John Beaumont Williams (12 February 1932 – 31 July 2005) was an Australian

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 ...

who spent most of his working life, from 1957 until 1992 as a lecturer in taxonomy, anatomy and ecology at the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 18,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 3,000 students See also *New England Colle ...

. He graduated

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

from

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

in 1953 and commenced a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

under the supervision of

Noel Beadle Noel Charles William Beadle (20 December 1914 – 13 October 1998) was an Australian botanist and plant ecologist who spent most of his working life at the University of New England in Armidale. Early life Noel Beadle was born in Sydney t ...

. When Beadle was appointed Chair of Botany at the University of New England, Williams followed to take up a lecturing position at the same institution and to complete his PhD. For the next few years he concentrated on teaching, fieldwork and producing plant lists for north-eastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

as well as spending time studying in the Jodrell Laboratory at

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

working on the family

Haemodoraceae Haemodoraceae is a family of perennial herbaceous flowering plants with 14 genera and 102 known species. It is sometimes known as the "bloodwort family". Primarily a Southern Hemisphere family, they are found in South Africa, Australia and New ...

. As well as his work at the University of New England, Williams was member, secretary and chairman of the New England National Park Trust, a member of the New England and

Dorrigo National Park Dorrigo National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney on Dome Road off the Waterfall Way, east of the town of Dorrigo. History The park is part of the New England Group of the World Heritage Site Gondwana ...

Advisory Committee and was a leader in the university's continuing education Ecofest schools. He contributed to an understanding of the botany and ecology of north-eastern New South Wales, to the conservation and protection of rainforest areas such as Terania Creek in the Nightcap National Park and to the

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

'' and ''

Parsonsia ''Parsonsia'' is a genus of woody vines in the family Apocynaceae. Species occur throughout Indomalaya, Australasia and Melanesia. Description The leaves are opposite, the shape and size of juvenile leaves often bearing little resemblance to th ...

''. During the years 1975 to 1990, Williams travelled extensively, collecting herbarium specimens in many parts of Australia and contributed about 11,500 specimens to the N.C.W. Beadle Herbarium at UNE which now holds more than 73,000 plant specimens. In 1993, Williams retired and in the following year was appointed a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the UNE. He continued to work on botanical projects, including to the 1984 edition of "Rainforest Trees and Shrubs". He is the author of 36 papers on members of the genera ''Parsonsia'' and ''

Neoastelia ''Neoastelia '' is a genus of plants in the family Asteliaceae containing the single species ''Neoastelia spectabilis'', commonly known as the silver sword lily, that is endemic to a small area on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. It i ...

'' but also on the rare ''

Boronia boliviensis ''Boronia boliviensis'', commonly known as Bolivia Hill boronia is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. It is a strongly scented shrub with pinnate leaves, deep pink ...

'', ''

Eucalyptus boliviana ''Eucalyptus boliviana'', commonly known as Bolivia Hill stringybark or Bolivia stringybark is a shrub or a mallee, sometimes a small tree and is endemic to a small area in northern New South Wales. It is a stringybark with four-sides stems, bro ...

'' and others. The lichen species ''

Menegazzia williamsii ''Menegazzia williamsii'' is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in New South Wales, Australia, it was described as a new species in 2019 by lichenologist Gintaras Kantvilas. Taxonomy The type specimen was collected f ...

'' is named in his honour, as is the plant ''

Melaleuca williamsii ''Melaleuca williamsii'' is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to an area between north-eastern New South Wales and south eastern Queensland in Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria continue use the name ''Callistemon pun ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John Beaumont 1932 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Australian botanists Scientists from Sydney