EIU Department of Biology

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Dr. Barbara S Carlsward, Professor

Office: 3074 - Life Sciences
Phone: 217-581-3223
Email: bscarlsward@eiu.edu

Barbara Carlsward's Vita

Dr. Carlsward’s research interests incorporate techniques of plant anatomy and molecular phylogenetics to study plant evolution. The primary goal of her research is to generate reliable hypotheses of evolution and then use these phylogenies as a foundation for studying character evolution of plant structure. Most of Dr. Carlsward’s research focuses on the orchid family (Orchidaceae). During her graduate research career, she worked extensively with the economically important Vanda tribe, which includes species like the ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii).  Currently, she is working on collaborative projects examining the vegetative and floral anatomy of Aeridinae, Dichaea, Lockhartia, Oncidiinae, Scaphosepalum, and Sobralieae.

In addition to her work with orchids, Dr. Carlsward has experience with many other flowering plant families.  During her post-doctoral work with the Angiosperm Tree of Life Project, she examined pollen and androecium morphology of Saxifragales, Caryophyllales, Ericales, Malpighiales, Campanulids, and several other large flowering plant groups.  Currently, she is collaborating with researchers at the University of Florida on publishing these findings.  With the help of students at EIU, Dr. Carlsward is also involved in examining the structural evolution of Polygalaceae and Kosteletzkya (Malvaceae).

Students interested in gaining hands-on experience with plant structure and evolutionary questions should contact Dr. Carlsward about current research opportunities.

Frequently Taught Courses

General Biology II (BIO 1550G)

• Offered every Fall and Spring semester.
•  This course is the second in a two-course introduction series for students majoring or minoring in Biological Sciences, with an emphasis on taxonomic groups, form and function, and life history of eukaryotes.  We focus on organismal diversity, structure, and function in an evolutionary context.

Plant Evolution and Diversity (BIO 3612)

• Offered in the Spring semester during odd-numbered years.
• This course is designed to give students a general overview of plant diversity and structure within an evolutionary framework.  We examine the relationships between extant and extinct plant groups, with an emphasis on extant land plants.  From this course, I hope students gain an understanding of 1) the diversity of plants and how they are related to one another; 2) the major evolutionary trends of green plants; 3) the basic external and internal makeup of plants.  I also hope that students gain a better understanding of the world around them and an appreciation for the diversity of other living organisms (especially the photosynthetic ones) with which we share the Earth.

Plant Anatomy (BIO 4914)

• Offered in the Spring semester during even-numbered years.
• This course is designed to give students a general overview of the structure of vascular plants, with an emphasis on internal structure.  Organization of the plant body will be discussed and correlated with function, habitat, and evolutionary history.  From this course, I hope students will gain an understanding of the basic internal structure of vascular plants, especially angiosperms, and how that structure relates to function and the environment.

Biological Microtechnique (BIO 5250)

• Offered every Fall semester.
• Understanding basic microtechnique is important in many different aspects of biology.  When asking questions about organismal development, comparative growth strategies in different habitats, or phylogenetic character delimitation, it is important to know how to visualize the internal make-up of an animal or plant.  This course will provide students with a wide variety of techniques that they can apply to their own research as well as the critical thinking skills to handle new projects that may require students to develop new techniques.

Here are several videos of plants in action that we examine in both General Botany and Plant Evolution & Diversity!


 

Education

Ph.D., Botany, University of Florida, 2004
M.S., Botany, University of Florida, 1996
B.S., Physics, University of Florida, 1994

Professional Organizations

Current Positions
Professor, Eastern Illinois University, Department of Biological Sciences
Courtesy Assistant Curator of Botany, University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History

Professional Societies
Botanical Society of America
American Society of Plant Taxonomists
International Association of Plant Taxonomy
Illinois State Academy of Science, Botanical Division

Research

Collaborative Projects in Orchidaceae

 

