Start Date
2023
Description
In 1901, botanist, teacher, and Kent Scientific Institute scientist, Emma J. Cole published her book Grand Rapids Flora: A Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Ferns Growing Without Cultivation in the Vicinity of Grand Rapids, Michigan. For over 100 years her book has provided an excellent perspective into the natural environment of the area. The aim of the project is to revisit and inventory sites she explored, as well as other remnant natural areas, to see how plant life has changed over the past 120+ years.
Beginning in 2015 the project has assessed 54 sites, mentored 19 students, discovered 110 new county records, encountered 15 State-rare species, and documented the present-day flora by collecting herbarium specimens. In 2023 we focused on mounting and processing more than 6000 voucher specimens into the Calvin Herbarium, greatly expanding the value of the collection.
Recommended Citation
Stob, Elliott; Figueroa, Renee; Crow, Garrett; and Warners, David, "The Emma Cole Grand Rapids Flora project: Documenting and Assessing Change 123 Years Later" (2023). Summer Research. 44.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/summer_research/2023/Posters/44
Included in
The Emma Cole Grand Rapids Flora project: Documenting and Assessing Change 123 Years Later
In 1901, botanist, teacher, and Kent Scientific Institute scientist, Emma J. Cole published her book Grand Rapids Flora: A Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Ferns Growing Without Cultivation in the Vicinity of Grand Rapids, Michigan. For over 100 years her book has provided an excellent perspective into the natural environment of the area. The aim of the project is to revisit and inventory sites she explored, as well as other remnant natural areas, to see how plant life has changed over the past 120+ years.
Beginning in 2015 the project has assessed 54 sites, mentored 19 students, discovered 110 new county records, encountered 15 State-rare species, and documented the present-day flora by collecting herbarium specimens. In 2023 we focused on mounting and processing more than 6000 voucher specimens into the Calvin Herbarium, greatly expanding the value of the collection.