News
250 Years of Botany in America
22 April 2026
As we continue to celebrate the history of botany in America for the 250th anniversary of our country, this month we visit Hawai'i with Archibald Menzies and David Douglas, who have dual naming rights to a "fir" of the Pacific Northwest; settle on the islands with Marie Catherine Neal and Otto Degener, who made careers there; and finish with a collection of botanists' correspondence from the 20th century. These informal lobby displays were curated by Christi Thomas, Computational/Archival Assistant, and Scarlett T. Townsend, Publication and Marketing Manager and Institute Historiographer.
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About the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation
The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, a research division of Carnegie Mellon University, specializes in the history of botany and all aspects of plant science and serves the international scientific community through research and documentation. To this end, the Institute acquires and maintains authoritative collections of books, plant images, manuscripts, portraits and data files, and provides publications and other modes of information service. The Institute meets the reference needs of botanists, biologists, historians, conservationists, librarians, bibliographers and the public at large, especially those concerned with any aspect of the North American flora.
Media Contact:
Scarlett T. Townsend
412-268-7304
st19@andrew.cmu.edu
