20 THE TROPICAL Garden 8 9 A new goal introduced for this recent trip was to collect tissue and herbarium specimens for taxonomic research. Fern taxonomy can be complicated, stemming from the fact that ferns are notorious for hybridization as well as extreme variability in form. Many of our target species have outstanding taxonomic questions whose resolution will be extremely important for their recovery. One might be a hybrid, while another might be a geographic variant of a more common species. USFWS needs to know these details so that they can best protect each species. 5 To untangle these taxonomic knots, we sought out two experts in fern genetics: Dr. Emily Sessa from the University of Florida, and Susan Fawcett from the University of Vermont. Lange and I may have had the fun part of the job, collecting the material, but Sessa and Fawcett’s work has the potential to change Puerto Rican fern taxonomy. In order to obtain enough material for Sessa and Fawcett, we collected pieces of fern fronds from the target species and also from close relatives (Sessa says this helps her to build a phylogeny, which shows how species are related to one another). This
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