Systematic biology is a discipline rooted in collections. These collections play important roles in research and conservation and are integral to our efforts to educate society about biodiversity and conservation. Collections provide an invaluable record of the distribution of organisms throughout the world and through recent and geological time, and they are the only direct documentation of the biological, physical, and cultural diversity of the planet: past, present, and future. Recent developments in bioinformatics and cyberinfrastructure are transforming systematics by opening up new opportunities and as a result major digitization efforts have increasingly made available large amounts of biodiversity data. The collections‐based systematics community needs to train the next‐generation of systematists with integrative skills, address grand questions about biodiversity at different scales, develop a community‐wide cyberinfrastructure, effectively disseminate systematic data to biologists and the public, and proactively educate the public and policy makers on the importance of systematics and collections in the biodiversity crisis of the Anthropocene. Specifically, we call for a new global Biodiversity CyberBank, comparable to GenBank for genetic data, to be the repository of all biodiversity data, as well as a World Organization of Systematic Biology to lead major initiatives of the field. We also outline a new workflow for taxonomic monographs, which utilizes both the traditional strengths of synthesizing diverse collections‐based taxonomic data and the capacity of online resources and bioinformatics tools.

Natural history collections contain data that are critical for many scientific endeavors. Recent efforts in mass digitization are generating large datasets from these collections that can provide unprecedented insight. Here, we present examples of how deep convolutional neural networks can be applied in analyses of imaged herbarium specimens. We first demonstrate that a convolutional neural network can detect mercury-stained specimens across a collection with 90% accuracy. We then show that such a network can correctly distinguish two morphologically similar plant families 96% of the time. Discarding the most challenging specimen images increases accuracy to 94% and 99%, respectively. These results highlight the importance of mass digitization and deep learning approaches and reveal how they can together deliver powerful new investigative tools.

Monographs are fundamental for progress in systematic botany. They are the vehicles for circumscribing and naming taxa, determining distributions and ecology, assessing relationships for formal classification, and interpreting long-term and short-term dimensions of the evolutionary process. Despite their importance, fewer monographs are now being prepared by the newer generation of systematic botanists, who are understandably involved principally with DNA data and analysis, especially for answering phylogenetic, biogeographic, and population genetic questions. As monographs provide hypotheses regarding species boundaries and plant relationships, new insights in many plant groups are urgently needed. Increasing pressures on biodiversity, especially in tropical and developing regions of the world, emphasize this point. The results from a workshop (with 21 participants) reaffirm the central role that monographs play in systematic botany. But, rather than advocating abbreviated models for monographic products, we recommend a full presentation of relevant information. Electronic publication offers numerous means of illustration of taxa, habitats, characters, and statistical and phylogenetic analyses, which previously would have been prohibitively costly. Open Access and semantically enhanced linked electronic publications provide instant access to content from anywhere in the world, and at the same time link this content to all underlying data and digital resources used in the work. Resources in support of monography, especially databases and widely and easily accessible digital literature and specimens, are now more powerful than ever before, but interfacing and interoperability of databases are much needed. Priorities for new resources to be developed include an index of type collections and an online global chromosome database. Funding for sabbaticals for monographers to work uninterrupted on major projects is strongly encouraged. We recommend that doctoral students be assigned smaller genera, or natural portions of larger ones (subgenera, sections, etc.), to gain the wo r k sh o p r e p o r t necessary expertise for producing a monograph, including training in a broad array of data collection (e.g., morphology, anatomy, palynology, cytogenetics, DNA techniques, ecology, biogeography), data analysis (e.g., statistics, phylogenetics, models), and nomenclature. Training programs, supported by institutes, associations, and agencies, provide means for passing on procedures and perspectives of challenging botanical monography to the next generation of young systematists.

Monocotyledons -Bonpland and Humboldt exploration -Neotropics -Venezuela -Botanical history -Herbarium collections herbier. A Berlin, l'herbier Willdenow (B-W) détient au moins 126 spécimens du Venezuela correspondant au même nombre d'espèces distribuées en 64 genres et 26 familles. L'herbier de Berlin (B) a reçu des collections de l'expédition par le biais de l'achat de l'herbier de Karl Sigismund Kunth. Nous avons découverts plusieurs spécimens de Monocotylédones du Venezuela dans l'herbier HAL, qui sont des doubles des spécimens de l'herbier Willdenow soustraits par D. F. L. von Schlechtendal. Aucun matériel lié à Humboldt et Bonpland n'a été découvert dans l'herbier MA-CAV bien que l'on sache que des graines provenant du Venezuela et cultivées à Madrid, accompagnées parfois par des spécimens d'herbier, aient été envoyées par les deux explorateurs. De même, aucun matériel du Venezuela n'a été localisé dans l'herbier LR, et ce, malgré les évidences dans la correspondance que Bonpland aurait envoyé des spécimens à son frère aîné. En ce qui concerne le travail de terrain de l'expédition, la lecture attentive des notes contenues dans les carnets de terrain nous amène à penser que la description des collections botaniques a été faite par «Bonpland et Humboldt» et non par «Humboldt et Bonpland» comme cité de manière courante. L'analyse de ces carnets de terrain et de la correspondance, ainsi que l'introduction à «Nova Genera et Species Plantarum» suggèrent que la description des taxa de cette publication serait à attribuer plutôt à «Kunth, Bonpland & Humboldt» qu'à «Kunth in H.B.K.». Cela semble particulièrement le cas pour les taxa qui ne sont pas représentés aujourd'hui par des spécimens ou des illustrations dans P-Bonpl.

No abstract

No abstract

Smithsonian Institution Scholarly PressSmithsonian Institution Scholarly Press s m i t h s o n i a n c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o b o t a n y • n u m b e r 1 0 0 Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press Flora of Guaramacal (Venezuela): Monocotyledons L. J. Dorr SERIES PUBLICATIONS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONEmphasis upon publication as a means of "diffusing knowledge" was expressed by the first Secretary of the Smithsonian. In his formal plan for the Institution, Joseph Henry outlined a program that included the following statement: "It is proposed to publish a series of reports, giving an account of the new discoveries in science, and of the changes made from year to year in all branches of knowledge." This theme of basic research has been adhered to through the years by thousands of titles issued in series publications under the Smithsonian imprint, commencing with Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge in 1848 and continuing with the following active series: In these series, the Institution publishes small papers and full-scale monographs that report on the research and collections of its various museums and bureaus. The Smithsonian Contributions Series are distributed via mailing lists to libraries, universities, and similar institutions throughout the world.Manuscripts submitted for series publication are received by the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press from authors with direct affiliation with the various Smithsonian museums or bureaus and are subject to peer review and review for compliance with manuscript preparation guidelines. General requirements for manuscript preparation are on the inside back cover of printed volumes. For detailed submissions requirements and to review the "Manuscript Preparation and Style Guide for Authors," visit the Submissions page at www.scholarlypress.si.edu. s m i t h s o n i a n c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o b o t a n y • n u m b e r 1 0 0 Includes bibliographical references and index.

No abstract