‘Invasive Plants Of Connecticut’

At Yale Peabody Museum

NEW HAVEN — “Landscape Under Siege: Invasive Plants of Connecticut,” an exhibition at Yale Peabody Museum, features exquisite watercolors and etchings of invasive plants by members of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators together with specimens from the Peabody’s botanical collections.

Visitors will recognize a number of the species presented, such as the Norway Maple and Purple Loosestrife.

An invasive is a species that is non-native (or alien) to an ecosystem and whose introduction harms or is likely to harm the environment, economy or human health. New England’s historically populated landscapes, together with the presence of large commercial ports, has facilitated the introduction of many non-native plants which now make up at least one-third of the New England flora. Many of these are considered invasive.

The Yale University Herbarium is renowned for historical material that dates back to the first half of the 18th century. Worldwide expeditions and local field trips have since built this collection to 350,000 specimens.

The Herbarium collections have been augmented by material sent to curators for identification and comment, particularly on newly found and introduced species. Since each herbarium specimen is a statement of the occurrence of a plant in a particular place at a particular time, an accurate record is developed of the history of plant introductions into a given area.

For example, on August 3, 1919, H.L. Wells sent to then curator Alexander Evans a letter and specimen of a remarkable raspberry bush he had seen while out walking near Old Lyme. Displayed in the exhibition, this is one of the first documented specimens of Wineberry.

Among the other invasive species featured, one in particular is not commonly recognized as an invasive. It is the Common Reed, Phragmites australis. Although it has been in New England for at least 4,000 years, non-native strains of this plant have unfortunately also made their way here.

Recent research by a Yale student on specimens deposited at the Yale Herbarium indicates that these non-native strains have invasive tendencies. It is clear that this plant has gone beyond its original range in New England, and is now encroaching into wetlands that contain rare native species.

The exhibition will remain on view through November.

For more information on GNSI activities and publications, visit the guild’s website, www.gnsi.org.

For details about the exhibition and other information about the Yale Peabody Museum, including details about a May 12 lecture related to the invasives lecture, call the museum’s InfoTape at 203-432-5050.