The NDSU Libraries are set to host the 2020 Gunlogson Presentation, “The Legacy of a Life in Botany: O.A. Stevens and the Handbook of North Dakota Plants,” scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15, at 12:30 p.m.
Laura Aldrich-Wolfe, assistant professor of biological sciences, and Steven Travers, associate professor of biological sciences, are set to give the presentation, which will be a virtual event via Zoom.
Campus colleagues are asked to watch for the NDSU Libraries' email newsletter to acquire the link. Community members can email lindsay.condry@ndsu.edu to acquire the link. Aldrich-Wolfe and Travers will discuss three main topics:
• The history of botanical exploration in North Dakota
• Modern updates to the flora of North Dakota and the unique flora of North Dakota
• The historical and biological information captured in the “Handbook of North Dakota Plants”
From 1909-1956, O.A. Stevens was a professor of botany at what was then called North Dakota Agricultural College.
In 1950, he published the “Handbook of North Dakota Plants,” which remains the only published book on the flora of the state. It also was the first book published by NDSU Press. Many of the plant species Stevens included were first described from specimens collected by the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806 as they followed the Missouri River across the Great Plains.
Aldrich-Wolfe and Travers are working to update the “Handbook of North Dakota Plants” to the 21st century. They hope to increase its utility for professional and amateur botanists alike, while retaining the charm and historical value of the unique document.
“Dr. O.A. Stevens incorporated personal anecdotes and information on amateur botanists throughout the original ‘Handbook of North Dakota Plants,” Aldrich-Wolfe said. “In revising it, our goal is to maintain that sense of connection with the history of botany and the lives of botanists in North Dakota while updating the nomenclature and information to make the book more useful to the contemporary reader.”
The Gunlogson fund, established by a gift from G.B. Gunlogson’s charitable remainder trust, supports scholarly work related to the publications and archives of the Institute for Regional Studies, advancing general university outreach. The fund is jointly managed by the NDSU College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the NDSU Libraries to enhance NDSU's land-grant mission through institute projects that preserve the cultural heritage of North Dakota.
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