An article published online by the Smithsonian Institution's www.Smithsonianscience.org site highlights the results of collaborative research conducted in part by Dr. Jay F. Bolin, assistant professor of biology at Catawba College.

The online article, entitled "Super tough seed coat keeps Michaux's sumac on critically endangered list," presents highlights from a scholarly research paper authored by Bolin and fellow researchers Marcus E. Jones (Norfolk Botanical Garden, Norfolk Va.,) and Lytton J. Musselman (Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va.). That paper, "Germination of the federally endangered Michaux's sumac (Rhus michauxii)," appeared in the summer 2011 issue of "Native Plants Journal."

The research of Bolin and his colleagues involved trying different methods to coax the seeds of the native and endangered southeastern American shrub, Michaux's sumac, to germinate. Read the entire online article...

Bolin left his position as a Smithsonian Research Collaborator to join the Catawba faculty at the beginning of this academic year. He earned his bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from Virginia Tech, and his master's degree in Biology and his Ph.D. in Ecological Sciences from Old Dominion University. He has spent more than a year living and teaching in Namibia on a Fulbright Fellowship associated with the University of Namibia.

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Biology