The hard-working professor & skilled field assistant in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona (photo by S. K. Austin).




Daniel F. Austin

Book Review Editor, Economic Botany

Current address: Conservation & Science Department
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
2021 N. Kinney Road, Tucson, AZ 85743
E-Mail: dr_ipomoea@yahoo.com


Affiliations

  Adjunct Professor, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Research Associate, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona
Research Associate, Drylands Institute, Tucson, Arizona
Research Associate, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami
Research Associate, Fairchild Tropical Garden, Coral Gables, Florida
Emeritus Professor, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton


Education
 
1966 B.A. Biology, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky
1969 M.A., 1970 Ph.D. Botany, Washington University and the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri. Dissertation: A Monograph of the American Erycibeae (Convolvulaceae): Maripa, Dicranostyles and Lysiostyles, 464 pp.

    Professional Societies

    Fellow of the Linnean Society, London
    Society for Economic Botany
    International Association for Plant Taxonomy
    Arizona Native Plant Society
    Florida Native Plant Society
    Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council


    Committees

    Florida

    Technical Advisor, The Nature Conservancy, Office of Endangered Species, Tallahassee
    Advisory Board of The Wildflower Society, Florida and Caribbean Region, Delray Beach
    Advisory Group, Endangered Species Book, Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee

    Federal

    CESI Landscape Science Advisory Committee, USGS, Biological Resources Division, Miami
    South Florida Ecosystem Recovery Strategy Team, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Vero Beach
    Recovery Team Member for Cereus eriophorus, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Vero Beach
    Sweetpotato Crop Germplasm Committee on Sweet Potato, U.S.D.A., Beltsville, Md.

    Research Program

    CONVOLVULACEAE: My primary research focuses on the family Convolvulaceae. Members of this family are commonly called Morning Glories. Emphasis has been on American taxa, especially the genus Ipomoea since 1970. Additional knowledge has been obtained with the African and Asian species through field work in Sri Lanka in collaboration with the "Flora of Ceylon Project" and on African plants with Dr. Sebsebe Demissew (Addis Abeba University, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia) who worked with me as a Fulbright Fellow.

    AMERICAN IPOMOEA: A database on the American members of Ipomoea was published [D. F. Austin and Z. Huáman. 1996. A synopsis of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) in the Americas. Taxon 45:3-38]; the data are made available here in a modified format (Ipomoea). NOTE: If you do not wish to read through all of the history and other information regarding the classification of Ipomoea into groups, or if you wish to look up some information on the place of publication, synonymy and typification of a species, look at this source Nomenclator Ipomoeeae.

    EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS: A paper analyzes the phyletic relationships of parallel and convergent traits in all 55 genera within the family. This was published in 1998 in the book "Diversity and Taxonomy of Tropical Flowering Plants." Pp. 201-234, In. Mathews, P. and M. Sivadasan (eds.). Mentor Books, Calicut, India.

    ETHNOBOTANY: Study of the Convolvulaceae enhanced an interest in the relationships of plants and people. Ethnobotany (uses of plants by people) has been an important part of all my studies. Some investigations contributed more to the topic than others, and the sweet potato relatives (Ipomoea ser. Batatas) allowed me to delve deeper into how humans relate to plants. As part of my involved with the Society for Economic Botany (SEB), I became Book Review Editor (Editorial offices); SEE ALSO the SEB Webpages in the USA (SEB) and in the UK (SEB-UK).

    EXOTIC PLANTS: A secondary research emphasis has been on the impacts of exotic plants on endangered floras. As compiler of the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council's "Invasive Plant" list (1991-2001), I maintained contact with people throughout the Florida who work regularly in the field. This list is updated every two years and serves as a status report of the non-native plants that are pests in the state. For more information see their website (EPPC).


    Publications

    Over the years I have published over 35 book chapters & books, over 100 journal papers, and over 60 popular articles, plus numerous book reviews & abstracts.
    Publications 1992 to 2010

    My book Florida Ethnobotany was awarded the 2005 Mary W. Klinger Award by the Society for Economic Botany, and has been nominated for the Council on Botanical & Horticultural Libraries' Seventh Annual Literature Award of 2006.



    Acknowledgments

    The photograph of a yellow-flowered vine at the bottom of the page is Merremia austinii J. A. MacDonald, courtesy of the author.

    The drawings in the background were made by Ms. Jill Young, and were published in the Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 142(2): 140-159. 1997.


    ARIZ Herbarium
    The Convolvulaceae collection from FAU is being transferred to ARIZ. Most of the FAU herbarium has been moved to Fairchild Tropical Garden, although a representative set remains on the Davie Campus. Those interested in the Davie collection should contact Dr. Diane Owen


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    Last updated: 13 June 2010

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