Samuel Palmer’s Watercolors
Samuel Palmer taught Botany at Swarthmore College in the first part of the 20th century. After retiring, he produced a comprehensive set of watercolors of plants native to the area, which he donated to the college.
I am an ardent if amateur digital photographer, and I love learning about the natural world around me. This spring, as the Crum Creek woods at Swarthmore burst into flower, I’m photographing plants, identifying them (to the best of my limited ability), and pairing the photos with the Palmer Collection watercolors.
I’m adding new plants all the time, so be sure to check back often.
All of the Palmer Watercolors and the photograph above are courtesy of the Biology Department of Swarthmore College. A searchable database of the images is available through the Swarthmore library’s Triptych site.
Thanks to Dr. Jose-Luis Machado, curator of this collection, for his help!
To identify these plants, I’m using the definitive Plants of Pennsylvania, along with the Flora of Philadelphia and Vicinity. The latter was a serendipitous find from the Swarthmore Library, full of notes written in by Palmer. Another big help has been mywildflowers.com.
