Come to the Crum – Or the Tuckerman!

Each year there are two workshops in eastern North America that focus on cryptogams. These workshops are the Tuckerman Lichen Workshop, started in 1994, and the Crum Bryology Workshop, started in 2004. These workshops accomplish three functions: 1) to collect cryptogams that may fill in distribution ranges, 2) to collect specimens from an area with which participants may not be familiar, and 3) to give dedicated amateurs a chance to work with professionals. Since I am a bryologist, I will concentrate on the Crum Bryology Workshop. These bryology workshops have been held twice in Pennsylvania, Vermont, and New York; and once each in Ohio, Maine, West Virginia, Michigan, Kentucky, and North Carolina. There have been Canadian workshops in Ontario, Québec, and New Brunswick.

In September 2019, the 16th Crum Bryology Workshop was held in Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. Stephen Clayden, Curator Emeritus and Research Associate at the New Brunswick Museum, organized the workshop. From Ohio, it took three driving days to reach Miramichi. New Brunswick is not a heavily populated area. Instead of houses along the roads, there are many rock outcrops and forests of white pine, spruce and red maple. Driving there made me think of the movies The Blair Witch Project, and Groundhog Day. For miles, it was the same scene over and over again: forests and signs that read “Attention: Moose”.

Each workshop requires a place to stay and a place to serve as a lab where the group identifies specimens. For the 16th workshop, most participants stayed at the Rodd Miramichi Hotel. The “lab” was in an exhibition building that was part of the regional fairgrounds. The first day of the workshop, participants set up their scopes, dissecting equipment, and books. For the next four days, field collections were made in diverse habitats. For the 16th workshop, we collected in raised bogs, exposed wet rocks along a river, and mixed cedar and northern hardwood forests. Collections were made in the morning, and the afternoon and evenings were spent working on collections. Consistent with previous Crum Bryology Workshops, this was our schedule: day 1, set up; day 2 – 4, field work and identification; day 5, pack up and leave. A dinner with all the workshop participants is planned for one evening.

Long hours are spent looking at specimens. Participants help each other with materials. It is not uncommon to see four or more hovering around a microscope, trying to make a determination. I often take “troublesome” Ohio specimens with me. These are bryophytes that I either can’t identify, or am unsure of its identity. There often is laughter about our mistakes.

At least once during the workshop I take a specimen to Bill Buck, retired Senior Curator at the New York Botanical Garden. I know that I will suffer humility—his teaching technique. He looks at the specimen and says “Everyone knows what this is.” I am chagrined, and he roars with laughter. He then examines the material and we work on its identity.

2019 Crum Workshop Participants. Row 3: Marc-Frédéric Indorf, Nils Ambec, Dr. Sean Haughian, Dr. Richard Harris, Dr. Tom Phillips, Dr. Stephen Clayden, Dr. Bill Buck. Row 2: Dr. David Malloch, Chris Ward, Jerry Oemig, Jean Gagnon, Jennifer Doubt, Dr. Nancy Slack, Dr. Barb Andreas, Linda Ley, David Mazerolle. Row 1: (kneeling) Dr. Alfredo Justo, Frances Anderson, Anne Mills, Kendra Driscoll, Amanda Bremner). Photo by Donald McAlpine.

The Crum Bryology Workshop (as well as the Tuckerman Lichen Workshop) is by invitation only. However, the only criterion necessary to be invited is that you have your own microscopes, as well as a commitment to learning more about bryophytes. The workshop is a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow amateur and professional bryologists. The 2020 Workshop is planned for the state of Delaware, on November 5- 10. If you are interested in learning more about bryophytes, send your e-mail address to Bill at bbuck@nybg.org.

The Tuckerman Workshop is set up with a similar format as the Crum. For those interested in lichens, e-mail James Lendemer at jlendermer@nybg.org.

-Barbara K. Andreas