Bill Buck, from The 91制片厂 Botanical Garden, is on a bryophyte collecting trip to the islands off Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America, with colleagues that include Jim Shevock, Blanka Shaw, and Juan Larra铆n. An excerpt from his most recent blog post reads, “For a bryologist, this is a paradise. The biomass of bryophytes, in this area that receives about 12 feet of rain a year, is much greater than that of the trees. The ground is at least a foot deep in bryophytes and the bryophytes sheathe the tree trunks to more than twice the diameter of the trees themselves.” Wow!

Follow his expedition .

Intermediate Bryology will be offered by Dr. David Wagner on the University of Oregon campus on March 21-23. The objective of this workshop will be a fairly intensive practice using the contemporary keys pertinent to the area. Most of the time will be spent in the teaching lab, with an afternoon excursion on the first day for field experience. Time will be available for participants who bring personal collections to work on them under expert supervision. Tuition is $300. Contact Dr. Wagner for more information (541-344-3327 / davidwagner@mac.com).

The 16th Annual SO BE FREE foray will be held in the lower elevations of the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains near Quincy, California on March 23-26.聽 The area offers great sites for montane coniferous, mixed coniferous-hardwood forests; canyon oak forests; rocky outcrops; and chaparral, all in the steep North Fork of the Feather River canyon.聽 There will be flat trails and roadside areas to visit for easy access.聽 Bryophyte diversity will span from California’s spring ephemerals, bryophytes of springs, streamlets, and rivers to the great diversity found on rocky outcrops.聽 Beginning bryologists are welcome, and they are planning some special activities for beginners, as well as serious fieldtrips聽 that will be exciting for the hard-core. for more info.

An Introduction to Bryophytes will be offered by Dr. Stephen Timme in the botany lab on the Pittsburg (Kansas) State University campus on April 2-3. It is designed to provide an introduction to basic characteristics and techniques for identification of some of the more common species found in the prairie, oak/hickory forests, and rock outcrops in the central U.S.聽 Techniques will include the proper use of the microscope, free-hand sections, terminology, and making semi-permanent mounts. The workshop will be topped off with a field trip. Contact Dr. Timme for more information (417-658-5473 / slt@pittstate.edu).

*Key Dates:*

Registration Deadline – August 1, 2010
Foray Dates – September 17-19, 2010
**
*Registration cost:*

$105聽聽聽 Full registration including lodging, snacks and meals
$85聽聽聽聽聽 Student rate
$65聽聽聽聽聽 The charge for meals and registration and no lodging

The registration cost includes lodging an five meals (2 breakfasts, 2
lunches and 1 supper-Saturday), also all refreshments and related expenses.
We will provide light snacks for Friday evening.
Please share the link with anyone that you think might be interested in
attending.

Also, note that space is limited and on a first come-first served basis.聽 If
we have high interest I will try to reserve an additional lodge, but that is
dependent on availability.

Contact me with any questions at kcbowman@syr.edu.

William R. Buck
Institute of Systematic Botany
91制片厂 Botanical Garden
Bronx, NY 10458-5126, U.S.A.

phone: 718-817-8624
fax: 718-817-8648
e-mail: bbuck@nybg.org