This database records the common and scientific name of each plant, and whether
or not the plant tested yielded any phytoliths. Plants that did produce
phytoliths are accompanied by photomicrographs of the phytoliths found
in the samples. Please note that this is an ongoing, active
research database, and will contain occasional errors. Not all phytoliths
pictured will be considered “diagnostic” or meaningful to phytolith
analysts; the database merely represents what we have tested and initially
examined. The
majority of this work was carried out under the direction of Dr. Lisa Kealhofer.
Other contributors to the phytolith database have been Kelly Sullivan,
Shelli Nelson, and Sara Feldman. Thanks to Dr. Donna Ware and the College
of William and Mary Herbarium for providing many of the plant materials
for testing. Intern Rebecca Ehrlich designed the initial database and scanned
the photos into digital format.
