Abstract Detail

Rupert Barneby and his legume legacy

Welsh, S.L. [1].

Rupert C. Barneby and Pugilus Astragalorum.

By 1941 Rupert C. Barneby and his companion Dwight Ripley were permanent residents of the United States, which had been preceded by an early stay beginning in 1937.
Very soon the duo was traveling through the American Southwest collecting plants, a passion that they brought with them from their native England. Barneby had developed an interest in the genus Astragalus while traveling in Spain early in the fourth decade of the century, and had carried that interest with him to the United States.
His first publication dealing with Astragalus appeared in January of 1942 and bore the title, “Pugillus Astragalorum Nevadensium,” which can be translated “a fistful of Nevada Astragalus.” That first in a series of publications beginning with the title, “Pugillus Astragalorum,” was to carry through some 20 publications, ending in 1957 with “Pugillus Astragalorum XX: notes on A. mulfordae and some close relatives, Leafl. W. Bot. 8: 120-125.”
Many of the Pugillus Astragalorum publications dealt with description of new taxa, species and varieties, or with nomenclatural combinations. However, in 1945 there appeared the an amazing revisionary paper entitled, “Pugillus astragalorum IV: the section Diplocystium.” This was the first in a series of summary revisions of sections of Astragalus, and dealt with the numerous varieties of the A. lentiginosus Douglas ex Hooker complex in which he treated some 40 varieties. Thus, by 1945, Rupert C. Barneby had in just eight years come to know the genus better than any of his North American contemporaries. That work, along with his other papers and the monumental “Atlas of North American species of Astragalus, Mem. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 13: 1-1188, attest to the genius of this amazing man.

1 - Brigham Young University, Stanley L. Welsh Herbarium, Rm 375 MLBM, Provo, Utah, 84602

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Symposium
Session: 19-1
Location: Magpie (Cliff Lodge)
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2004
Time: 2:00 PM
Abstract ID:878