Post Script—George Edward
Post and the Post Herbarium
Lytton John Musselman
Visiting Professor
Biology Department
American University of Beirut
To find George Post we must travel
to Beirut and down Post Street. . . . .
. . . . and to the American
University of Beirut
(AUB)
Post Script—George Edward
Post and the Post Herbarium
I. The life of George Post.
II. His association with the Syrian
Protestant College.
III. The botanical activities of Post.
Post Script—George Edward
Post and the Post Herbarium
IV. The herbarium of George Post.
V. The Post-Post Post Herbarium.
Post Script—George Edward
Post and the Post Herbarium
VI. The Post Herbarium and its role in
floristic and biodiversity surveys in
Lebanon, Syria, and the region.
VII. The future of the Post Herbarium.
Post Script—George Edward
Post and the Post Herbarium
I. The life of George Post.
George
Edward
Post
1838-1909
Born in New
York City, son
of Harriet
Beers and
Alfred C. Post,
a prominent
surgeon.
Studied Latin
at age of six.
Graduated with
honors from City
College of New
York in 1854 at
age 16.
M. S. degree in
1857.
M. D. degree
conferred in 1860.
Ordained a
minister in
1861.
D.D.S. awarded
in 1863.
The Post family lived
in New York state.
Sent as a medical missionary
to Syria in November 1863.
Settled in Tripoli,began
medical practice and
study of Arabic.
Remained in Tripoli from 1863 to 1868
including a return to the United States
for health reasons.
Health concerns
led to giving up
his missionary
position in 1868.
Modern day Tripoli from
the harbor.
Post Script—George Edward
Post and the Post Herbarium
II. His association with the Syrian
Protestant College (later AUB).
Appointments.
The “Lewis Affair.”
Post was appointed Professor of
Surgery and Botany in
1869. He remained
in this position,
under various
titles, until his
death in 1909.
George Post in
the 1870’s.
Edwin Lewis
George Post and
the “Lewis Affair”.
Edwin Lewis was
Professor of
Chemistry and
The faculty of the Syrian Protestant
Geology.
College in the 1870’s.
Unlike Post, Lewis was a popular
teacher. He was chosen to give the
commencement address in 1882.
In his speech, Lewis
spoke of three great
scientists of the age:
Lyell, Pasteur, and
Darwin.
Darwin was “. . . an example of the
transformation of knowledge into science by
long and careful examination and accurate
thinking.”
An uproar ensued. Lewis was
censured by the mission society
running the Syrian Protestant
College. Students went on strike.
Faculty resigned in support of Lewis.
Most prominent among those
resigning was Cornelius Van Allen
Van Dyck who had worked closely
with Post.
C. Van Dyck was
Professor of
Chemistry
and Surgery (not
to be confused
with William
Van Dyck, his
son, also a
professor of
surgery.)
Cornelius Van Dyck was one of the
greatest scholars in the Middle East and
translated many books into Arabic,
including the Bible. His translation
remains one of the most widely used in
the Arab world.
Van Dyck had more than a passing
interest in botany and participated in
an expedition to the source of the
Jordan River in 1877. His familiarity
with plants and work with Post led to a
Bible translation more botanically
accurate than many.
The resignation of the Van Dycks in
support of Lewis threatened the future
of the Syrian Protestant College.
Post took a strong stand against
Lewis’ supporters including his
friend and colleague, C. Van
Dyck. Student strikers supported Van Dyck against Post.
Student complaints
against Post charged
him with: “cruelty,
avarice, . . .injurious
to the peace of the
college.”
One of their demands
was the demotion of
Post to the rank of
instructor.
Within a year the controversy subsided,
new faculty were hired, the student
strike was broken, and Post remained in
his university position, firmly
established in his anti-Darwinian and
authoritarian stance.
It is telling that in his acknowledgements in
the flora, Post glaringly omits Van Dyck but
thanks “. . . Professors Porter and Day. . . genial
companions . . .of his journeys. . . who aided
his studies. . .”
Papaver postii Fedde
endemic to Cyprus
III.
The Botanical Activities of George Post
1857-1908
The Botanical Activities of George Post
1857-1908
Early years 1857-1868
Syrian Protestant College 1869-1909
Expeditions
Exchange
Correspondence
Early Years
Little is known of Post’s
formal training in botany.
Physicians trained in the
Papaver postii
mid-1800’s were required to
take Materia medica and
other plant-oriented courses.
Post began an herbarium as a teenager,
perhaps in company with his father who
also collected plants.
What is an herbarium?
A museum of dried plants.
Examples of
herbarium labels
Label of Alfred C. Post?
Early label of George Post
Soon after settling in Tripoli,
Post collected plants. Between
1866 and 1869 he visited
several areas in modern day
Lebanon and Syria.
