Career

Collecting localities

Collections

Literature

Biographical data

 

Clemens, Joseph & Mary (Knapp) Strong

 

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 1: Cyclopaedia of collectors)

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 5: Cyclopaedia of collectors, Supplement I)

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 8: Cyclopaedia of collectors, Supplement II)

 

J. Clemens: Born: 1862, St Just, Cornwall, England. Died: 1936, Finschhafen, New Guinea.

M.S. Clemens: Born: 1873, Liberty, New York, U.S.A. Died: 1968, Chermside Garden Settlement, Brisbane, Australia

 

career:

The former Chaplain of the American Army since 1902. He and chiefly his wife made large collections of plants in the Malayan region, and besides in China (1912-14), Indo-China (1928) and the U.S.A. In later years, when Clemens was in active service no more, he charged himself especially with the administration and arrangement of the collections. When in New Guinea he died of food poisoning; his wife dauntlessly proceeded on her field work. Late in Dec. 1941, or early in Jan. 1942, she was evacuated from Lae tot Port Darwin, North. Territory, Australia, and is now at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Several plants were named after her and her husband.

 

Collecting localities:

Philippines. 1905-29. While the Chaplain was stationed at Camp Keithley, Lake Lanao, Mindanao, his wife collected from Dec. 1905-Oct. 1907 in that region, e.g. on Mt Apo. Luzon: Benguet Prov., Bontoc Prov., Isabela Prov. (Mt Moises, San Mariano, etc.), N. Viscaya, Zambales Prov., Cagayan Prov., Pangasinan, Manila, Bulacan Prov. (Mt Pinatubo); Jolo, Sulu Archipelago (Oct. 1915). -Br.N.Borneo: Mt Kinabalu (Oct.-Nov. 1915), Mt Kalawat (Dec. 11, 1915), Mt Kinabalu (Nov. 1916, Nov. 1917).-Philippines: Mt Pulog (Mountain Prov., Luzon) with Ramos & Edaño (Feb. 1925), where they detected the genera Pimpinella, Potentilla, and Koordersiochloa, new to the Philippines.-NW. Borneo,1 Sarawak: leaving Singapore (May 15, 1929) for the Rejang River, Sibu (18), Kapit (24 arrival, staying about a month), Gat (Upper Rejang); down to Kapit (July 29); Kuching (Aug. 18); to Lundu (Sept. 4); exploring Mt Poi; Lundu (Oct. 7); Mt Gadin; Oct. 12 to Kuching by Govt launch; to Bidi Cave (17), staying 5 days; Mt Matang; Kuching.-Br. N. Borneo: Mt Kinabalu (1931-33), with a short interruption in 1932.-W Java. 1932. Mainly at Buitenzorg for the arrangement of the collections; trip to Tjibodas, G. Gedeh.-NE. New Guinea. 1935. Landing at Salamaua (Aug. 16); Finschhafen (31); collecting in Morobe District, and on the Sattelberg (Oct.-Dec.).-1936. At Wareo (Febr. 7), Yunzaing (4500 ft, Apr.-Sept.), about Ogeramnang (5000-5800 ft, Dec.).-1937. Ogeramnang, Bulung River vicinity, Sarawaket (Jan.-Febr.).-1938 onwards. Still collecting in NE. New Guinea.

 

collections:

From Mindanao,2 1st set in Herb. Manila [PNH]: 1200 nos; dupl. in Herb. Field (= Nat. Hist.) Mus. Chicago [F]: 1150 (purch. 1909); Berlin [B]: 780; Herb. Bog. [BO]: 371 (purch. 1909); Herb. Decand. (Geneva [G]): 605; Herb. Deless. (Geneva [G]): 270 (acq. 1911/12); Herb. Berkeley (Cal.) [UC]: 199 from Mt Apo; Gray Herb. [GH].

From Luzon, 1st set in Herb. Manila [PNH]: 2805 nos; dupl. in Herb. Berkeley (Cal.). [UC].

In U.S. Nat. Herb. Wash. [US]: 492 dupl. Philippines; also Philippine dupl. in Herb. Univ. Michigan [MICH] (Fungi).

From Br. N. Borneo 1915-17,3 1st set in Herb. Manila [PNH]: 1839 nos; dupl. in Herb. Arn. Arbor. [A]: nos 9439-11277; Kew [K] (acq. 1920/21).

