Our arrival to America...

Having arrived in Chicago on Monday afternoon, we spent a day at the marvellous Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois on Tuesday where we utilised the herbarium before heading to the living collection to study plants we hope to collect throughout our time here in the States.

We were treated to a tour led by Ed Hedborn, who gave us a real insight into a number of trees we will come across. Our thanks go to all at the Morton for inviting us to spend time with them and their trees. Fantastic!

We then travelled south to meet Guy Sternberg and spent the day collecting with him and elsewhere around Petersburg, Illinois. Among the first collections we have made are Carya texana and Juglans nigra - both members of the Juglandaceae, and among our high priorities for the trip, which is excellent!

We will visit other sites in Illinois, before heading south to Missouri…