January Seminar -- Sewanee Purple Phacelia
Schedule
Thu Jan 15 2026 at 06:00 pm to 07:30 pm
UTC-06:00Location
Huntsville Madison County Public Library (South Huntsville Public Library) | Huntsville, AL
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Sewanee Purple Phacelia (Phacelia sewaneensis) -- The Story of How We Discovered and Named a New Species of Plant that was Hiding in Plain Sight on our Campus.NOTE: This event will be a hybrid zoom event. Dr. Evans will join via Zoom, and you have the option to join via zoom or join the WildOnes group at the South Huntsville Public Library for a watch party.
<< Please email [email protected] in advance for a zoom link if you are not a WildOnes member. >>
These days, it is a rare and highly unusual opportunity in the life of a botanist to be able to name a new species of plant. It is even more unusual when that new species happens to be one of the most charismatic spring wildflowers found on your own campus and whose flowers are also exactly the school color! In this talk, I describe the ecological and genetic research over the last four years that led my lab to the conclusion that we had two distinct species of Phacelia living in Shakerag Hollow rather than just one. My explanation for why I believe this species was missed by botanists for over 200 years, goes beyond science and involves a French spy from the 1700s. Finally, I will explain the complicated process of how one goes about naming a new species and why we chose to name this species, Phacelia sewanensis, the Sewanee Purple Phacelia!
Dr. Jon Evans is a Professor of Biology at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. His research in plant ecology focuses on plant population dynamics and the processes that determine the composition and structure of plant communities over time and across landscapes. He is specifically interested in the role of clonal growth as a mechanism for population persistence in plant communities. He also studies land-use history and exotic species introductions as drivers of long-term change in forest communities. Much of his research is conducted within ecosystems of the southern United States, concentrated on the southern Cumberland Plateau and on the coastal barrier islands.
Since 1995, he and his students have conducted research on the dynamics of old-growth, upland forests of the Cumberland Plateau. Long-term plots established in Franklin State Forest and Fall Creek Falls have informed our understanding of the importance of old-growth upland forests to the maintenance of biological diversity on the Plateau and the critical role they now play in combating climate change by sequestering and storing large
amounts of carbon.
He also leads University efforts to promote landscape–level conservation across the Cumberland Plateau region. As founding Director of Sewanee’s Landscape Analysis Laboratory, he led a federally funded, multi-disciplinary project that used GIS and remote sensing to examine the environmental consequences of native hardwood conversion to pine plantations on the Cumberland Plateau. This research led to fundamental changes in land-use decision-making within the region and helped to catalyze major conservation initiatives.
He has been a faculty member at Sewanee since 1994 and teaches courses in ecology, botany and conservation biology. He also directs the Sewanee Herbarium, which maintains an extensive vascular plant collection for the University’s 13,000 acre campus and surrounding region.
This presentation will be delivered by Tom Ress.
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Where is it happening?
Huntsville Madison County Public Library (South Huntsville Public Library), Grissom High School, 7901 Bailey Cove Rd SE, Huntsville, AL 35802, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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