From Sarawak, NW. Borneo,4 1st set in Herb. N.Y. Bot. Gard. [NY]: > 2500 nos (20001-22591); dupl. in Herb. Manila [PNH]: 1016 specim.; Herb. Sarawak [SAR]; Herb. Kew [K] (purch. 1931); Herb. Copeland: > 290 ferns; Herb. Univ. Zürich [Z]: 695 nos (pres. 1931).

From Br. N. Borneo 1931-1933,5 study set in Herb. Brit. Mus. [BM]; dupl. in Herb. Bog. [BO]: nos 26000-31225; Herb. Leiden [L]: 3128 nos (purch. 1933/35); Herb. Berlin [B]: 5603 nos (purch. 1933-36); Herb. Arn. Arbor. [A]: 7196 nos (acq. 1932-35); Herb. Berkeley (Cal.) [UC]: 4000 Angiosperms; Gray Herb. [GH]: 544 nos; Herb. Manila [PNH]: 427 orchids and 34 Pipers (purch. 1934); U.S. Nat. Herb. Wash. [US]: 210 nos; Herb. Univ. of Michigan[MICH]; Herb. Sing. [SING]; Kew [K] (acq. 1933-35); Herb. Deless. (Geneva [G]): several thousands (acq. 1933-34, 1936-37); Herb. N.Y. Bot. Gard. [NY]; Herb. Edinburgh [E]: 464 nos (mostly Ericaceae).

From Java 1932, in Herb. Bog. [BO]; dupl. in Herb. Arn. Arbor. [A]; some at Geneva[G].

From New Guinea,6 in Herb. Berlin [B]: 6059 nos (purch. 1935-38); Herb. Arn. Arbor. [A]; Herb. Leiden [L]: 1000 nos (purch.); Herb. Deless. (Geneva [G]) (608); Herb. Brit. Mus. [BM]; Herb. Brussels [BR] (899), and certainly in many other herbaria. The New Guinea collection is numbered from 1 onwards and probably exceeds 10.000; much of the material is scrappy and in a bad state. Being evacuated by plane she was forced to leave behind all of her equipment and her assembled botanical collections; it is assumed that all this material has been lost or destroyed.

Mosses from New Guinea evidently in Herb. Tokyo [TI], as the Tokyo Science Museum forwarded them to A. Noguchi for identification (cf. sub Literature 6). Her collection of the last ten months in New Guinea on Mt Sarawaket had to be left behind in store-rooms, when she was evacuated to Australia herself, and was destroyed by fire. Dupl. from the Philippines (1928) in Herb. Copenh. [C]; large Borneo collection (1931-33) in Herb. Hamburg [HBG]; also Borneo plants in Herb. Leningrad [LE].

Also dupl. (Borneo; fairly complete set from New Guinea) in Herb. Edinb. [E].

 

literature:

(1) E.D. Merrill: ‘Botanical exploration of Borneo’ (Journ. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 31, 1930, p. 185-191).

(2) E.D. Merrill: ‘New Philippine plants from collections of Mary Strong Clemens’ I (Philip. Journ. Sci. C. Bot. 3, 1908, p. 129-165).

J.C. Arthur & G.B. Cummins: ‘Philippine rusts’ (Philip. Journ. Sci. 59, 1936, p. 437-449, 3 pl. and in l.c. 61, 1936, p. 463-488, 4 pl.).

(3) E.B. Copeland: ‘New species and a new genus of Borneo ferns chiefly from the Kinabalu collections of Mrs. Clemens and Mr. Topping’ (Philip. Journ. Sci. C. Bot. 12, 1917, p. 45-65).

E.D. Merrill: ‘Contribution to our knowledge of the Flora of Borneo’ (Journ. Str. Br. Roy. As. Soc. no 76, 1917, p. 75-117); in ‘Alabastra Borneensia’ (l.c. no 77, 1917, p. 189-247); in Amer. Journ. Bot. 5, 1918, p. 514-515.

O. Ames & Ch. Schweinfurth: ‘The orchids of Mount Kinabalu, Br. N. Borneo’ (Ill. and Stud. of the fam. of Orch. issued from the Ames Lab. North East Mass. Boston fasc. 6, 1920, xiv + 335 pp., pl. 80-101).

(4) Ferns by E.B. Copeland in Brittonia 1,1931, p. 71-78.

J.J. Smith: ‘Additions to our knowledge of the orchid flora of Borneo’ (l.c. p. 105-111).

Boschia oblongifolia Ridl. n. sp. from Mt Bungal (in ?Sarawak) in Kew Bull. 1933, p. 488.

(5) C. Christensen & R.E. Holttum: ‘The ferns of Mt Kinabalu’ (Gard. Bull. Str. Settlem. 7, 1934, p. 191-324, pl. 51-62).

