Elizabeth Hermsen
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Cornell University, 2005
Paleobotany
Porter Hall 401740 593 0716
Other Websites
http://bhort.bh.cornell.edu/histology/Pfloras.html
Faculty Research Focus Areas
Paleobotany, Plant Systematics
Courses
PBIO 1150 Structure & Development
Research Program Summary
My research focuses on plant evolution and systematics from the perspective of the fossil record. I am currently especially interested in exploring the evolution of Southern Hemisphere floras. My research includes field collecting, documentation of newly discovered diversity through taxonomic descriptions, performing phylogenetic analyses to place fossil taxa within the plant tree of life, and exploration of other issues such as the morphological evolution and the biogeography of plants.
Selected References
Cúneo, N.R., E.J. Hermsen, and M.A. Gandolfo. 2013. Regnellidium macrofossils (Salviniales, Marsileaceae) and associated spores from the Late Cretaceous of South America. International Journal of Plant Sciences 174: 340-349. Special Issue: Conceptual Advances in Fossil Plant Biology. G. Rothwell and R. Stockey, eds. doi:10.1086/668811
Hermsen, E.J. 2013. A review of the fossil record of the genus Itea (Iteaceae, Saxifragales) with comments on its historical biogeography. Botanical Review 79: 1-47. doi:10.1007/s12229-012-9114-3
Hermsen, E.J., M.A. Gandolfo, and M.C. Zamaloa. 2012. The fossil record of Eucalyptus in Patagonia. American Journal of Botany 99: 1356-1374. doi: 10.3732/ajb.1200025.
Gandolfo, M.A., E J. Hermsen, M.C. Zamaloa, K.C. Nixon, C.C. González, P. Wilf, N.R. Cúneo, and K.R. Johnson. 2011. Oldest known Eucalyptus macrofossils are from South America. PLoS One 6(6): e21084. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021084.
Hermsen, E.J., E.L. Taylor, and T.N. Taylor. 2009. Morphology and ecology of the Antarcticycas plant. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 153: 108-123. doi: 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2008.07.005.
Ryberg, P.E., E.J. Hermsen, E.L. Taylor, T.N. Taylor, and J.M. Osborn. 2008. Development and ecological implications of dormant buds in the high-paleolatitude Triassic sphenophyte Spaciinodum (Equisetaceae). American Journal of Botany 95: 1443-1453. doi: 10.3732/ajb.0800215.
Hermsen, E.J., and J.R. Hendricks. 2008. W(h)ither fossils? Studying morphological character evolution in the age of molecular sequences. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 95: 72-100. Symposium volume: Paleobotany in the post-genomics era. W.L. Crepet and M.A. Gandolfo, eds. doi: 10.3417/2006206
Hermsen, E.J., and J.R. Hendricks. 2007. A method for constraining the age of origination of derived characters. Cladistics 23: 169-179. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2006.00129.x
Hermsen, E.J., T.N. Taylor, and E.L. Taylor. 2007. A voltzialean pollen cone from the Triassic of Antarctica. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 144: 113-122. doi: 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2006.07.006