post script—george edward post and the post herbarium lytton john musselman visiting professor...

Post Script—George EdwardPost and the Post Herbarium

Lytton John MusselmanVisiting Professor

Biology DepartmentAmerican University of Beirut

To find George Post we must travel to Beirut and down Post Street. . . . .

. . . . and to the American University of Beirut

(AUB)

Post Script—George EdwardPost and the Post Herbarium

I. The life of George Post.

II. His association with the SyrianProtestant College.

III. The botanical activities of Post.

Post Script—George EdwardPost and the Post Herbarium

IV. The herbarium of George Post.

V.The Post-Post Post Herbarium.

Post Script—George EdwardPost and the Post Herbarium

VI. The Post Herbarium and its role in floristic and biodiversity surveys in Lebanon, Syria, and the region.

VII. The future of the Post Herbarium.

Post Script—George EdwardPost and the Post Herbarium

I. The life of George Post.

GeorgeEdwardPost

1838-1909

Born in New York City, son of Harriet Beers andAlfred C. Post,a prominentsurgeon.

Graduated withhonors from City College of New York in 1854 atage 16.

M. S. degree in1857.

Studied Latinat age of six.

M. D. degreeconferred in 1860.

Ordained aminister in 1861.

D.D.S. awardedin 1863.

Sent as a medical missionaryto Syria in November 1863.

The Post family livedin New York state.

Settled in Tripoli,beganmedical practice andstudy of Arabic.

Remained in Tripoli from 1863 to 1868 including a return to the United States for health reasons.

Modern day Tripoli fromthe harbor.

Health concernsled to giving uphis missionaryposition in 1868.

Post Script—George EdwardPost and the Post Herbarium

II. His association with the SyrianProtestant College (later AUB).

Appointments.

The “Lewis Affair.”

Post was appointed Professor of Surgery and Botany in1869. He remainedin this position,under varioustitles, until hisdeath in 1909.

George Post inthe 1870’s.

George Post andthe “Lewis Affair”.

Edwin Lewis

Unlike Post, Lewis was a popular teacher. He was chosen to give the commencement address in 1882.

Edwin Lewis wasProfessor of Chemistry and Geology.The faculty of the Syrian Protestant

College in the 1870’s.

In his speech, Lewisspoke of three great scientists of the age: Lyell, Pasteur, and Darwin.

Darwin was “. . . an example of the transformation of knowledge into science by long and careful examination and accurate thinking.”

An uproar ensued. Lewis was censured by the mission society running the Syrian Protestant College. Students went on strike. Faculty resigned in support of Lewis.Most prominent among those resigning was Cornelius Van AllenVan Dyck who had worked closelywith Post.

C. Van Dyck wasProfessor of Chemistryand Surgery (notto be confused with William Van Dyck, his son, also a professor of surgery.)

Cornelius Van Dyck was one of thegreatest scholars in the Middle East andtranslated many books into Arabic, including the Bible. His translation remains one of the most widely used in the Arab world.

Van Dyck had more than a passing interest in botany and participated in an expedition to the source of the Jordan River in 1877. His familiarity with plants and work with Post led to aBible translation more botanically accurate than many.

The resignation of the Van Dycks insupport of Lewis threatened the futureof the Syrian Protestant College.

Post took a strong stand againstLewis’ supporters including hisfriend and colleague, C. VanDyck. Student strikers support-ed Van Dyck against Post.

Student complaintsagainst Post chargedhim with: “cruelty,avarice, . . .injuriousto the peace of thecollege.”

One of their demandswas the demotion ofPost to the rank ofinstructor.

Within a year the controversy subsided, new faculty were hired, the student strike was broken, and Post remained in his university position, firmly established in his anti-Darwinian and authoritarian stance.

It is telling that in his acknowledgements inthe flora, Post glaringly omits Van Dyck but thanks “. . . Professors Porter and Day. . . genialcompanions . . .of his journeys. . . who aidedhis studies. . .”

III.The Botanical Activities of George Post

1857-1908

Papaver postii Feddeendemic to Cyprus

The Botanical Activities of George Post

1857-1908

Early years 1857-1868

Syrian Protestant College 1869-1909ExpeditionsExchangeCorrespondence

Little is known of Post’sformal training in botany.Physicians trained in the mid-1800’s were required to take Materia medica and other plant-oriented courses.

Post began an herbarium as a teenager, perhaps in company with his father whoalso collected plants.

Early Years

Papaver postii

What is an herbarium?

A museum of dried plants.

Label of Alfred C. Post?

Early label of George Post

Examples of herbarium labels

Soon after settling in Tripoli,Post collected plants. Between1866 and 1869 he visited several areas in modern dayLebanon and Syria.

