Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction .

Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Annotated List of Virginia Flora, Ms2022-005, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

This collection was acquired by Special Collections and University Archives prior to 2012.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Annotated List of Virginia Flora was completed in April 2022.

Biographical Note

Arthur Ballard Massey, the son of botanist W. F. Massey, was born in Albemarle County, Virginia in 1889. After graduating from North Carolina State University in 1909, the younger Massey studied in Florida and Chicago. Meanwhile, he also served as an instructor of botany at Clemson University from 1910 to 1913, then as assistant botanist for the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station from 1913 to 1918. In the latter year, Massey was hired by Virginia Polytechnic Institute as a bacteriologist in the school's botany department. He would earn his master's degree at VPI in 1928. In addition to his duties as an instructor, which included teaching all bacteriology courses, Massey held an appointment on the research staff of the Agricultural Experiment Station. In 1935, Massey became botanist for the Virginia Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, a position that included instruction and that he would hold until retirement. Massey is also credited with establishing the university's herbarium, depositing within it more than 25,000 specimens, and was an instrumental force in the creation of the Mountain Lake Biological Station. Arthur Ballard Massey retired in 1959 and died in 1981.

Scope and Content

This collection contains a typed list of Virginia flora, with handwritten annotations, processed for the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station (VAES), possibly by A. B. Massey. The list is over 200 pages long and includes handwritten notes in the margins of the pages. The list is separated by the different types of flora, ranging from Polypodiaceae, Phytolaccaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Aizoaceae, Caryophyllaceae, and others. Each section is also arranged alphabetically.

The typed list was published in the VAES Technical Bulletin No. 155, December 1961, as "Virginia Flora: An Annotated Catalog of Plant Taxa Recorded as Occuring in Virginia ", compiled by A. B. Massey.

Related Material

See also the published list titled "Virginia Flora: An Annotated Catalog of Plant Taxa Recorded as Occuring in Virginia ", compiled by A. B. Massey in the Technical bulletin - Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station , No. 155, December 1961, Call number S123 .E62, available from Special Collections and University Archives and Newman Library. Request via the library catalog.

See also the related archival collections in Special Collections and University Archives, Arthur B. Massey Papers, Ms1962-002 and Records of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, RG 25/1 .

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Agriculture
• Faculty and staff
• Students and alumni
• University Archives
• University History
• Virginia -- History
• Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Annotated List of Virginia Flora by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).