Lindsay Stuart Smith (27 November 1917 – 12 September 1970) 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 ...

, naturalist and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

Early years

Lindsay Smith was born in

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and attended Bundaberg South State School and later

Bundaberg State High School Bundaberg State High School is a heritage-listed state high school and technical college at 37 Maryborough Street, Bundaberg South, Bundaberg, Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1920 to 1956. It was added to the Queensla ...

. In 1933 he began work as a clerk in the

Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is a department of the Queensland Government which aims to maximise the economic potential for Queensland's primary industries on a sustainable basis through strategic industrial development. The sec ...

. Except for war service with the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he remained in that department, rising through the ranks to the position of Senior Botanist. After the war, he studied science in the evenings and in 1948 was awarded the degree of

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in Botany.

Career

During World War II, Smith made collections of rainforest species in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and subsequently studied these species with the help of C.T. White and W.D. Francis and some of his collections become the nucleus of the herbarium at

Lae Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...

. He made extensive studies of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...

'', a group of

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

in Australia, collecting many specimens in Australia and overseas. His notes on the biological control of ''Lantana'' were published after his death by his wife, Doris Alma Goy. The

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

Myoporaceae Myoporaceae was a family of plants, found mostly in Australia, which included the following genera: * '' Diocirea'' * '' Eremophila'', also known as emu bush * ''Myoporum'', also known as Boobiala In the APG II system (continued in the APG III ...

(now

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

) was a particular interest as were the mangroves. Smith was an active field naturalist, a member, occasional President and Honorary Treasurer of the Queensland Naturalists' Club and his biographer, Selwyn Everist noted that he will be "remember d orhis vast knowledge of plants and his patient courtesy in answering the many questions put to him by fellow naturalists at meetings and excursions". The species named by Smith include ''

Austromyrtus dulcis ''Austromyrtus dulcis'' is a species of plant native to eastern Australia. it grows as a small spreading shrub and is easily recognised by its characteristic berries that usually ripen in summer and autumn. Common names include the midgen berry, ...

'', '' Elaeocarpus stellaris'', '' Myoporum betcheanum'', and '' Xanthostemon verticillatus'', and the genera '' Peripentadenia'', ''

Neorites ''Neorites'' is a monotypic genus of plants in the family Proteaceae. The sole species ''Neorites kevedianus'', commonly called fishtail oak or fishtail silky oak, is a tall tree endemic to the wet tropics rainforests of north eastern Queenslan ...

'' and '' Neostrearia''. The species named in his honour are '' Eremophila linsmithii'' R.J.F.Hend., '' Elaeocarpus linsmithii'' Guymer and '' Grevillea linsmithii'' McGill. Smith suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 52, doing his work collecting plants on

Mount Barney Mount Barney is a mountain within the Scenic Rim Region in south-east Queensland, Australia. It lies approximately south-west of Brisbane, not far from the Queensland - New South Wales border, and forms part of the McPherson Range. It is a p ...

with his wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Lindsay Stuart 1917 births 1970 deaths People from Bundaberg Botanists with author abbreviations 20th-century Australian botanists Botany in Queensland