We spent 5 days working on Malagasy bryophytes at the Herbarium of the Conservatoire Botanique de la ville de Genève (CJBG), Switzerland. Three of us were present all along this week: John Brinda from MBG, St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Michelle Price, Curator of bryophytes, head of science at CJBG and Catherine Reeb, Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité, MNHN, Paris, France. The Steering Commitee took place on Thursday 14th, by video-conference and exchanges with the present members. The other days were dedicated to study of the rich bryophytes collection from Madagascar at G Herbarium.
In order to dynamize collection analysis in the different herbarium, we got funding from the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in order to invite a bryologist for one month, to work on Malagasy collection. Andrea Sass-Gyarmati , from the Department of Botany of Eszterházy Károly Egyetem college stays in Paris during July 2019 in order to study Bazzania and Lejeuneaceae collection from Madagascar. She also participates to the first study of Roger Heim's collection, just curated in the framwork of MADBRYO. Roger Heim was a mycologist, Professor at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris, France, where he was the director from 1951 to 1965. He was, among others, specilaist of hallucinogenic mushrooms. In addition to mushrooms and plants, he collected bryophytes during two trips in Madagascar in 1934 and 1935. These bryophytes specimen were never studied until now.
Xper system is knowledge data bases system. Xper3 is the web plate-form dedicated to taxonomic descriptions and computer-aided-identification. During the BRYOTAN Workhop , we began to encourage XPer interactive databases . Several students from Antananarivo University began to develop their own database, especially on Polytrichaceae and on Bazzania from Madagascar. At the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris, we developed two databases, one on Malagasy Aneuraceae, the other on Malagasy Pallaviciniaceae (coming soon). We present in this blog publication the Aneuraceae database; the identification interface is available on Identification Key for Malagasy Aneuraceae .
A protocol has been proposed by the curators of the bryophytes collection in PC. The aims of this protocol are (1) to respect the choices of management of the bryophytes collection, especially to preserve the integrability of the collections and (2) to facilitate the accessibility of all the specimen of a given taxon. This protocol is defined by the following steps : Extraction of all the bryological material from Madagascar, specimens are kept on the original sheets. Partial computerization (name, collector) and attribution of an official identifier (Barcode) The collection data (date, geolocalisation, station etc.) will be completed latter A temporary herbarium, with all the sheets easily reachable is constituted Advantages of this protocol are Traceability and ease of consultation for scientific studies Simultaneous consultation of all the specimens from a given taxon, whatever the particular or historical herbarium of origin, or name under which a specimen is stored Access to different determination which has been done for a specimen Informatics data are easily researchable on the public database of MNHN Science https://science.mnhn.fr