College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Web grass

Three-year grant enables botany professor to develop interactive Web resources on Iowa grasses
A 35-year old publication is being revamped for the 21st century thanks in part to a grant from the Fred Maytag Family Foundation.

In 1966, Richard Pohl, professor of botany at Iowa State, published Grasses of Iowa, an extensive look at the state's native grasses. To this day, individuals throughout the state ask the Department of Botany for the publication.

"We get lots of requests for Dr. Pohl's publication," said Lynn Clark, professor of botany and director of the Ada Hayden Herbarium. "It's been out of print for a long time, but it includes maps, illustrations and identification keys that are valuable resources."

Without the funding to reprint the publication, Clark looked at ways to make the information available to the public. A new website was logical.

Clark has been awarded a three-year, $112,000 grant from the Fred Maytag Family Foundation to develop such a website - an interactive Web resource devoted to Iowa grasses. When complete, the website will allow people to see and learn about nearly 200 grasses that grow in Iowa.

Graduate student Anna Gardner is making the website come together with many of the original illustrations from the 1966 Pohl publication. The Iowa State BPMI (biological pre-medical illustration) graduate will enhance the site with additional photos of grasses during the growing season. She will also do line drawings to help document unusual items about a particular grass.

A database developed by Clark will be included on the website. Characteristics of each specimen will contain such things as the height of the grass, leaf shapes and sizes, common names, habitat, whether the grass is native to Iowa, how rare or common the grass is, and whether it is a warm-season or cool-season grass.

Much of this data will come from the collection and records of the Ada Hayden Herbarium, which holds the largest collection of Iowa plants in the state.

Additional information will be obtained from the herbariums at the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.

"I think it will be an incredibly useful tool to people who want to know the name of a grass growing in their yard or garden," Clark said. "It will also be useful for conservationists, roadside managers, farmers, botanists, ecologists and people interested in prairie reconstruction and restoration."

While Clark and Gardner will rely on the previous Pohl publication for information, those records will be updated.

"A lot of changes have occurred since 1966 including the way we look at grasses," Clark said. "Some of the scientific names of these grasses have changed for instance.

"There are also between ten and 15 new species of grass that have been found in the state and there may have been grasses that have become extinct."

In addition to the website, Clark hopes to have a companion CD-ROM or DVD and field guide published.

At one point in Iowa's history, 75% of the state was covered by tall grass prairie. These days, experts estimate that less than .10 of one percent remains in its natural state. In recent years, homeowners and landscape architects have generated resurgence into prairie grasses.

"These are 'hot' plants to use in landscaping these days," Clark said. "People want a more natural look and individuals have a whole lot more interest in grasses and what you can do with them.

"Part of the educational process is to inform the people of Iowa what the native plants are and encourage them to use them. We think this web site will be helpful in these endeavors."