Post participated inseveral expeditionsfor natural historyand archeology.

Expeditions

He visited Sinai in 1883 and further south. Some specimens were collected at the pyramids.

Post had an interest in archeology. He led to an expedition to Palmyra (Tadmur) in 1890.

Cyprus 1898Most of his collecting was inthe mountains.

Papaver postiii Fedde

Papaver postii Fedde

On the trail of George Post. He namedseveral plants after the Troodos regionof Cyprus.

Papaver postii Fedde

Among taxa he described from Cyprus are: Calamintha troodii, Cyperus cyprius, Dianthus multipunctatus Ser. var. troodi, Euphorbia troodii, Ferula cypria, Phlomis cypria, Saponaria cyprica, Scabiosa cyprica, Sideritis cypria, and Teucrium cypricum.

Post received many specimens from a Mrs. Shepard, a physician living in Aintab. He named several plants in her honor including Achillaea shepardi, Astragalus shephardi, Campanula shepardi,Centaurea shepardi, Erigeron shepardi, Knautia shepardi, Medicago shepardi, and Nepeta shepardi.

Aintab

Post incorporated Shepard’s specimensunder his own name.

Labels from the typeSpecimen of Ferulago kurdica.

He also received specimens from Mardin and vicinity from an unknown source (Mrs. Shepard?) and named these new species: Nepeta mardinensis and Verbascum mardinense.

Post collected manyplants from the Hauran Region southeast of Damascus and named new taxa. The

Hauranregionof Syria

These includeChaerophyllum auranitacum,Cynara auranitica, Dianthus auraniticus, and Ferulago auranitica.

Post visited western Turkey on several occasions to represent the medical college to Ottoman authorities and alsoperhaps to visit his son, Bartram Van Dyck Post, a Professor of Botany and Zoology at Robert College.

Bartram Van Dyck Post carried on thePost family tradition of botany. He published one of the first floras of theBosphorus region.

Examples of Post’s labels from Turkey.

His last trip to Turkey was apparentlyin 1903.

Balfour

Blanche

Correspondents-Exchange

Europeancorrespondentsincluded

Boissier(collected byHaussknecht)

Gaillardot

Hulsen

LeTourneux

Tauscher

Schweinfurth,who sent plants from Egypt.

Inscription in Schweinfurth’sFlora Aethiopiens to Dr. G. Post by J. Ascherson

Specimens obtained by Post aresought by scientists documenting disappearing flora in their countries.

For example, a botanist in Istanbul,studying vegetation changes in theBosphorus region, inquired aboutendangered species that might be in the Post collection.

Two species were found

Her response indicates the value botanistsrecognize in the Post Herbarium“. . .if you have got Aznovor’sspecimens [in] Beyrut, they are treasure. Please [protect] Aznovour’scollections very well.”

North American Exchange

Post participated in an exchange program (from Harvard University?) that published a list of species for exchange.

Post tried to obtainas many U. S.specimens as possibleMany well knownU. S. collectors arerepresented in Post’s collection.

“Plants which I have are marked out”

These collectors include

W. M. CanbyA. H. CurtisD. C. EatonC. MohrE. S. Palmerand manyothers.

Loranthus fromAustralia. Exherbarium ofD. C. Eaton.

As a result, the Post Herbariumcontains a surprising array of plantsfrom many different parts of the world.

Annotations

The numerous annotations on specimens in the Post Herbariumattest to its importance in plant biologyin the region.

AnnotationsMany specimens were annotatedby Paul Mouterde. Other botanistsinclude

Alexander Eig,Jerusalem

N. Vavilov,St. Petersburg

Correspondence-Letters

Correspondence of George Post

Post wrote to botanists at Kew (Baker),St. Petersburg (Winkler), Geneva (Autran, Barbey, Boissier) and elsewhere.

William Barbey, son-in-law toEdmond Boissier, was one ofPost’s most frequent correspondents.Many Post specimens have botha Post number and a Barbey number.

Post named several plants after Barbey includingAstragalus barbeyanus, Eragrostis barbeyi, Ferula barbeyi, Hieracium barbeyi, and Verbascum barbeyi.

His correspondence was extensive.133 letters are preserved at Geneva

Correspondence found in the Post Herbarium includes

Schweinfurth

Bornmüller

Autran

Post was stronglyinfluenced byEdmond Boissier.

Arrangement offamilies in his flora and in his herbarium followthat of Flora Orientalis

Post’s copy of FloraOrientalis markingBoissier’s stand on Darwinism.

“For my part, I never accepted to any degreethe Darwinian theory. . . .”

