Farnsworth is Senior Research Ecologist with New England Wild Flower Society, and a biologist, educator, and scientific illustrator. She is also Editor-in-Chief of the botanical journal, Rhodora. She is currently principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded project to develop an on-line guide to the regional flora for teaching botany. She previously coordinated planning for the conservation and management of over 100 species of rare plants. In addition to Flora Novae-Angliae, she has illustrated Natural Communities of New Hampshire by the NH Natural Heritage Bureau and three other books, and is currently illustrating and co-writing Field Guide to the Ants of New England (Yale University Press). She is co-author of Connecticut River Boating Guide: Source to Sea and Peterson Field Guide to the Ferns. She is a member of the graduate faculties of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the University of Rhode Island, a Master Teacher at the Conway School of Landscape Design, and has taught at Smith College and Hampshire College. She formerly served as Ecologist with the Connecticut Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. She has conducted scientific research on many ecosystems throughout the world, focusing on restoration, conservation, and climate change. She was awarded a Bullard Research Fellowship by Harvard University in 2005 and a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in 1999. She has been a scientific consultant to the National Park Service, The Trustees of Reservations, U. S. Forest Service, Massachusetts and Connecticut Natural Heritage Programs, United Nations, and the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust. She obtained her Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University, M.Sc. from the University of Vermont, and a B.A. with honors in Environmental Studies from Brown University.

Gordon Morrison is a well-known natural history illustrator whose work spans more than forty years. His many book illustrating credits include: Newcomb’s Wild Flower Guide, Little Brown & Co; The Birdwatcher’s Companion, Princeton University Press, and three Peterson Field Guides (one on Eastern Forests and two on Western Forests), Houghton Mifflin Co. He has also created art for educational displays for New England Wildflower Society, Missouri Botanical Gardens, Boston Zoological Society and Massachusetts Audubon Society. He is the illustrator of the Curious Naturalist series appearing in ‘Sanctuary’, a Mass Audubon Society publication. From 1988 to 1995 he illustrated the Native Americans (plants) series for Horticulture Magazine. And from1991 to 1999 Gordon wrote, as well as illustrated, the Birds in the Garden series, also for Horticulture Magazine. Gordon has written and illustrated five children’s books: A Drop of Water, Nature in the Neighborhood, Pond, Oak Tree, and Bald Eagle. He also presents programs for young and old, in which he combines art and nature; sharing field studies, original art and his experiences, often concluding with a drawing demonstration. Acknowledgement for his children’s books include: the John Burroughs Nature Book for Young Readers Award in 2006; the Julia Ward Howe Children’s Book Prize, 2003; Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children in 1999, 2003 and 2004; and a CCBC Choice for 2001.

The mission of New England Wild Flower Society is to conserve and promote the region’s native plants to ensure healthy, biologically diverse landscapes. Founded in 1900, the Society is the nation’s oldest plant conservation organization and a recognized leader in native plant conservation, horticulture, and education. The Society’s headquarters, Garden in the Woods, is a renowned native plant botanic garden in Framingham, Massachusetts, that attracts visitors from all over the world. From this base, 35 staff and more than 1,000 volunteers work throughout New England to monitor and protect rare and endangered plants, collect and preserve seeds to ensure biological diversity, detect and control invasive species, conduct research, and offer a range of educational programs. The Society also operates a native plant nursery at Nasami Farm in western Massachusetts, which grows plants for retail customers and for landscaping and restoration projects, and has eight sanctuaries in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont that are open to the public.

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