PTIS potato herbarium transferred to WIS, the Wisconsin State Herbarium

Authors: Spooner, David; Simon, Philipp; Bamberg, John; CAMERON, KENNETH - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: American Journal of Potato Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/15/2019
Publication Date: 11/22/2019
Citation: Spooner, D.M., Simon, P.W., Bamberg, J.B., Cameron, K.M. 2019. PTIS potato herbarium transferred to WIS, the Wisconsin State Herbarium. American Journal of Potato Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-019-09751-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-019-09751-6

Interpretive Summary: Herbarium specimens document the morphology of a plant in order to serve as a permanent reference point for species identifications and locality and other collection data. Typical herbarium specimens consist of living specimens pressed flat between cardboards, often intercalated with softer blotters and then dried in moderate heat in ovens or other methods, and then affixed (mounted) on archival herbarium sheets and organized and stored in insect-free cabinets (herbarium cases). Properly prepared and curated herbarium specimens can last hundreds of years and serve as critical elements to genebanks and taxonomic research. The Potato Introduction Station in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin has maintained herbarium specimens as part of its operations. These specimens mostly were grown from seeds in the field plots or greenhouses, but also are original specimens made during germplasm collecting expeditions. The herbarium of the Station (herbarium acronym PTIS) has been transferred from the potato genebank in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin to the Wisconsin State Herbarium (acronym WIS) in Birge Hall, University of Wisconsin-Madison where it is now fully integrated and curated and funded by WIS; PTIS is discontinued and is no longer maintained as a separate herbarium. Separately, maps and taxonomic literature that were used by the potato taxonomist in Madison were transferred to the Potato Station in Sturgeon Bay.

Technical Abstract: Herbarium specimens document the morphology of a plant in order to serve as a permanent reference point for species identifications and locality and other collection data. Typical herbarium specimens consist of living specimens pressed flat between cardboards, often intercalated with softer blotters and then dried in moderate heat in ovens or other methods, and then affixed (mounted) on archival herbarium sheets and organized and stored in insect-free cabinets (herbarium cases). Properly prepared and curated herbarium specimens can last hundreds of years and serve as critical elements to genebanks and taxonomic research. The Potato Introduction Station in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin has maintained herbarium specimens as part of its operations. These specimens mostly were grown from seeds in the field plots or greenhouses, but also are original specimens made during germplasm collecting expeditions. The herbarium of the Station (herbarium acronym PTIS) has been transferred from the potato genebank in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin to the Wisconsin State Herbarium (acronym WIS) in Birge Hall, University of Wisconsin-Madison where it is now fully integrated and curated and funded by WIS; PTIS is discontinued and is no longer maintained as a separate herbarium. Separately, maps and taxonomic literature that were used by the potato taxonomist in Madison were transferred to the Potato Station in Sturgeon Bay. This herbarium transfer is significant in that it provides a permanent home in a well-maintained and funded public herbarium for the valuable specimens and associated maps and literature serving the genebank.