This exhibit explores three of those pockets described in the twentieth century and the frontier spirit that drives botanical exploration. These vignettes also show the importance of archives for retrieving botanical history.
Original documents have the power to shed new light on the relationships between botany and culture.
Themes that run through the exhibit include the relationships between individuals and institutions, the impacts of transportation and technology on botany, and the connections between botanical projects and economics. We hope that these glimpses will prompt current botanists to think about arranging for preservation of their own photographs, correspondence, field notes, and manuscripts - their own pieces of botanical history. Click any of the three images on the right to follow their stories. This exhibit was created for the XVI International Botanical Congress in August 1999 in St. Louis, Missouri. All rights reserved.