Expeditions
Post participated in
several expeditions
for natural history
and archeology.
He visited Sinai in 1883 and further
south. Some specimens were collected
at the pyramids.
Post had an interest in archeology. He led
to an expedition to Palmyra (Tadmur) in
1890.
Cyprus 1898
Most of his collecting was in
the mountains.
Papaver postiii Fedde
On the trail of George Post. He named
several plants after the Troodos region
of Cyprus.
Papaver postii Fedde
Among taxa he described from Cyprus are: Calamintha
troodii, Cyperus cyprius, Dianthus multipunctatus Ser. var.
troodi, Euphorbia troodii, Ferula cypria, Phlomis cypria,
Saponaria cyprica, Scabiosa cyprica, Sideritis cypria, and
Teucrium cypricum.
Papaver postii Fedde
Post received many
specimens from a Mrs.
Shepard, a physician living
in Aintab. He named several
plants in her honor including
Achillaea shepardi, Astragalus
shephardi, Campanula
shepardi,Centaurea shepardi,
Erigeron shepardi, Knautia
shepardi, Medicago shepardi,
and Nepeta shepardi.
Aintab
Post incorporated Shepard’s specimens
under his own name.
Labels from the type
Specimen of
Ferulago kurdica.
He also received
specimens from Mardin and
vicinity from an unknown
source (Mrs. Shepard?) and
named these new species:
Nepeta mardinensis and
Verbascum mardinense.
Post collected many
plants from the
Hauran Region
southeast of
Damascus and
named new taxa.
The
Hauran
region
of
Syria
These include
Chaerophyllum auranitacum,
Cynara auranitica, Dianthus
auraniticus, and Ferulago
auranitica.
Post visited western Turkey on several
occasions to represent the medical
college to Ottoman authorities and also
perhaps to visit his son, Bartram Van
Dyck Post, a Professor of Botany and
Zoology at Robert College.
Bartram Van Dyck Post carried on the
Post family tradition of botany. He
published one of the first floras of the
Bosphorus region.
Examples of Post’s labels
from Turkey.
His last trip to Turkey was apparently
in 1903.
Correspondents-Exchange
European
correspondents
included
Balfour
Blanche
Boissier
(collected by
Haussknecht)
Gaillardot
Hulsen
LeTourneux
Tauscher
Schweinfurth,
who sent
plants from
Egypt.
Inscription in Schweinfurth’s
Flora Aethiopiens to Dr. G. Post by
J. Ascherson
Specimens obtained by Post are
sought by scientists documenting
disappearing flora in their countries.
For example, a botanist in Istanbul,
studying vegetation changes in the
Bosphorus region, inquired about
endangered species that might be in
the Post collection.
Two species were found
Her response indicates the value botanists
recognize in the Post Herbarium
“. . .if you have got Aznovor’s
specimens [in] Beyrut, they are
treasure. Please [protect] Aznovour’s
collections very well.”
North American Exchange
Post participated in
an exchange
program (from
Harvard
University?) that
published a list of
species for
exchange.
Post tried to obtain
as many U. S.
specimens as possible
Many well known
U. S. collectors are
represented in
Post’s collection.
“Plants which I have are marked out”
These collectors include
W. M. Canby
A. H. Curtis
D. C. Eaton
C. Mohr
E. S. Palmer
and many
others.
Loranthus from
Australia. Ex
herbarium of
D. C. Eaton.
As a result, the Post Herbarium
contains a surprising array of plants
from many different parts of the world.
Annotations
The numerous annotations on
specimens in the Post Herbarium
attest to its importance in plant biology
in the region.
Annotations
Many specimens were annotated
by Paul Mouterde. Other botanists
include
N. Vavilov,
St. Petersburg
Alexander Eig,
Jerusalem
Correspondence-Letters
Correspondence of George Post
Post wrote to botanists at Kew (Baker),
St. Petersburg (Winkler), Geneva
(Autran, Barbey, Boissier) and
elsewhere.
William Barbey, son-in-law to
Edmond Boissier, was one of
Post’s most frequent correspondents.
Many Post specimens have both
a Post number and a Barbey number.
Post named several plants after Barbey including
Astragalus barbeyanus, Eragrostis barbeyi, Ferula barbeyi,
Hieracium barbeyi, and Verbascum barbeyi.
His correspondence was extensive.
133 letters are preserved at Geneva
Correspondence found in the
Post Herbarium includes
Schweinfurth
Bornmüller
Autran
Post was strongly
influenced by
Edmond Boissier.
Arrangement of
families in his
flora and in his
herbarium follow
that of Flora
Orientalis
Post’s copy of Flora
Orientalis marking
Boissier’s stand on
Darwinism.
“For my part, I never accepted to any degree
the Darwinian theory. . . .”
