Another look at nature
By Casey Gillis on May. 31, 2007
The latest exhibit at Lynchburg College’s Daura Gallery is all about celebrating nature.
Called Botanicos, the exhibit opened Tuesday and will run through Aug. 12. The Daura Gallery will host a reception for it at 5 p.m. June 8 that is free and open to the public.
On display will be specimens that reveal an unusual and beautiful art form created from variations on shapes, forms, patterns, symmetries and structural designs in flowers, fruits, seeds, leaves and roots.
“It’s a collection that shows a little bit of diversity of plant life in the state,” says Gwynn Ramsey, professor emeritus of biology at LC and curator of the Ramsey-Freer Herbarium. “(The plants) show really fine architectural form.”
Plants on display represent the more than 60,000 specimens that can be found at the herbarium, including the Tulip Poplar, Virginia’s state tree; the Flowering Dogwood, Virginia’s state flower; and one that sounds like it’s straight out of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”: the purple-headed sneezeweed.
The herbarium, celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, is the longest-running research project at LC and the state’s fourth-largest herbarium.
The late Ruskin Freer, who taught biology at the college from 1924 to 1964, founded the herbarium in 1927 and remained its curator until 1967, when Ramsey took over.
“It’s very unique to have only two men to curate a facility such as this over such a long period of time,” Ramsey says.
Now, it’s his turn to celebrate 40 years as curator.
“Both Freer and I were interested in Virginia flora: what plants were from where and why,” Ramsey says. “… We were interested in our plant resources.”
Each of the specimens in the herbarium is carefully preserved by being dried, pressed and then mounted on paper.
“This is an art form,” Ramsey says of the preservation technique. “… When (specimens) are treated this way and are kept insect-free … they last indefinitely. They can be gotten out, looked at and studied by students and researchers.”
The Daura Gallery exhibit has been put up in conjunction with the college’s Botanicos Conference, a biodiversity conference, scheduled for June 8 and 9, that’s celebrating the herbarium’s anniversary.
The conference kicks off at 7:30 p.m. June 8 with keynote speaker S.H. Sohmer, director of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, in Sydnor Performance Hall. Afterward, Ramsey will tell Appalachian folk tales. This event is free and open to the public.
On June 9, the conference moves to LC’s Claytor Nature Study in Bedford County, and the program will include presentations on biodiversity, workshops, nature hikes, bird walks and entertainment.
Registration for the day is $25, includes breakfast and must be paid at the door.
The Daura Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or by appointment through Aug. 26. It is closed on weekends during the summer.
If You’re Going
WHAT: Botanicos exhibit gallery talk
WHEN: 5 p.m. June 8
WHERE: Lynchburg College’s Daura Gallery
TICKETS: Free
INFO: 544-8343; exhibit runs through Aug. 12.
WHAT: Botanicos Conference
WHEN: June 8 and 9
WHERE: Lynchburg College and the Claytor Nature Study in Bedford County
TICKETS: $25
INFO: 544-8371
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