Conrad Vernon Morton (24 October 1905 – 29 July 1972) was an American botanist who did notable writings on

Fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

s. He was also a specialist in

Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), wi ...

and Solanaceae for the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

from 1928. In 1938, botanists Standl. & Steyerm., published '' Mortoniodendron'', a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s from Central America, belonging to the family

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

in Conrad Morton's honour. Then in 1939, botanist

Robert Everard Woodson Robert Everard Woodson (28 April 1904 – 6 November 1963) was an American botanist. He received a degree in biology in 1929 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He gave classes in botany at Washington University, and from 1945 ...

published ''

Mortoniella ''Mortoniella'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1939. It contains only one known species, ''Mortoniella pittieri'', native to Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua). The ...

'' a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

of flowering plants from Central America, in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of ...

, also in his honour. Later in 1975, botanist Wiehler published '' Neomortonia'', a genus of flowering plant from South America, belonging to the family

Publications

* ''Studies of fern types'' (Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, two volumes, 1967–1973). * ''A revision of the Argentine species of ''

Solanum ''Solanum'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant (aubergine, brinjal). It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solanaceae ...

(Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Córdoba, Argentine, 1976).

References

External links

Conrad Vernon Morton Papers, 1913-1973 and undated
from the

Smithsonian Institution Archives Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an institutional archives and library system comprising 21 branch libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers. The Libraries and Archives serve Smithsonian Institution ...

Pteridologists 1905 births 1972 deaths 20th-century American botanists {{US-botanist-stub