The Council of the New England Botanical Society honors Merritt Lyndon Fernald's exemplary contributions to the botany of northeastern North America through the Merritt Lyndon Fernald Award. The award is given annually, if deemed appropriate, to the author(s) of the best paper published in each volume of Rhodora that has made use of herbarium specimens and/or involved fieldwork.
Topics to be considered include, but are not limited to, biogeography, floristics, life-history studies, monographs, and revisions. Papers on vascular or nonvascular plants, lichens, fungi, and algae will be considered. The competition is not limited to a particular geographic area but is open to studies in any part of the world. Recipients of the Fernald Award will receive $1,000 and a certificate acknowledging the achievement.
NEW ENGLAND BOTANICAL SOCIETY
MERRITT LYNDON FERNALD AWARD
Janet R. Sullivan and Mare Nazaire
“Specimen collection and preparation for a changing flora”
Rhodora 123 (993):50–66
The Merritt Lyndon Fernald Award Committee states that this article “is an eloquent, thorough, and timely reminder of the importance of herbaria and collections in botany, and the committee anticipates that it will be used widely for reference—and especially for teaching. For those who may be less experienced plant collectors, the authors provide lists of supplies and equipment needed; give detailed techniques for collecting, arranging, and preparing specimens for pressing; and discuss considerations that may not have come to mind. Sullivan and Nazaire provide details about what essential information should be recorded, beyond the basic date and location information, so that each specimen will be useful for many kinds of research, even ones the original collectors may not have imagined, such as DNA analysis. The timing of this article is particularly critical, because botanical collecting has declined in recent years, just as the need to record changes in our flora has increased because of climate change! The article is comprehensive, authoritative, and thoughtful, teaching those who wish to contribute to botanical knowledge all the necessary steps. And most of all, the information is presented in a very readable style, making clear the importance of collecting plants and preparing specimens without making it sound tedious, impossibly difficult, or anything less than fun.”
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