Abstract
Mapping Plant Specimens that Document the Great American Frontier
Track: Using GIS in Libraries and Museums
Author
The approximately 8,000 plant specimens contained within the Missouri Botanical Garden Herbarium's George Engelmann Collection represent plants gathered during pioneering expeditions into the native American West following those of Lewis and Clark. These specimens represent the first scientific record of the plants growing in the vast wilderness west of the Mississippi River. As such, they form the earliest verifiable documentation of species occurrences before the rapid migration west permanently altered that pristine landscape through human alterations and the introduction of invasive species. These specimens have been digitized and a representative set have been geocoded in Tropicos, MBG’s botanical information system, with visualization and analysis facilitated through integration of ArcGIS Server. These specimens, and the resulting interactive maps, help inform scientists, students, and the general public about the historic distributions of species throughout the native American landscape.
Chris Freeland
Missouri Botanical Garden
4344 Shaw Blvd.
St. Louis, Missouri 63110
United States
Phone: 314-577-9548
E-mail: chris.freeland@mobot.org