• Floral and vegetative anatomy of Lockhartia - M. Blanco (University of Costa Rica, Escuela de Biología)
• Comparative floral anatomy of Scaphosepalum and related genera - L. Endara (University of Florida, Department of Biology)
• Anatomy and molecular systematics of Sobralieae - K. M. Neubig (University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History)
• Anatomy of Dichaea and related genera of Zygopetalinae - K. M. Neubig (University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History)
• Comparative leaf anatomy of CAM, C3, and weak CAM species in Oncidiinae - K. Silvera (University of California, Riverside, College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences), W. M. Whitten & K. M. Neubig (University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History)

Collaborative Projects in Other Plant Families

 

 

• Vegetative anatomy of Kosteletzkya (Malvaceae) - K. M. Neubig & Skip Blanchard (University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History)
• DNA Barcoding the flora of eastern North America - J. R. Abbott (Missouri Botanical Garden) & K. M. Neubig (University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History)
• Vegetative anatomy and morphology of Polygalaceae - J. R. Abbott (Missouri Botanical Garden)
• Molecular systematics of Polygalaceae - J. R. Abbott (Missouri Botanical Garden) & K. M. Neubig (University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History)
• Morphological character delimitation among the Malpighiales, Ericales, Saxifragales, Caryophyllales, and Campanulids - W. S. Judd, S. R. Manchester, and the Angiosperm Tree of Life working group
•  Functional ecology of community change - S. J. Meiners (Eastern Illinois University, Department of Biological Sciences)
• Fungal parasite interactions with various flowering plant genera, including Arisaema, Claytonia, and Podophyllum - A. S. Methven (Eastern Illinois University, Department of Biological Sciences)

 

Selected Publications

*Linked publications below can be downloaded for free from The Keep.  For reprints of any other publication, please contact Barbara Carlsward directly.

Cribb P and BS Carlsward. 2012. New combinations in Aerangis, Diaphananthe and Podangis (Orchidaceae, subtribe Angraecinae). Phytotaxa 71: 42-47.

Carlsward BS, WS Judd, DE Soltis, S Manchester, and PS Soltis. 2011. Putative morphological synapomorphies of Saxifragales and their major subclades. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 5: 179-196.

Soltis DE, SA Smith, N Cellinese, KJ Wurdack, DC Tank, SF Brockington, NF Refulio-Rodriguez, JB Walker, MJ Moore, BS Carlsward, CD Bell, M Latvis, S Crawley, C Black, D Diouf, Z Xi, MA Gitzendanner, KJ Sytsma, Y-L Qiu, KW Hilu, CC Davis, MJ Sanderson, RG Olmstead, WS Judd, MJ Donoghue, and PS Soltis. 2011. Angiosperm phylogeny: 17 genes, 640 taxa.  American Journal of Botany 98: 704-730.

Carlsward BS and WL Stern. 2009. Vegetative anatomy and systematics of Triphorinae (Orchidaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 159: 203-210.

Neubig KM, WM Whitten, BS Carlsward, MA Blanco, L Endara, NH Williams, and M Moore. 2009. Phylogenetic utility of ycf1 in orchids: a plastid gene more variable than matK. Plant Systematics and Evolution 277: 75-84.

Stern WL and BS Carlsward. 2009. Comparative vegetative anatomy and systematics of Laeliinae (Orchidaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 160: 21-41.

Carlsward BS and WL Stern. 2008. Corallorhiza: A rootless, leafless terrestrial. The Orchid Review 116: 334-339.

Carlsward BS and WM Whitten. 2008. The correct genus for the jingle bell orchid, Harrisella porrecta. North American Native Orchid Journal 14: 272-274.

Micheneau C, BS Carlsward, MF Fay, B Bytebier, T Pailler, and MW Chase. 2008. Phylogenetics and biogeography of Mascarene angraecoid orchids (Vandeae, Orchidaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 46: 908-922.

Stern WL and BS Carlsward. 2008. Vegetative anatomy of Calypsoeae (Orchidaceae). Lankesteriana 8: 105-112.

Judd WS, DL Nickrent, KR Robertson, JR Abbott, CS Campbell, BS Carlsward, MJ Donoghue, and EA Kellogg. 2007. Photo Gallery of Vascular Plants [the companion CD to Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach, 3rd ed.]. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, Maryland.