Plants Named for George Post

GeneraPostia Boiss et Blanc. Postiella Kljuykov

SpeciesCentaurea postii Boiss.Papaver postii FeddeTracheliopsis postii Buser

Did Post “Specialize” inany groups? His interestspanned all angiospermsbut he named more species(14) of Verbascum than anyother group including:

Verbascum aintabicum, V. aliciae, V. antari, V. barbeyi, V. boissieri, V. caudatum, V. fruticulosum, V. gadarense, V. karyeteini , V. macranthum, V. mardinense, V. palmyrense, V. porteri, and V. qulebicum. 

Publications of George Post

In addition to his better known botanical works, Post edited a medical journal in Arabic and translated several books.

Post’s concordance of the Bible,still in print in the 1970’s.

List of publications in firstedition of the flora

Post’s flora in Arabic

Post’s handwritten manuscripttreating CephalariaBiscutella from the Arabic

flora. (Apparently volume IInever appeared).

1883?

Post’s best knownwork, edition I ofthe flora 1884. The second edition was produced by J. E.Dinsmore in the 1930’s.

The Post Herbarium forms the basis for this flora.

Review of Post’s flora, source unknown, pasted in Post’s copy.

“. . few men would have attempted to carry such a bookthrough to press in Syria, fewerstill would have succeeded sotriumphantly.”

At the time of his death, he had completed the manuscript of adictionary of botany and zoologythat was never published.

Most of the plants named by Postwere described in a series calledPlantae Postianae published by theBossier Herbarium in Geneva.

Post’s Latin description of Statice palmyrensis.

Post Script—George EdwardPost and the Post Herbarium

IV. The herbarium of George Post.

Post Hall on the AUB campus

In 1904, theherbarium was moved to Science Hall (later called Post Hall) where it apparently remained until 1953. It is now housed in the Faculty of Agriculture.

Let’s go there. . . .

Welcome to the Post Herbarium

AmericanUniversity of Beirut

Nada Sinno Saoud

Components of the Collection

1.The herbarium ofGeorge Post.

2. Specimens addedafter Post, i.e., after1909.

Post Collection

• Specimens collected by George Post.

• Specimens obtained by exchange.

• Materia Medica.

• Economic Botany Collection.

• Tropical Ferns-Dodge collection.

• Bryophytes from Ceylon and Hawaii.

• Fungi from Budapest Museum.

The Collection of George Post

• According to Dinsmore (1932), the Post collection contains an estimated 20 000 sheets. This includes specimens “contributed” by students. To this day, most of the sheets are Post’s specimens.

• Plants obtained by exchange.

The most valuable specimens are type specimens. According to international botanical code, the name of the plant is based on the type specimen.

Sideritis cypria Post

This is the type specimen of a species Post named from Cyprus.Wherever and howeverthis name is used, it islinked with this singlespecimen.

The Materia Medica collectionof the Post Herbarium

Materia medica was a required course for medical students tolearn plants used for compound medicines. Teaching it wasapparently considered equivalent to teaching an introductorycourse. Post asked to be released from teaching this course.

Economic Botany Collectionacquired by exchange of specimens with

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1882

Tamarindus indicus

Hematoxylin

Dodge Fern Collection

Adiantumformosa

Cyatheadealbata

Dodge Fern Collection

Post’s report on the herbarium in 1889 states:

“The herbarium has been enriched by amagnificent collection of ferns from allquarters of the world, gathered and beautifully mounted by the late Mrs.Stuart Dodge, and presented by her husband to the college.”

Bryophytes from Ceylon and Hawaii

A collection of several hundred specimens. Collector and source unknown.

Hypnum

Hawaian Islands

Bryophytes from Ceylon and Hawaii

Climacium subserratum

Central Province of Ceylon

Fungi from Budapest MuseumLess than 100 specimenspossibly obtainedthrough contact withJ. Bornmüller, who hadlinks with Hungary.

Post Script—George EdwardPost and the Post Herbarium

VI. The Post-Post Post Herbarium

History

Collections

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

• Alfred Ely Day was appointed Professor of Botany after Post’s death in 1909.

• In 1922, the herbarium was apparently transferred to pharmacy. Day was appointed Professor of Botany in Pharmacy.

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

• John Edward Dinsmore of the American Colony in Jerusalem begin his revision of Post’s flora in the 1920’s.

• Apparently, this led to the cataloging of all the specimens in the herbarium in the 1930’s.

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

Catalog prepared by Tateos V. Yegavian in 1930-31. Yegavian was a business student.Each sheet is recorded with name, synonym, collector, location, annotation information, and date.