Plants Named for
George Post
Genera
Postia Boiss et Blanc.
Postiella Kljuykov
Species
Centaurea postii Boiss.
Papaver postii Fedde
Tracheliopsis postii Buser
Did Post “Specialize” in
any groups? His interest
spanned all angiosperms
but he named more species
(14) of Verbascum than any
other group including:
Verbascum aintabicum, V. aliciae, V. antari,
barbeyi, V. boissieri, V. caudatum, V.
fruticulosum, V. gadarense, V. karyeteini ,
V. macranthum, V. mardinense, V.
palmyrense, V. porteri, and V. qulebicum.
Publications of George Post
In addition to his
better known botanical
works, Post edited a
medical journal in
Arabic and translated
several books.
List of publications in first
edition of the flora
Post’s concordance of the Bible,
still in print in the 1970’s.
Post’s flora in Arabic
1883?
Biscutella from the Arabic
flora. (Apparently volume II
never appeared).
Post’s handwritten manuscript
treating Cephalaria
Post’s best known
work, edition I of
the flora 1884. The
second edition was
produced by J. E.
Dinsmore in the
1930’s.
The Post Herbarium forms the
basis for this flora.
“. . few men would have
attempted to carry such a book
through to press in Syria, fewer
still would have succeeded so
triumphantly.”
Review of Post’s flora, source unknown, pasted in Post’s copy.
At the time of his death, he had
completed the manuscript of a
dictionary of botany and zoology
that was never published.
Most of the plants named by Post
were described in a series called
Plantae Postianae published by the
Bossier Herbarium in Geneva.
Post’s Latin description of Statice palmyrensis.
Post Script—George Edward
Post and the Post Herbarium
IV. The herbarium of George Post.
In 1904, the
herbarium was
moved to Science
Hall (later called
Post Hall) where it
apparently
remained until
1953. It is now
housed in the
Faculty of Agriculture.
Post Hall on the AUB campus
Let’s go there. . . .
Welcome to the Post Herbarium
American
University of
Beirut
Nada Sinno Saoud
Components of the Collection
1.The herbarium of
George Post.
2. Specimens added
after Post, i.e., after
1909.
Post Collection
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Specimens collected by George Post.
Specimens obtained by exchange.
Materia Medica.
Economic Botany Collection.
Tropical Ferns-Dodge collection.
Bryophytes from Ceylon and Hawaii.
Fungi from Budapest Museum.
The Collection of George Post
• According to Dinsmore (1932), the Post
collection contains an estimated 20 000
sheets. This includes specimens
“contributed” by students. To this day, most
of the sheets are Post’s specimens.
• Plants obtained by exchange.
The most valuable specimens are type
specimens. According to international
botanical code, the name of the plant is
based on the type specimen.
Sideritis cypria Post
This is the type specimen of a species Post
named from Cyprus.
Wherever and however
this name is used, it is
linked with this single
specimen.
The Materia Medica collection
of the Post Herbarium
Materia medica was a required course for medical students to
learn plants used for compound medicines. Teaching it was
apparently considered equivalent to teaching an introductory
course. Post asked to be released from teaching this course.
Economic Botany Collection
acquired by exchange of specimens with
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1882
Tamarindus
indicus
Hematoxylin
Dodge Fern Collection
Cyathea
dealbata
Adiantum
formosa
Dodge Fern Collection
Post’s report on the herbarium in
1889 states:
“The herbarium has been enriched by a
magnificent collection of ferns from all
quarters of the world, gathered and
beautifully mounted by the late Mrs.
Stuart Dodge, and presented by her
husband to the college.”
Bryophytes from Ceylon and Hawaii
Hypnum
Hawaian Islands
A collection of several hundred
specimens. Collector and source
unknown.
Bryophytes from Ceylon and Hawaii
Climacium subserratum
Central Province of Ceylon
Fungi from Budapest Museum
Less than 100 specimens
possibly obtained
through contact with
J. Bornmüller, who had
links with Hungary.
Post Script—George Edward
Post and the Post Herbarium
VI. The Post-Post Post Herbarium
History
Collections
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
• Alfred Ely Day was appointed Professor of
Botany after Post’s death in 1909.
• In 1922, the herbarium was apparently
transferred to pharmacy. Day was appointed
Professor of Botany in Pharmacy.
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
• John Edward Dinsmore of the American
Colony in Jerusalem begin his revision of
Post’s flora in the 1920’s.
• Apparently, this led to the cataloging of all
the specimens in the herbarium in the
1930’s.
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
Catalog prepared
by Tateos V.
Yegavian in 193031. Yegavian was a
business student.
Each sheet is recorded with
name, synonym, collector,
location, annotation
information, and date.
