Hermsen Lab

  I attended the Midcontinent Paleobotanical Colloquium at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Virginia from May 6th to 7th to present the talk "Seeds of Passiflora  subgenus Decaloba  from the early Pliocene Gray Fossil Site of Tennessee." 

  I gave a virtual presentation for the Atlanta Botanical Garden's Science Café on September 16, 2021. The video can be viewed on their website or on YouTube. Thanks to Atlanta Botanical Garden for the invitation and to everyone who attended! YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/z5pARaEXWpM

Magnolia leaf (image by E.J. Hermsen) I have posted a new page to the Digital Encyclopedia of Ancient Life: Angiosperm Leaf Architecture. The link is here:  https://www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/learn/embryophytes/angiosperms/angioleaves/

I have a sole-authored paper out in the July/August issue of  International Journal of Plant Sciences  describing a new species of fossil passionflower ( Passiflora ) from Gray Fossil Site, Tennessee. This paper is part of the special issue "Celebrating Women in Paleobotany: A tribute to Edith L. Taylor." Citation: Hermsen, E.J. 2021. Review of the fossil record of Passiflora , with a description of new seeds from the Pliocene Gray Fossil Site, Tennessee, U.S.A. International Journal of Plant Sciences 182: 611–621. https://doi.org/10.1086/714282

Left: Fossil seed of Corylopsis grisea , Gray Fossil Site. Right: Modern Corylopsis  seed. Credit: E.J. Hermsen. East Tennessee State University has released a story about the two new plant species that I recently co-authored from Gray Fossil Site: Corylopsis grisea Quirk & Hermsen and Cavilignum pratchettii Siegert & Hermsen. First authors on the species are Zack Quirk (currently a graduate student at the University of Michigan) and Caroline Siegert (alumna, Ohio University). Read about the new species here: Fossil plants provide clues to changing environments in Tennessee's past .

Modern and fossil fruits of golden raintree ( Koelreuteria ). Credits: Modern fruits (E.J. Hermsen); fossil fruit (National Park Service) I have posted a new page on Digital Encyclopedia of Ancient Life (DEAL): Fruit & seed dispersal. You can find it here:  https://www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/learn/embryophytes/angiosperms/dispersal/

Gray Fossil Site, Tennessee, USA Caroline Siegert and I have published a new paper on extinct fossil endocarps from Gray Fossil Site, an early Pliocene sinkhole deposit located in eastern Tennessee, USA.  You may download a free PDF copy of the paper at the following link before March 27, 2020:  https://authors.elsevier.com/ a/1aX9K7uTvVL9- The citation is:  Siegert, C., and E.J. Hermsen. 2020.   Cavilignum pratchettii   gen. et sp. nov., a novel fossil endocarp with open locules from the Neogene Gray Fossil Site, Tennessee, U.S.A.   Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 275 (pages not yet assigned).

Florissantia calyx & Langeria leaf, Eocene, U.S.A. (Photos by Kevmin, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA; images modified.) I have posted a new angiosperm page on Digital Encyclopedia of Ancient Life: Overview of Angiosperm Phylogeny. Learn about the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification system (APG IV), the eight major groups of angiosperms, and the differences between monocots and eudicots. The page includes many figures, including fossils from the major angiosperm groups! https://www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/learn/embryophytes/angiosperms/angiosperm-phylogeny/