Abstract
An account of the extent, diversity, and importance of the Californian collections of Thomas Coulter in the herbarium (TCD) of Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, is presented here. It is based on examination of collections in TCD, several other collections available online, and referenced literature. Additional information on historical context, content of herbarium labels and annotations is included. Coulter’s collections in TCD are less well known than partial duplicate sets at other herbaria. He was the first botanist to cross the desert of southern California to the Colorado River. Coulter’s collections in TCD include not only 60 vascular plant specimens previously unidentified as type material but also among the first moss and marine algae specimens known to be collected in California. A list of taxa named for Thomas Coulter is included. Images of the map of his route are presented here as well as comments on some locality errors. Mention is made of works cited in annotations that were, in fact, never published, leading to persistent author citation errors. Coulter’s expansive interests in collecting and natural history included languages of the indigenous tribes he encountered in California.
Highlights
An account of the extent, diversity, and importance of the Californian collections of Thomas Coulter in the herbarium (TCD) of Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, is presented here
There is a separate account of Coulter’s marine algae specimens (Appendix II), taxa for which his collections are type material (Appendix III), a list of plant and algae taxa named for him (Appendix IV), a list of taxa claimed as first collected by Coulter but not typified by his specimens (Appendix V), and a list of obscure generic names and their disposition in this paper (Appendix VI)
Viewing the Native Americans by the stereotypical norms of the period, expressed his opinion of the condition of the “aboriginal inhabitants”: “ ...I believe that a great deal of both force and fraud were used in congregating them together in missions; and the moment that force shall be altogether withdrawn, I have no doubt that the majority of them will return to the woods
Summary
Viewing the Native Americans by the stereotypical norms of the period, expressed his opinion of the condition of the “aboriginal inhabitants”: “ ...I believe that a great deal of both force and fraud were used in congregating them together in missions; and the moment that force shall be altogether withdrawn, I have no doubt that the majority of them will return to the woods. Coulter joined a party traveling south to San Gabriel along El Camino Real soon after he arrived in Monterey. Coulter did not venture further south on this trip and retraced his route to Monterey, arriving on 23 November 1831 That is when he met the Scottish plant collector David Douglas who had already been to Santa Barbara and back collecting plants. Coulter and Douglas parted company when Coulter left Monterey in late March 1832, traveling south along El Camino Real likely collecting plants along the way. These included the specimen cone that would be designated the type specimen of Pinus coulteri collected from the Santa Lucia Mountains near the mission of San Antonio. I have found only two specimens, both labeled Isomeris arborea with St. [sic] Diego, California, on the label, Coulter 65 at K noted by Lightner (2014: 33) and Coulter s.n. at TCD, that were collected in San Diego
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
