Discovering New Plant Species: Selby Gardens Expeditions in the Tropical Andes

Discovering New Plant Species: Selby Gardens Expeditions in the Tropical Andes

Thursday, Oct. 15, 1-2:20 pm

Presented by Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) • 941-309-5111 • olliringlingcollege.org

Sarasota Art Museum, Ringling College Museum Campus, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236

Fee: General admission $20

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is internationally recognized for its research on tropical plants and its mission to explore, understand, and conserve biodiversity. Despite centuries of botanical exploration, scientists continue to discover plant species new to science every year, many of them in the northern Andes—one of Earth’s greatest biodiversity hotspots.

Join Selby Gardens Research Botanist Dr. John L. Clark for an inside look at modern botanical exploration, from remote cloud forests in Ecuador and Colombia to the laboratory, where DNA sequencing complements traditional taxonomy to reveal evolutionary relationships and identify previously unknown species.

Through striking photographs, stories from the field, and examples from Selby’s research program, Dr. Clark will explain how new species are discovered, documented, named, and conserved, and why these discoveries are essential for protecting Earth’s botanical diversity. The presentation concludes with time for audience questions and discussion.