Carlsward BS, WL Stern, and B Bytebier. 2006. Comparative vegetative anatomy and systematics of the angraecoids (Vandeae, Orchidaceae) with an emphasis on the leafless habit. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 151: 165-218.

Carlsward BS, WM Whitten, NH Williams, and B Bytebier. 2006. Molecular phylogenetics of Vandeae (Orchidaceae) and the evolution of leaflessness. American Journal of Botany 93: 770-786.

Stern WL and BS Carlsward. 2006. Comparative vegetative anatomy and systematics of Oncidiinae (Maxillarieae, Orchidaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 152: 91-107.

Whitten WM and BS Carlsward. 2006. Ghosts of the Caribbean: Dendrophylax fawcettii and an overview of the genus. Orchids 75: 742-749.

Abbott JR and BS Carlsward. 2004. Noteworthy collections: Florida. Castanea 69: 324-327.

Stern WL and BS Carlsward. 2004. Vegetative constants in the anatomy of epiphytic orchids. The Orchid Review 112: 119-122.

Stern WL, WS Judd, and BS Carlsward. 2004. Systematic and comparative anatomy of Maxillarieae (Orchidaceae), sans Oncidiinae. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 144: 251-274.

Carlsward BS. 2003. Using trees to see the forest. The Orchid Review 111: 166-174.

Carlsward BS, WM Whitten, and NH Williams. 2003. Molecular phylogenetics of neotropical leafless Angraecinae (Orchidaceae): reevaluation of generic concepts. International Journal of Plant Sciences 164: 43-51.

Carlsward BS. 2001. Eccentric epiphytes. The Orchid Review 109: 302-304.

Carlsward BS, WL Stern, WS Judd, and TW Lucansky. 1997. Comparative leaf anatomy and systematics in Dendrobium, sections Aporum and Rhizobium (Orchidaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 158: 332-342.

Grant MW, PF Lyman, JH Hoogenraad, BS Carlsward, DA Arms, LE Seiberling, and F Namavar. 1993. Fabrication and characterization of thin, self-supporting germanium single-crystals. Journal of Applied Physics 73: 2486-2488.

Selected Conference Presentations

Abbott JR, KM Neubig, and BS Carlsward. 2013. Synopsis of Badiera (Polygalaceae), a Caribbean clade of shrubs. Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Abbott JR, KM Neubig, and BS Carlsward. 2013. Further insight into the disintegration of the polyphyletic mess that was Polygala s.l. (Polygalaceae). Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Endara L and BS Carlsward. 2013. Anatomical characterization of warts on Scaphosepalum (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae). Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Wilber H, BS Carlsward, and JR Abbott. 2013. Leaf anatomy and systematics of Polygaleae (Polygalaceae). Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Carlsward BS and K Stanley. 2013. Vegetative anatomy of Aerides alliance (Vandeae, Orchidaceae). Annual Meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Science, Jacksonville, Illinois.

Schlund SA, AS Methven, and BS Carlsward. 2013. Puccinia mariae-wilsoniae and Claytonia virginica: a pathogen's tale. Annual Meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Science, Jacksonville, Illinois.

Carlsward, BS. 2012. Vegetative anatomy of Orchidaceae. Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, Columbus, Ohio.

Bland M, BS Carlsward, and SJ Meiners. 2012. Comparative foliar anatomy of Kosteletzkya (Malvaceae). Annual Meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Science, Galesburg, Illinois.

Brauer L and BS Carlsward. 2011. Rehydration techniques for herbarium-dried leaf tissue of Badiera. Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, St. Louis, Missouri.

Eident SA and BS Carlsward. 2011. Comparative leaf anatomy of C3 and CAM species in Oncidiinae (Maxillarieae, Orchidaceae). Annual Meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Science, Charleston, Illinois.

Carlsward BS and KM Neubig. 2010. Vegetative anatomy of Sobralieae (Orchidaceae). Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, Providence, Rhode Island.

Abbott JR, BS Carlsward, KM Neubig, WS Judd, WM Whitten, and NH. Williams. 2010. The disintegration of Polygala (Polygalaceae), with four new genera for the flora of North America. Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, Providence, Rhode Island.

