Calaway Homer Dodson (December 17, 1928 – August 9, 2020) was an American

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

orchidologist This is a list of orchidologists, botanists specializing in the study of orchids. The list is sorted in the surname alphabetical order. A * Oakes Ames (botanist) (1874–1950), an American biologist specializing in orchids Joseph Arditti (193 ...

, and

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

Biography

Dodson was born in

Selma, California Selma is a city in Fresno County, California. The population was 23,319 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 19,240 at the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. Selma is located southeast of Fresno, California, Fresno, at an ...

. He specialized in orchidology very early in his career. Over the course of his life, he made numerous expeditions to the tropics of the Americas, covering the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, and

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, where he collected specimens and discovered new species of different genera of orchids. In 1960 Dodson began, in collaboration with Robert Dressler, a classification of the

Maxillaria ''Maxillaria'', abbreviated as Max in the horticultural trade, is a large genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae). This is a diverse genus, with very different morphological forms. Their characteristics can vary widely. They are commonly called sp ...

of the Americas. In 1965 he presented a study of the pollinating agents of orchids and the importance that they have on the evolutionary development of the family

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

. In the spring of 1973, Dodson was named executive director of the new

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden located at 900 South Palm Avenue in Sarasota, Florida. The Gardens are located on the grounds of the former home of Marie and William Selby. Flora The Gardens feature preserved collections ...

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where he stayed for ten years, of which he was "Honorary Curator of Orchidaceae".Weber, Bruce
WORKS IN PROGRESS; Unnatural Habitat.
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The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

.'' March 25, 1990. In 1975 Dodson created the genus ''

Dressleria ''Dressleria'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae native to South and Central America. Species Species include: * '' Dressleria allenii'' * '' Dressleria aurorae'' * '' Dressleria bennettii'' * '' Dressleria dile ...

'' (named after Robert Dressler) including species of the genus ''

Catasetum ''Catasetum'', abbreviated as Ctsm. in horticultural trade, is a genus of showy epiphytic Orchids, family Orchidaceae, subfamily Epidendroideae, tribe Cymbidieae, subtribe Catasetinae, with 166 species, many of which are highly prized in horticu ...

'', from which he also reclassified other species of the genus ''

Clowesia ''Clowesia'' is a genus of the family Orchidaceae. Species of this genus are epiphytic and contain many pseudobulbs with several internodes. The leaves of this plant are arranged alternatively in two vertical rows on opposite sides of the rachis. ...

''. After making various publications related to the world of orchids, Dodson worked on a project to compile information of the orchid family into a database, including images and facts from species from across the world. To date, the project has collected information on 57,000 orchids.

Works

*''Clasificación de Maxillariae'' Dressler & Dodson (1960); *''Agentes de Polinización y su Influencia sobre la Evolución de la Familia Orquidacea'' (1965); *''Biology of the Orchids'' (1967); *''Icones Plantarum Tropicarum'' (1998) (with 2,400 illustrations and 9 new species of

Sobralia ''Sobralia'' is a genus of orchids native to Mexico, Central and South America. The plants are more commonly terrestrial, but are also found growing epiphytically, in wet forests from sea level to about 8,800 ft. The genus was named for D ...

from

); *''Illustrated Plants of the Tropics'' C.H.Dodson, John Atwood. (1980–1993); *''Native Ecuadorian Orchids'' Volume 1, 2 y 3 (1993, 2001, y 2002).

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20170606033359/http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/vast.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodson, Calaway H. Orchidologists 1928 births 2020 deaths American taxonomists People from Selma, California Scientists from California 20th-century American botanists 21st-century American botanists