Virginia Botanical Associates
Virginia Botanical Associates was formed by Dr. Alton M. Harvill, Jr. in the mid-1970’s to gather individuals with similar interests in Virginia’s flora. It grew gradually as individuals who demonstrated this interest through their field collections were invited to “join the flock.” Not until 1989 was the organization incorporated as a nonprofit entity with the mission of furthering knowledge of the state’s flora.
To this end, the Barbara J. Harvill Fund for Botanical Research was established to provide research grants to individuals for advancing knowledge of the phytogeography of Virginia. Dr. Harvill’s dedication to this effort resulted in three editions of the Atlas of the Virginia Flora (1977-1981, 1986, and 1992), published largely at his own expense. The organization had been composed primarily of individuals who had collected significant numbers of specimens to document Virginia’s flora, or who had otherwise contributed significantly in this effort. In 2007, it was expanded to include herbarium curators or staff from several major institutions as our needs had come to include much more herbarium specimen-related work.
Present membership includes Gary P. Fleming (DCR, President), Dr. Rebecca Bray (ODU), Dr. Martha Case (W&M), Beth Chambers (W&M), Dr. John W. Hayden (UR), Dr. Greg Plunkett (VCU), Charles E. (Mo) Stevens, Johnny F. Townsend (DCR), Dr. Andrea Weeks (GMUF), Thomas F. Wieboldt (VPI), and Robert A.S. Wright. Dr. Donna Ware recently retired after serving as president, liason with the Flora of Virginia Project, and general all-round encourager. Other past members are Dr. Ted Bradley, Douglas W. Ogle, and Gwynn W. Ramsey.
The focus in recent years has been to update the last issue of the Atlas with new distributional records and bring it closer to current trends in nomenclature and classification. In 2006, VBA signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Flora of Virginia Project to provide the best possible distributional information available for the Flora Project. As a further collaboration, the Flora Project has provided images of selected species. Click on About the Images for further details.