Carlsward BS, WS Judd, MJ Donoghue, DE Soltis, and PS Soltis. 2009. Character evolution among the dirty dozen angiosperm clades: examples from the Campanulidae and Saxifragales. Challenges Posed by Large Data Sets in Assembling the Plant and Fungal Trees of Life Symposium. Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, Snowbird, Utah.

Jernegan M, J Coons, BS Carlsward, N Coutant, and HR Owen. 2009. Structural and physiological adaptations of Physaria ludoviciana (silvery bladderpod; Brassicaceae) to sand prairie conditions. Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, Snowbird, Utah.

Leathers J and BS Carlsward. 2009. Calyx anatomy of Maxillariinae (Orchidaceae). Annual Meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Science, Edwardsville, Illinois.

Klaus I and BS Carlsward. 2009. Comparative in vitro micropropagation and vegetative structure of Aeridinae (Orchidaceae). Annual Meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Science, Edwardsville, Illinois.

Neubig KM, WM Whitten, BS Carlsward, MA Blanco, L Endara, NH Williams, and M Moore. 2008. Phylogenetic utility of ycf1 in orchids: an underappreciated plastid DNA region. Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, Vancouver, Canada.

Tate A, BS Carlsward, and WM Whitten. 2008. Perianth Anatomy of Maxillaria and related genera (Orchidaceae). Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, Vancouver, Canada.

Tate A and BS Carlsward. 2008. Perianth Anatomy of Maxillaria and related genera (Orchidaceae). Annual Meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Science, Champaign, Illinois.

Carlsward BS, SR Manchester, and WS Judd. 2006. Angiosperm AToL stamen and pollen morphology: preliminary observations. Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, Chico, California, USA.

Micheneau C, BS Carlsward, MF Fay, T Pailler, and MW Chase. 2006. Implications of plant-pollinator interactions in floral trait evolution: a case study from subtribe Angraecinae (Vandeae, Orchidaceae) on Reunion Island (Mascarene Archipelago, Indian Ocean). Annual Meeting of the Botanical Societies, Chico, California, USA.

Student Projects

Graduate Students

• Sam Eident (Fall 2010-2017): Comparative leaf anatomy of CAM, C3, and weak CAM species in Oncidiinae (Orchidaceae)
• Laura Brauer (Summer 2010-2011): Comparative leaf anatomy and systematics of Badiera and related genera (Polygalaceae)

Undergraduate Students

• Trevor Kellum (Honors Thesis, Summer 2019): Wood welding and its affect on cell structure
• Stephanie May (Honors Thesis, Fall 2019): Polyploidy and leaf structure in Kosteletzkya (Malvaceae)
• Kelly Clark (Honors Thesis, Spring 2019): Epidermal structure in leaves of angraecoid orchids and its evolutionary implications
• Hunter Levingston (Honors Thesis, Spring 2019): Foliar anatomy and phylogenetics in Aeridinae, an Asian subtribe of orchids
• Heather Wilber (Honors Thesis, Spring 2014): Comparative vegetative anatomy of Polygaleae (Polygalaceae)
• Sarah Schlund (Honors Thesis, Spring 2013): Puccinia mariae-wilsoniae and Claytonia virginica: a pathogen's tale
• Maggie Bland & Jamie Herget (Spring 2012): Leaf anatomy of diploid and polyploid Kosteletzkya (Malvaceae)
• Kein Stanley (Fall 2012): Vegetative anatomy of Aeridinae (Vandeae, Orchidaceae)
• Alison Faller (Spring 2011): Foliar epidermal anatomy of Oncidiinae (Orchidaceae)
• Mitch Quill (Spring 2011): Sequence variation in DNA barcoding regions for widespread taxa in eastern North America
• Levi Cole (Spring 2010) & Lisa Ford (Fall 2010): Peduncle anatomy of Scaphosepalum (Orchidaceae)
• Cassie Eischeid (Summer 2009) & Brad Daugherty (Fall 2009): Ecological anatomy of exotic plant species in the Buell-Small Succession Study, New Jersey
• Jessica Leathers (Spring 2009) & Anthony Tate (Fall 2007): Comparative floral anatomy of Maxillaria s.l. and related genera (Orchidaceae)