Wilfred "Wilf" Borden Schofield (Botanist) (19 July 1927, Brooklyn Corner,

Kings County, Nova Scotia Kings County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. With a population of 62,914 in the 2021 Census, Kings County is the third most populous county in the province. It is located in central Nova Scotia on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, ...

– 5 November 2008) was a Canadian botanist, specializing in mosses and liverworts. He was considered by many "the foremost bryologist in Canada".

Biography

Wilfred B. Schofield, who had two brothers and a sister, grew up in Nova Scotia. He received in 1950 a B.A. from

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

, where he was influenced by E. Chalmers Smith (1912–1992) and John S. Erskine (1900–1981). In 1951 Schofield obtained a Class A teacher's license from Nova Scotia Normal College. From 1951 to 1954 he was a high school geology teacher in Nova Scotia. He became in 1954 a graduate student at Stanford University, where he met Margaret "Peggy" Irene Bledsoe (1931–2005). In 1956 they both received their M.A.s (he in botany and she in music) and married in the autumn of that year. After their honeymoon, the newlyweds moved to Nova Scotia, where Wilfred Schofield spent the winter teaching high school. The couple spent the summer of 1957 doing field work in the Yukon and then in the autumn moved to North Carolina. From 1967 to 1969 he was the president of the

Sullivant Moss Society The American Bryological and Lichenological Society is an organization devoted to the scientific study of all aspects of the biology of bryophytes and lichen-forming fungi and is one of the nation's oldest botanical organizations. It was originall ...

, which was renamed in 1970 the

American Bryological and Lichenological Society The American Bryological and Lichenological Society is an organization devoted to the scientific study of all aspects of the biology of bryophytes and lichen-forming fungi and is one of the nation's oldest botanical organizations. It was origina ...

. For his textbook ''Introduction to Bryology'' (Macmillan, 1985), the Canadian Botanical Association awarded him the George Lawson Medal for 1986. In 1990 he was awarded an honorary D.Sc. by Acadia University. He collected plants not only in Canada and the mainland USA, but also in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Japan, and Taiwan. He did most of his field work in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, especially Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). In the last 15 years of his life, he spent summers collecting in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...

. Schofield was predeceased by his wife. Upon his death he was survived by three daughters, and four grandchildren.

Eponymy

Genera

* (

Cephaloziaceae Cephaloziaceae is a family of liverworts. Liverworts of this family are dioecious plants which have creeping or upright forms. They are green, brown, reddish, or purplish in color. The leaves are alternately arranged and succubous. Oil bodies a ...

) '' Schofieldia'' * (

Hylocomiaceae Hylocomiaceae is a family of moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which ...

) '' Schofieldiella''

Species

* ( Andreaeaceae) '' Andreaea schofieldiana'' B.M.Murray * ( Symphyodontaceae) '' Chaetomitrium schofieldii'' B.Tan & H.Rob. * ( Hypnaceae) '' Ctenidium schofieldii'' H.Nishim. * ( Cladoniaceae) ''

Cladonia ''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami in Scandinavia or the Nenets ...

schofieldii'' Ahti & Brodo * ( Plagiochilaceae) '' Plagiochila schofieldiana'' Inoue * (

Sphagnaceae The Sphagnaceae is a family of moss with only one living genus ''Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term ...

) '' Sphagnum wilfii'' H.A.Crum * (

Plagiotheciaceae Plagiotheciaceae is a family of mosses from the order Hypnales. It is found almost nearly worldwide, including Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarcti ...

) ''

Plagiothecium ''Plagiothecium'' is a genus of moss belonging to the family Plagiotheciaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution. Species The following species are recognised in the genus ''Plagiothecium'': *''Plagiothecium acuminatum'' *''Plagiothecium al ...

schofieldii'' G.J.Wolski & W.R.Buck

Selected publications

Articles

* * * * * * * * * * * * * 2004 * *

Books

* (1st edition, 1969) * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schofield, Wilfred Borden 1927 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Canadian botanists Bryologists Plant collectors Acadia University alumni Nova Scotia Teachers College alumni Stanford University alumni Academic staff of the University of British Columbia People from Kings County, Nova Scotia