The New England Botanical Club Distinguished Speaker, Dr. James Lendemer, will speak on Friday, April 6 at 6:45 pm in the Haller Lecture Hall, Room 102, Geological Museum, 24 Oxfore Street in Cambridge. Dr. Lendemer is Assistant Curator, Lichenology, Institute of Systematic Botany, New York Botanical Garden, and Assistant Professor, Department of Biology Graduate Center, City University of New York. His topic is New England Lichens: Leveraging Past Riches to Understanding the Present and Future. Dr. Lendemer says: “As the staff lichenologist and an assistant curator in the Institute of Systematic Botany, I spearhead a diverse program of research and education focused on lichens—symbiotic fungi that are often considered to be the equivalent of corals on land. I oversee the curation of the lichen collection at New York Botanical Garden, the largest such collection in the western hemisphere, and one that serves scientists and land managers worldwide by providing access to unique high quality data. My research focuses on understanding the biodiversity of lichens in North America, while simultaneously working with collaborative partners to develop and implement conservation strategies that will safeguard those species for future generations.” Free and open to the public. For more information visit www.rhodora.org.
