From Thorne to APG IV: Reorganization of the Digital and Physical Collections of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Herbarium

Abstract

Since the mid 1960’s, the combined herbaria of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden [RSA] and Pomona College [POM] have followed the classification system of Taxonomist and Curator, Dr. Robert F. Thorne (1920-2015). Thorne, whose research interests were largely centered on floristics and plant geography, is best known for his synoptic work to develop a classification system to accommodate all flowering plants. Nevertheless, Thorne was a strong proponent of an alphabetical arrangement of herbaria, and organized the RSA-POM collection accordingly. The last time the RSA-POM Herbarium experienced a major shift in the arrangement of its collection was nearly 20 years ago. Since that time, many outdated families that are no longer recognized – of which Thorne had recognized in his system of classification – have remained in the collection. Over the last two years, the RSA-POM Herbarium has been actively reorganizing both its digital and physical collections to follow the vascular plant families of the newest classification system, the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG IV). Reorganization began with a complete overhaul of the herbarium’s database followed by curation of the physical collection. This presentation highlights the efforts in curating the digital and physical collections of the RSA-POM Herbarium, perspectives on collection reorganization, as well as challenges and limitations.