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
This remarkable catalog provides an
accurate account of the collection as it
existed in the early 1930 and can be
consulted to see which of the original
specimens are still intact.
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
At least up to 1931, some curatorial
work was done in the herbarium.
Elie Hammam was an Instructor of
Botany who Dinsmore corresponded
with regarding herbarium matters.
(Hamman met his untimely death falling
off Mt. Sannine at age 23).
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
Little is known about activities in
the herbarium between the time of
the publication of the second edition
of the flora and 1953.
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
By 1953, interest in the herbarium
had apparently waned. It was moved
to agriculture through the efforts of
Winnie Edgecombe, an instructor
in agriculture.
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
Edgecombe is best known for
her two books on weeds of Lebanon
Weeds of Lebanon
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
Most of the accessions after 1953
were from the collections of Winnie
Edgecombe.
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
With the establishment of the Faculty
of Agriculture in 1953, emphasis was
placed on weeds and range plants. A
small Range Management Herbarium
was established.
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
When the School of Pharmacy
was closed in 1977, Professor
Charles Abu Chaar moved to the
Biology Department and assumed
responsibility for the herbarium.
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
The civil war and invasions in Lebanon
led to the departure of Shaukat
Chaudhry who was curating the
herbarium in the 1970’s.
The Post-Post Post Herbarium
During the difficult war years, Professor
Abu Chaar looked after the herbarium.
Euphorbia macrostegia
Asphodeline liburnica
Aubretia libanotica
Cedrus libani
Iris sofarana
VII. The role of the Post Herbarium
in biodiversity and floristic studies
onosma
inChoufLebanon,
Syria, and the region.
Origanum
libanoticum
Euphorbia macrostegia
Asphodeline liburnica
Aubretia libanotica
Cedrus libani
Iris sofarana
The Post Herbarium is the oldest,
largest, and most comprehensive
Chouf
onosma
herbarium
in Lebanon and Syria.
Vinca libanotica
Origanum
libanoticum
Euphorbia macrostegia
Asphodeline liburnica
Aubretia libanotica
Cedrus libani
Iris sofarana
Well known to botanists who work
in the region, the Post Herbarium
isChoufanonosma
invaluable resource reflecting
the scientific work of AUB faculty,
most notably George Post.
Vinca libanotica
Origanum
libanoticum
Euphorbia macrostegia
Asphodeline liburnica
Aubretia libanotica
Cedrus libani
Surveys of crop relatives
and other
Iris sofarana
useful plants in Lebanon and Syria
have stimulated new interest in the
Post
Herbarium.
Chouf onosma
Vinca libanotica
Origanum
libanoticum
VIII.
The Future of the Post Herbarium
The Future of the Post Herbarium
In a word-Bright!!
The Future of the Post Herbarium
A manager has been
appointed and the
collection is being
curated.
The Future of the Post Herbarium
A major effort is being placed
on the location and curation of
type specimens. To date, types of
133 of the 214 plants named by
Post have been found. Types are
being scanned and will be available
on a web site.
The Future of the Post Herbarium
The herbarium will be upgraded,
curated and housed in new facilities. It
will occupy an entire floor of Post Hall.
The Future of the Post Herbarium
Almost 1000
square feet
will be
available for
the new
herbarium.
The Future of the Post Herbarium
Bust of Post
in Post Hall
Post Hall is named for George Post
and was designed by him.
The Future of the Post Herbarium
“The great want of the museums is a
permanent Assistant Curator, who shall not
only keep present collections from
deteriorating, but aid in enlarging and
arranging them in such a way as shall most
contribute to their educational value.”
Report on the museum by Post in July 1891
The Future of the Post Herbarium
“The great want of the museums is a
permanent Assistant Curator, who shall not
only keep present collections from
deteriorating, but aid in enlarging and
arranging them in such a way as shall
most contribute to their educational
value.”
Report on the museum by Post in July 1891
George Post inspires botanists almost a
century after his death.
Visit the Plants of Lebanon web site at
http://webfaculty.aub.edu.lb/~lm10 for checklists and images
of plants of Lebanon and Syria.
George Post inspires botanists almost a
century after his death.
Visit the Plants of Lebanon web site at
http://webfaculty.aub.edu.lb/~lm10 for scanned copies of
Post’s and Mouterde’s manuscripts and notes.
Acknowledgements
Cedrus libani
Tannourine
Financial support for the herbarium
from the Darwin Project,
AUB.
Biology Department, AUB, for support and
encouragement.
Archives section of Jafet Library,
American University of
Beirut.
Staff and students who work in
natural areas in Lebanon,
especially
Tannourine
Shouf
and
Ehden.
Old Dominion University for
unflagging support for
three decades.
Libby and John for love and support for a
husband and father who
loves plants.
Let’s go!!