Contact Info

Christopher R. Hardy, Ph.D.
Curator of the Herbarium &
Professor
Department of Biology
Millersville University
288 Roddy Hall
50 E. Frederick St.
Millersville, PA 17551, USA
Phone: (717) 871-2312
Fax: (717) 872-3905
christopher.hardy[at]millersville.edu

Parksia articles

Moyer SL, CR Hardy. 2016. Botany of the Luceille Hagarman Reading Sculpture Garden. Parksia 5: 1-10.

....more from archive

Scholarships

Scholarships and other financial opportunities for students can be found here.

News & Events

Aug: The Herbarium's Nature Atlas accrued its 10,000th species on Friday, August 30, with an entry for a Malayan civet, Viverra tangalunga, an unusual relative of the cat family native to the Malayan Peninsula and nearby islands.

Jul: The Herbarium surpassed 23,000 specimens on July 13 with a specimen of Japanese stiltgrass, Microstegium vimineum, collected by Micaela Nieves (Plant Sciences '25) in Shenk's Ferry Wildflower Preserve. With the cooperation of the Lancaster Conservancy, Micaela's thesis research seeks to document the flora of this Preserve that is popular with nature enthusiasts in the region. Her collection of Japanese stiltgrass is the first one to voucher the occurrence of this invasive species in the preserve.

Apr: Dr. Hardy presented a lecture on Forensic Botany at the Millersville Lioness Club (Apr 2).

Mar: Dr. Hardy will be lecturing on Forensic Botany at the Advanced Homicide Symposium of the Pennsylvania State Police (Mar 8, PSU Harrisburg).

Feb: Dr. Hardy will be speaking on "Herbaria & Forensic Botany" at the Lancaster County Garden Club (Feb 12).

Feb: Duncan Lynn (MU Plant Sciences '24) successively defended his honors thesis on the taxonomy and ethnobotany of taro in area markets. He has now accepted a job at Green Leaf Plants, a division of Aris Horticulture, Inc. Congraulations, Duncan! (Feb 12).

Jan: Dr. Hardy will be giving the talk "Case Studies in Forensic Botany" at the Biology Colloquium on Wednesday, Jan 31 (4 pm, Caputo 210).

Jan: Dr. Hardy will be sharing an overview of his recent forensic botany case work with the Elizabethtown Rotary Club on Monday, Jan 29 (6 pm).

Dec: David Modica ('23) successfully defended his honors thesis on the Allium green onion vegetable complex and will graduate this Winter. Congratulations David.

Oct: Dr. Hardy will be speaking about forensic botany in the Willow Valley Special Events series (Oct 19).

....more from archive

Herbarium Associates

What is a Herbarium Associate?

John R. Ambler, PhD
Botanist
James C. Parks Herbarium
Millersville University
Interests: PA Floristics, Plant ecology, Invasive species management.

Nazli W. Hardy, PhD, MBA
Associate Professor of Computer Science
Millersville University
Interests: Biodiversity informatics; Network security; Internet education.

Scott L. Martin^MU'91, PWS (Professional Wetland Scientist)
Senior Scientist
ARM Group LLC
Interests: Wetland delineation; Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species Surveys; Biological Treasure Hunter

Howard J. Miller, Jr.
Viticulturist
James C. Parks Herbarium
Millersville University
Interests: Grape systematics; Viticultural science.

John R. Wallace, PhD
Professor of Biology
Millersville University
Interests: forensic use of algae in PMSI estimation; aquatic ecology; evolution.

Patrick J. Cooney, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Physics
Millersville University
Interests: Photography.

Jorge Mena-Alí , Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology
Franklin & Marshall College
Interests: Ecology and evolution of host-pathogen interactions; Portulacaceae.

Zel Stoltzfus
Artist, Scientific Illustrator
http://zellustration.squarespace.com/
Interests: Scientific illustration.

 

Media

Click here.

BIOL 221
Concepts of Botany
(Spring 2020)

Welcome to the course website for Concepts of Botany. Below you will find materials in support of the lecture and lab. These will be posted periodically on an as-need basis.

 

Lecture, Lab

 

 

Marketplace Vegetable Assignment (PDF)

Marketplace Fruit Assignment (TBA)

Lab Manual Appendix 9 (Simple Regression Analysis and R²)

Flower Lab Powerpoint (TBA)

Absorbance Spectra of 4 Major Leaf Pigments

Spreadsheet for Absorbance Spectra of your Unknowns

 

 

Sample Exam Questions from Years Past (key). Exam 1 grades (PDF report)

Topic 01 - Introduction to Botany (outline; PwrPt)
Topic 02 - The Primary Plant Body (outline)
Topic 03 - The Secondary Plant Body (outline)

Special Topic A: The Coconut Palm (outline)

Coconut Palm Guide to the biology and utility of the coconut palm. ©2017 onwards

Sample Exam Questions from 2013 (key). Note that Aloe was not a topic among these sample exam questions from 2013.

Key to more Sample Exam Questions from 2014 regarding Plant Modifications. Exam 2 grades (TBA, sorted by last 4 digits of MU number)

Topic 04 - Plant Modifications (outline)
Topic 05 - Water & Nutrition (outline)
Topic 06 - Photosynthesis (outline, PwrPt)
Topic 07 - Hormones & Tropisms (outline)
Topic 08 - Ethnobotany of Secondary Metabolism (outline; PwrPt)

Special Topic B: Aloe (outline)

Aloe Guide to the biology and utility of aloe vera. ©2017 onwards

 

 

 

Sample Exam Questions from Years Past (key, revised). The final exam (exam 3) will cover Topics 09-14 for 50 of the 75 questions. 25 of the 75 questions will be from material in Topics 01-08 including Special topics A and B. Exam 3 grades (TBA, sorted by last 4 digits of MU number)

Topic 09 - Introduction to the Plant Kingdom (outline, no PwrPt available)
Topic 10 - Gymnosperms (outline, PwrPt)
Topic 11 - Angiosperms (outline, no PwrPt available)
Topic 12 - Bryophytes & Pteridophytes (outline, PwrPt)

Special Topic C: Banana (outline)

Bananas Guide to the biology and utility of bananas. ©2017 onwards

 

 

Required lab manual: Guide to Lab Exercises in Concepts of Botany, Spring 2020 Edition by C. Hardy and R. Wagner (editors). Must purchase new editon. Older versions prohibited.

Required text: Selected Chapters for Concepts of Botany (BIOL 221) from Biology: Concepts and Investigations , 4th Edition by M. Hoefnagels; custom looseleaf edition available only from the campus text book room (ISBN13: 9781307185621).

This custom edition includes only chapters with botany content, as follows:
Chapter 3 (Cells)
Chapter 5 (Photosynthesis)
Chapter 18 (Protists)
Chapter 19 (Plants)
Chapter 22 (Plant Form and Function)
Chapter 23 (Plant Nutrition and Transport)
Chapter 24 (Reproduction and Development of Flowering Plants)
Chapter 38 (Communities & Ecosystems)
Chapter 39 (Biomes)

Alternative forms for this content would be:

• The entire bound-book, hardcover (ISBN13: 9780078024207)
  
• The entire ebook (ISBN13: 9781259869587, 6-month access).

Optional: A Photographic Atlas for the Botany Laboratory, 7th edition by Rushforth et al.