2018 ASHS Annual Conference

$36 - Does Not Include Lunch.

Headquartered on Chesapeake Bay, the nation’s largest estuary, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) sits just 25 miles from Washington, DC. Its 2,650-acre campus spans forests, wetlands, marshes and 15 miles of protected shoreline. The site serves as a natural laboratory for long-term and cutting-edge ecological research.  SERC is the home of the North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOCC) – an alliance of organizations dedicated to conserving the diverse orchid heritage of the U.S. and Canada and ensuring the survival of native orchids for future generations.

In this tour, you will visit SERC’s new LEED Platinum laboratory facilities, where NAOCC researchers extract mycorrhizal fungi from native orchid root samples, and conduct DNA testing on orchid leaf material and fungi for identification and comparison to plant material from various portions of an orchid’s range.  Participants will also visit field sites at SERC where in situ orchid research is conducted.  Travel from the laboratory to field sites will require walking so appropriate foot wear and weather-dependend field cloting is desirable.