Enjoy the beauty of seeds and learn about plant conservation projects from Julie McIntosh Shapiro at a Horticulture Morning sponsored by the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts on Monday, February 13, from 10 – noon at the Espousal Center in Waltham.  The Seed Herbarium Image Project, or SHIP, is an initiative of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University to create a web-based repository of high-resolution digital images documenting the morphology of woody plant seeds and selected fruit structures. SHIP is headquartered at the Arboretum’s Dana Greenhouse facility and is coordinated and photographed by curatorial assistant Julie McIntosh Shapiro. The Seed Herbarium Image Project supports the work of educators and professionals in horticulture and the botanical sciences, particularly in conservation research and management of rare and endangered species. The digitized images of seeds offer an important new aid for teaching seed identification—a fundamental skill in plant propagation, hybridization, and distribution—and serve as a resource for nurserymen, horticulturists, botanical curators, taxonomists, ecologists, and the general public. SHIP also provides an online resource for botanical institutions and nurseries to verify their collections and inventories. SHIP is made possible through the generous support of the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, and the J. Frank Schmidt Family Charitable Foundation. A $5 donation is requested.