C.G.G.J. van Steenis: ‘Some remarks on the Kinabalu collection of Chaplain and Mrs. Clemens, 1931-32’ (Journ. Bot. 1934, p. 1-12). 

Loranthaceae by B.H. Danser in Rec. Trav. Bot. néerl. 31, 1934, p. 229-235, 751-758.

E.B. Copeland: ‘Additional ferns of Kinabalu’ (Philip. Journ. Sci. 56, 1935, p. 471-481, pl. 1-10).

C.E. Carr: ‘Two collections of Orchids from Br. N. Borneo’ pt I (coll. Carr & Clemens) (Gard. Bull. Str. Settlem. 8, 1935, p. 165-240).

Mosses by E.B. Bartram in Philip. Journ. Sci. 61, 1936, p. 235-252.

B.H. Danser: ‘New Clemens-numbers from Mt. Kinabalu (Loranthaceae), Borneo’ (Blumea 2, 1936, p. 39-42; l.c. 3, 1938, p. 36-37).

E.D. Merrill: ‘Two new opposite-leaved species of Ilex from Borneo’ (Journ. Arn. Arbor. 20, 1939, p. 222-224).

W.R. Philipson: ‘New Bornean Myrsinaceae’ (Journ. Bot. 77, 1939, p. 101-106); ‘New Bornean Araliaceae’ (l.c. 78, 1940, p. 116-119, 2 fig.).

Icacinaceae by H. Sleumer in Notizbl. Berl. Dahl. 15, 1940, p. 228-257.

H.N. Dixon: ‘New and rare Bornean mosses’ (Journ. Bot. 79, 1941, p. 57-62, 72-77).

Ericaceae by H. Sleumer in Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 71, 1941, p. 138-168.

H. Heine: ‘Pflanzen der Sammlung J. & M.S. Clemens von Mount Kinabalu in Britisch Nord-Borneo’ (Fedde, Rep. 54, 1951, p. 223-248); ‘Diagnoses novae plantarum in Borneo septentrionali a J. et M.S. Clemens lectarum’ pars II (Mitt. Bot. Staatssamml. München Heft 6, 1953, p. 208-230); ‘Pflanzen der Sammlung J. & M. S. Clemens von Mt Kinabalu in Britisch Nord-Borneo’ (Thesis, München 1953, mimeogr.).

H.N. Moldenke: ‘A new species of Sphenodesma (Verb.)’ (Phytologia 4, 1953, p. 368).

(6) Palmae by M. Burret in Notizbl. Berl. Dahl. 13, 1936, p. 317-332 (coll. Carr & Clemens), and in l.c. 15, 1940, p. 7-12.

Several families by various authors in Engl. Bot. Jahrb. from vol. 69, 1938, onwards.

Loranthaceae by B.H. Danser in Blumea 3, 1938, p. 37-59.

Ferns by A.H.G. Alston in Journ. Bot. 78, 1940, p. 225-229.

Icacinaceae by H. Sleumer in Notizbl. Berl. Dahl. 15, 1940, p. 228-257.

G.B. Cummins: ‘Uredinales of New Guinea’ II-IV (Mycologia 33, 1941, p. 64-68, 5 fig.; l.c. p. 143-154, 7 fig.; l.c. p. 380-389, 14 fig.).

Many species dealt with in Journ. Arn. Arbor. from 22, 1941, onwards.

E.D. Merrill & L.M. Perry: ‘Notes on some Papuan collections of Mary Strong Clemens’ (Journ. Arn. Arbor. 29, 1948, p. 152-168).

L.O. Williams: ‘Orchidaceae Novae Guineae I’ (Bot. Mus. Leall. 12, no 5, 1946, p. 149-172, pl. 21-23).

S.J. van Ooststroom: ‘Additional notes on the Convolvulaceae of New Guinea’ (J. Arn. Arb. 29, 1948, p. 414-418, 1 pl.).

A. Noguchi: ‘Mosses of Mt Sarawaket, New Guinea’ (J. Hattori Bot. Lab. no 10, 1953, p. 1-23).

 

biographical data:

Backer, Verkl. Woordenb., 1936; Kew Bull. 1936, p. 287-288; Journ. N.Y. Bot. Gard. 37, 1936, p. 117-118; Chron. Bot. 2, 1936, p. 89-90 + portr., p. 264.

Mary Strong Clemens: Fl. Mal. Bull. no 23, 1969, p. 1669-1671.