FACILITIES

The lab is divided into two parts, the wet lab, Haskell Hall 006 and 006A, and across the hall, the dry lab, Haskell 001. In the wet lab, we are set up for basic sediment analyses, artifact processing, and pollen processing.  Faciltities include; muffle furnace, drying oven, distilled water still, acid and flammables storage, centrifuge, fume hood, HEPA filter, and labware including hygrometers, riffle sampler, and glassware.

Microscopy is based in the dry lab, with a Leica DMRB research microscope and five Leica Biomed or similar transmitted-light microscopes. We also have two reflected-light stereoscopes and several low-power dissecting scopes.  We can also run image analyses with an integrated camera and software system that links either to the DRMB or one of the stereoscopes. The lab has two computers, one dedicated to image analysis, and one for student use.

COLLECTIONS

• Pollen reference collection: The collection focuses on South Asia, especially taxa of semi-arid regions, and the North American Southwest, though there is also coverage of the Midwestern U.S. and Hawai’I.

• Macrobotanical Reference Collection: The collection focuses on South Asia, especially taxa of semi-arid regions, and the North American Southwest, though we also have reasonable collections for the more arid parts of the Old World from East Asia to Africa. Like all our collections, this is a work in progress and the database may be incomplete.

• The Xylarium: This is our newest and least-developed reference collection, with fewer than 300 samples.  We do have microscopic facilities now for taxonomic work on wood: come and help us develop this!

• Other: We also have reference works on botanical analysis, a shared Mendeley Database with citations and articles, and periodic rodent and roach invasions.