Harry E. Luther (1952 – October 17, 2012) 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 ...

, having conducted extensive botanical expeditions to

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 ...

, Mexico, Panama, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Luther served on the staff of the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida, for 32 years. In 2010, he accepted a position as Assistant Director/Horticulture at Singapore's famed Gardens by the Bay. He is recognized internationally as an expert in

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

s (family

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain o ...

). He described more than 250 new bromeliad species, and authored more than 200 scientific and popular publications. He was the director of the Bromeliad Identification Center, working for 32 years at the

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, Florida 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 ...

where he assembled "the world's largest living collection of bromeliad species". Luther identified and named bromeliads for Sarasota Botanical Gardens, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the New York Botanical Garden, and "anyone else around the world who needs a plant identification". He took part in 10-year project to identify all the plants of Ecuador and described 60 new species of bromeliads. He moved on to a similar project in Costa Rica. The Bromeliad Society International (BSI) encourages public education, conservation, and scientific research of bromeliads by funding the "Harry E. Luther & Victoria Padilla Research, Conservation and Education Fund". The winter 2012-2013 edition of the ''Journal of the Bromeliad Society'' was called the "Harry E. Luther Memorial Issue".

Publications

Harry E. Luther: ''An Alphabetical List of Bromeliad Binomials'', 2008
i
The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, Florida, USA. ''The Bromeliad Society International''.
This is the new List of 54 Genera. *

References

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Luther, Harry E. American botanists 1952 births 2012 deaths