Can’t tell Squirrel-corn from Dutchman’s breeches?IU alum writes definitive Hoosier wildflower guideBy Jayne Spencer | |
 | When Kay McCrary Yatskievych was studying for a degree in plant sciences at IU Bloomington in the 1980s, two of her major influences were a place—the Deam Herbarium which housed more than 60,000 Indiana plant specimens—and a person, IU environmental policy analyst Lynton Caldwell, a professor emeritus of political science and of public and environmental affairs.
The Deam Herbarium, now located at the Smith Research Center, houses the collection of famed botanist Charles Dean, who donated his collection of Indiana plant specimens to IU in 1938. Caldwell, an avid naturalist as well as the originator of the environmental impact statement requirements in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, employed Yatskievych as a secretary her last two years on campus. Thanks to Caldwell, Yatskievych’s work schedule provided for flex-time, allowing her to make room for photographic field trips to capture on film the wildflowers that grow in the state of Indiana. Now employed as a botanist for the Missouri Botanical Garden, Yatskievych’s Field Guide to Indiana Wildflowers has just been published by the IU Press. And it’s a treasure for enthusiasts: until now, 40 percent or more of the state’s wildflowers have not been found in any available field guides. Yatskievych is a founding member of both the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society and the Brown County Spring Wildflower Count. She’s also co-editor of a nine-volume series, Flora of the Venezuelan Guyana. |
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