USDA and National Cancer Institute Plant Collections Records

The USDA and National Cancer Institute Plant Collections Records consist of 36 three-ring binders, known as active books, organized geographically. Each active book contains forms, called active sheets, that were used to record data and procurement status for plant species collected in approximately 40 specific geographic areas. Plants represented in the records were collected for studies of their antitumor activity. Active sheets were filed alphabetically by genus and species name within a geographic volume, and color-coded tabs were used to indicate the status of activity and positioned on each sheet to indicate whether or not re-collection was needed. For example, many tabs pointing outward in an active book signaled U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) botanists to re-collect species that showed antitumor activity in a previous collection. Material added to the records in 2014 includes files from Dr. Robert E. Perdue, a lead researcher in the development of the cancer therapeutic, Taxol.