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

This remarkable catalog provides anaccurate account of the collection as itexisted in the early 1930 and can beconsulted to see which of the originalspecimens are still intact.

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

At least up to 1931, some curatorialwork was done in the herbarium.

Elie Hammam was an Instructor of Botany who Dinsmore corresponded with regarding herbarium matters. (Hamman met his untimely death falling off Mt. Sannine at age 23).

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

Little is known about activities inthe herbarium between the time ofthe publication of the second editionof the flora and 1953.

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

By 1953, interest in the herbariumhad apparently waned. It was movedto agriculture through the efforts of Winnie Edgecombe, an instructorin agriculture.

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

Edgecombe is best known forher two books on weeds of Lebanon

Weeds of Lebanon

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

Most of the accessions after 1953 were from the collections of WinnieEdgecombe.

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

With the establishment of the Facultyof Agriculture in 1953, emphasis wasplaced on weeds and range plants. Asmall Range Management Herbarium was established.

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

When the School of Pharmacywas closed in 1977, ProfessorCharles Abu Chaar moved to theBiology Department and assumedresponsibility for the herbarium.

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

The civil war and invasions in Lebanon led to the departure of Shaukat Chaudhry who was curating the herbarium in the 1970’s.

The Post-Post Post Herbarium

During the difficult war years, ProfessorAbu Chaar looked after the herbarium.

Euphorbia macrostegia

Cedrus libani

Asphodeline liburnica

Aubretia libanotica

Chouf onosma

Vinca libanotica

Iris sofarana

Origanumlibanoticum

VII. The role of the Post Herbariumin biodiversity and floristic studiesin Lebanon, Syria, and the region.

Euphorbia macrostegia

Cedrus libani

Asphodeline liburnica

Aubretia libanotica

Chouf onosma

Vinca libanotica

Iris sofarana

Origanumlibanoticum

The Post Herbarium is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive herbarium in Lebanon and Syria.

Euphorbia macrostegia

Cedrus libani

Asphodeline liburnica

Aubretia libanotica

Chouf onosma

Vinca libanotica

Iris sofarana

Origanumlibanoticum

Well known to botanists who workin the region, the Post Herbarium is an invaluable resource reflectingthe scientific work of AUB faculty,most notably George Post.

Euphorbia macrostegia

Cedrus libani

Asphodeline liburnica

Aubretia libanotica

Chouf onosma

Vinca libanotica

Iris sofarana

Origanumlibanoticum

Surveys of crop relatives and other useful plants in Lebanon and Syria have stimulated new interest in the Post Herbarium.

VIII.The Future of the Post Herbarium

The Future of the Post Herbarium

In a word-Bright!!

The Future of the Post Herbarium

A manager has beenappointed and the collection is being curated.

The Future of the Post Herbarium

A major effort is being placedon the location and curation oftype specimens. To date, types of133 of the 214 plants named by Post have been found. Types are being scanned and will be availableon a web site.

The Future of the Post Herbarium

The herbarium will be upgraded, curated and housed in new facilities. It will occupy an entire floor of Post Hall.

The Future of the Post Herbarium

Almost 1000square feetwill beavailable forthe newherbarium.

The Future of the Post Herbarium

Post Hall is named for George Postand was designed by him.

Bust of Postin Post Hall

The Future of the Post Herbarium

“The great want of the museums is apermanent Assistant Curator, who shall notonly keep present collections from deteriorating, but aid in enlarging andarranging them in such a way as shall mostcontribute to their educational value.”Report on the museum by Post in July 1891

The Future of the Post Herbarium

“The great want of the museums is apermanent Assistant Curator, who shall notonly keep present collections from deteriorating, but aid in enlarging andarranging them in such a way as shall most contribute to their educational value.”Report on the museum by Post in July 1891

George Post inspires botanists almost a century after his death.

Visit the Plants of Lebanon web site athttp://webfaculty.aub.edu.lb/~lm10 for checklists and images of plants of Lebanon and Syria.

George Post inspires botanists almost a century after his death.

Visit the Plants of Lebanon web site athttp://webfaculty.aub.edu.lb/~lm10 for scanned copies of Post’s and Mouterde’s manuscripts and notes.

Acknowledgements

Cedrus libaniTannourine

Financial support for the herbariumfrom the Darwin Project, AUB.

Biology Department, AUB, for support and encouragement.

Archives section of Jafet Library,American University of Beirut.

Staff and students who work innatural areas in Lebanon,especiallyTannourineShoufandEhden.

Old Dominion University forunflagging support forthree decades.

Libby and John for love and support for a husband and father who loves plants.

Let’s go!!