Howard Scott Gentry (December 10, 1903 – April 1, 1993) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

recognized as the world's leading authority on the

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...

s. Gentry was born in

Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a t ...

. In 1931 he received an A.B. (bachelor's) degree in

vertebrate zoology The State Museum of Zoology (german: Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde) in Dresden is a natural history museum that houses 10,000–50,000 specimens, including skeletons and large insect collections. Many are types. The collection suffered war ...

from the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

. In 1947, Gentry received a Ph.D. in

botany 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 w ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, Dissertation: ''The Durango Grasslands''. Gentry made his first field trip to the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

of Mexico in 1933. He spent most of the next twenty years exploring and recording the plant life of northwestern Mexico. He worked for the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

from 1950 to 1971. He made botanical field trips to Europe, India and Africa looking for plants that are useful to man. He was a research botanist with the

Desert Botanical Garden Desert Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in Papago Park, at 1201 N. Galvin Parkway in Phoenix, central Arizona. Founded by the Arizona Cactus and Native Flora Society in 1937 and established at this site in 1939, the garden now has ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

after 1971. He also collected many of the specimens now at the

Huntington Botanical Gardens The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and Arabella Huntington (c.1851–1924) in San Mari ...

San Marino, California San Marino is a residential city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2010 census the population was 13,147. The city is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of househol ...

. His 1942 study of the plants of the Río Mayo region of northwestern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

became a classic for the extent of its coverage of a previously little-known area. In addition to purely botanical work, he was interested in

ethnobotany Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...

, and his plant descriptions include information about their uses by indigenous peoples.

Works

* ''Río Mayo Plants of Sonora-Chihuahua'' (1942), later updated posthumously as ''Gentry's Rio Mayo Plants'' (University of Arizona Press, 1998) * ''The Agave Family of Sonora'' (USDA, 1972) * ''The Agaves of Baja California'' (California Academy of Sciences, 1978) * ''Agaves of Continental North America'' (University of Arizona Press, 1982)

References

* Cunningham, Isabel S. "Howard Scott Gentry: agriculture's renaissance man." ''Diversity'' 11 (1987): 23-24. * Erickson, Jim. "Botanist, agave expert Howard S. Gentry dies." ''The Arizona Daily Star'' (April 3, 1993). * "Famed plant researcher Howard Gentry at age 89" ''The Press Enterprise'' (April 8, 1993). * Hadley, Diana. "'Listening to my mind': Howard Scott Gentry's Recollections of the Rio Mayo." ''Journal of the Southwest'' 37 no. 2 (1995): 178-245. * Pierce, Alison. "The Mexican Apprenticeship: an authority on century plants became so while surviving rebellious Yaquis, bushwhackers and suspicious opium growers." ''Arizona'' (February 11, 1979): 40-46. * "Plant explorer honored by UA, industry and friends." ''Agri-News'' 9, no. 2 (July 1990). * Verbiscar, Anthony J. "Howard Scott Gentry December 10, 1903-April 1, 1993." ''Economic Botany'' 47, No.. 3 (1993). * Walters, James E. "Seeking answers in the desert." Saturday Magazine of the ''Scottsdale Daily Progress'' (March 2, 1985): 6-7. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gentry, Howard Scott 1903 births 1993 deaths American botanical writers Botanists with author abbreviations Botanists active in North America University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American botanists 20th-century American non-fiction writers People from Temecula, California 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers University of California, Berkeley alumni

Works

References

Further reading