All are welcome to the 2011 NYFA annual meeting which will take place at the

The 2011 meeting will feature a presentation entitled by Rob Naczi of the 91��Ƭ�� Botanical Garden.

The most recent Flora for northeastern North America is Gleason & Cronquist’s Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada (1991). Great advances in botany in the past two decades have made the time ripe for its revision. Particularly compelling justifications for revision are 1) improvements in understanding relationships among families and genera; 2) continued taxonomic discovery in the region at the specific and infraspecific level; and 3) field discoveries of an increasing number of non-native species that have become established in the region, including invasive plants. The goals of this project are to produce a compact, one-volume Manual intended for field use, similar to Gleason & Cronquist, as well as to create an accompanying online Flora. The online Flora will expand on the contents of the Manual by including discussions, photographs, citation of literature, etc. The region of coverage for the new Manual is the same as for Gleason & Cronquist, a vast area of northeastern North America: the entirety or portions of 22 states of the U.S.A. (CT, DE, IA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT, WI, WV) and 5 provinces of Canada (NB, NS, ON, PE, QU). The total area covered is ca. 860,500 mi2, which is equivalent to 29% of the area of the 48 contiguous states of the U.S.A. The botanical scope of the new Manual is the same as its predecessors: all vascular plants growing spontaneously and established in the geographic area covered. Included will be an estimated 5000 species and 200 families of vascular plants (ca. 25% of all North American species and ca. 65% of all North American families). Relative to Gleason & Cronquist, several innovations distinguish the new Manual, including collaboration by a team of taxonomic and floristic experts, and inclusion of etymologies of generic names and specific epithets, conservation status for each species, morphologic synapomorphies for families, and new identification tools.

In addition, find out more about what NYFA is doing including a review of the 2011 field trip and workshop schedule. There will also be time to mingle and talk with others interested in the flora of 91��Ƭ��.

Don’t miss out on this exciting and interesting event!

When: Thursday April 7^th 12 Noon – 1:30 PM

Where: At the at the

Registration: Registrations for the meeting are being accepted through the .

Cost: The meeting is free but registration for the NENHC is strongly encouraged.

Details: Lunches are offered through registration to the NENHC, or you can bring your own lunch.

Number of Plant Species               3,895

Number of Plant Images                1,698

Number of Herbarium Records  105,275

See the sidebar link to go to the Atlas.

The following remembrance is from the President of RPI, Dr. Jackson:

It is with great sadness and deep regret that I announce the recent passing of Dr. Robert P. Ingalls, the executive officer of the Computer Science Department at Rensselaer and a respected teacher of many computer science courses. Dr. Ingalls passed away late last week.

After a distinguished career in developmental psychology, Dr. Ingalls’ interests turned to computer science in the mid-1980s. He earned his master’s degree in computer science here in 1986, and joined the Computer Science Department that same year as director of operations, eventually rising to serve in the role of executive officer.

Dr. Ingalls earned his bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology from Williams College in 1967, and went on to earn his master’s degree from the University of Connecticut in 1968. He earned his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Connecticut in 1972.

Dr. Ingalls was the author of a number of books on developmental psychology, including “Mental Retardation: The Changing Outlook.” He taught psychology at the California State College at Chico, and here in Troy at Russell Sage College, before joining the 91��Ƭ�� State Council on Children and Families.

After he came to Troy, Dr. Ingalls continued his lifelong interest in natural history. He was an accomplished field botanist, and an observer and advocate for the ecology of Rensselaer County. He served as a member and officer of the Rensselaer Land Trust and acted as a steward for the Nature Conservancy. Dr. Ingalls’ interests were many and diverse, and his enthusiasm engaged all who knew him.

There will be a memorial service for Dr. Ingalls at the Chapel and Cultural Center, 2125 Burdett Avenue in Troy, on Saturday, December 4, at 11:00 a.m., followed by a reception in The Great Room at the Heffner
Alumni House.

President – David Werier, Botanist, Ithaca
Vice President – Steve Young, Botanist, 91��Ƭ�� Natural Heritage Program
Secretary – Anna Stalter, Botanist, Cornell University
Treasurer – Kim Smith, Botanist, 91��Ƭ�� Natural Heritage Program and State Parks

Two new members also joined the board:

Eric Lamont -Botanist, Long Island
Aissa Feldmann – Ecologist, 91��Ƭ�� Natural Heritage Program

We now offer NYFA gear that you can purchase including hats, mugs and T-shirts!