Arthur Cronquist
Encyclopedia
Arthur John Cronquist was a North American botanist
and a specialist on Compositae. He is considered one of the most influential botanists of the 20th century, largely due to his formulation of the Cronquist system
. Two plant genera in the aster family have been named in his honor. These are Cronquistia, a possible synonym of Carphochaete
, and Cronquistianthus
, which is sometimes included as a group within Eupatorium
. The former was applied by R.M. King and the latter by him and Harold E. Robinson
.
, Oregon
as well as in Pocatello
, Idaho
. His parents divorced when he was young and he and his older sister were brought up by his mother who worked for the Union Pacific Railroad
in Pocatello. The young boy was an avid member of the Boy Scouts of America
, through which he gained an appreciation for the outdoors. He did his undergraduate work at the Southern Branch of the University of Idaho
(now Idaho State University
). During his time there he studied field botany under Ray J. Davis, who was compiling the Flora of Idaho at the time. After receiving his bachelor's degree in 1938, he went on to earn a master's degree at Utah State University
in 1940 working under Bassett Maguire. In the same year he married Mabel Allred, who he remained with until his death. They had two children and a fondness for cats.
Due to a childhood accident, Cronquist's right arm was partially disabled, making him unfit for military service in World War II
. Instead he began work on his doctorate at the University of Minnesota
under C.O. Rosendahl, earning his PhD in 1944. His dissertation was a revision of the genus Erigeron
. In 1943, while still working on his doctorate, he was offered a position at the New York Botanical Garden
to work on Asteraceae
for "The New Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora" then in preparation by Henry Gleason
. From 1946 to 1948 he held a position at the University of Georgia
, followed by a three year position at Washington State University
. Before returning to the New York Botanical Garden where he would spend the rest of his career, he worked as a botanist in Brussels
with the U.S. Foreign Aid Program from 1951 to 1952. He died of heart failure on March 22, 1992 while studying specimens of Mentzelia
at the herbarium at Brigham Young University
.
& Karl Prantl
's taxonomic system, laid down in their work Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien (The Natural Plant Families), which had been the dominant system since the late 19th century. Although Cronquist was originally involved mostly with the family Asteraceae rather than with general systems, he began publishing on the topic in 1957 after much discussion with his peers concerning the challenge of forming a new taxonomic system. At the time he began his work on his general scheme of classification, several others were working with the same goal in mind, including the American Robert F. Thorne
, the Dane Rolf Dahlgren
, and Armen Takhtajan
of the U.S.S.R.. Each of them would go on to produce their own taxonomic schemes, though Cronquist's would prove to be the most widely adopted. While working on the project in the 1960s, Cronquist came to be close friends with Armen Takhtajan and both men put all of their information at one another's disposal. To this end Cronquist decided to learn Russian in order to have access to the scientific literature that the Soviet Union had accumulated, which was largely unknown to the rest of the world. He made several trips to the U.S.S.R. to meet with Takhtajan and other Soviet botanists and translated many botanical works from Russian throughout his life.
He published his first large scale taxonomic overview in The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants in 1968 with a revised and expanded second edition being released in 1988. This work also was a survey of the practices of systematic botany. In 1981 he published his landmark work, An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants. The work divided flowering plants into 2 classes with a number of subclasses and down to the family level, with each taxon being described and defined. The system would go on to be adopted by several major projects in floristics, including the Jepson Manual (1993), Flora of North America
, Flora of China, Flora of Australia
and of course Gleason and Cronquist's Manual of the Vascular Plants, which was published in 1991.
, which was laid down in:
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and a specialist on Compositae. He is considered one of the most influential botanists of the 20th century, largely due to his formulation of the Cronquist system
Cronquist system
The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in his texts An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants and The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants .Cronquist's system places flowering plants into two...
. Two plant genera in the aster family have been named in his honor. These are Cronquistia, a possible synonym of Carphochaete
Carphochaete
Carphochaete is a genus of seven shrubs or subshrubs native to Mexico, with the range of one species extending into the southwestern United States.- Classification :Carphochaete is in the tribe Eupatorieae of the aster family...
, and Cronquistianthus
Cronquistianthus
Cronquistianthus consists of 25 species of shrubs native to the Andes in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.The genus is named after the botanist Arthur John Cronquist .It contains the following species:* Cronquistianthus bulliferus...
, which is sometimes included as a group within Eupatorium
Eupatorium
Eupatorium is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, containing from 36 to 60 species depending on the classification system. Most are herbaceous perennial plants growing to 0.5–3 m tall. A few are shrubs. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere....
. The former was applied by R.M. King and the latter by him and Harold E. Robinson
Harold E. Robinson
Harold Ernest Robinson is an eminent botanist and an entomologist.-Career:Dr. Robinson's systematic knowledge encompasses many groups of plants and even some insects. But his real specialty is the sunflower family and the bryophytes...
.
Life
Arthur Cronquist was born on March 19, 1919 in San Jose, California, but he grew up outside of PortlandPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
as well as in Pocatello
Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. His parents divorced when he was young and he and his older sister were brought up by his mother who worked for the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
in Pocatello. The young boy was an avid member of the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, through which he gained an appreciation for the outdoors. He did his undergraduate work at the Southern Branch of the University of Idaho
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
(now Idaho State University
Idaho State University
Idaho State University is a public university located in Pocatello, Idaho. It has outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls....
). During his time there he studied field botany under Ray J. Davis, who was compiling the Flora of Idaho at the time. After receiving his bachelor's degree in 1938, he went on to earn a master's degree at Utah State University
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
in 1940 working under Bassett Maguire. In the same year he married Mabel Allred, who he remained with until his death. They had two children and a fondness for cats.
Due to a childhood accident, Cronquist's right arm was partially disabled, making him unfit for military service in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Instead he began work on his doctorate at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
under C.O. Rosendahl, earning his PhD in 1944. His dissertation was a revision of the genus Erigeron
Erigeron
Erigeron is a genus of about 390 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest species diversity in North America, where 173 species occur....
. In 1943, while still working on his doctorate, he was offered a position at the New York Botanical Garden
New York Botanical Garden
- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*...
to work on Asteraceae
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
for "The New Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora" then in preparation by Henry Gleason
Henry Gleason
Henry Allan Gleason was a noted American ecologist, botanist, and taxonomist, most recognized for his endorsement of the individualistic/open community concept of ecological succession.- Life and work :...
. From 1946 to 1948 he held a position at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
, followed by a three year position at Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
. Before returning to the New York Botanical Garden where he would spend the rest of his career, he worked as a botanist in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
with the U.S. Foreign Aid Program from 1951 to 1952. He died of heart failure on March 22, 1992 while studying specimens of Mentzelia
Mentzelia
Mentzelia is a genus of about 60-70 species of flowering plants in the family Loasaceae, native to the Americas. The genus comprises annual, biennial, and perennial herbaceous plants and a few shrubs....
at the herbarium at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
.
Development of the Cronquist system
While Cronquist was in his mid-thirties, he began to question the usefulness of Adolf EnglerAdolf Engler
Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, like Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien , edited with Karl A. E...
& Karl Prantl
Karl Prantl
Karl Prantl is the name of:* Karl Prantl , Austrian sculptor* Karl Anton Eugen Prantl , German botanist* Karl von Prantl , German philosopher and philologist...
's taxonomic system, laid down in their work Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien (The Natural Plant Families), which had been the dominant system since the late 19th century. Although Cronquist was originally involved mostly with the family Asteraceae rather than with general systems, he began publishing on the topic in 1957 after much discussion with his peers concerning the challenge of forming a new taxonomic system. At the time he began his work on his general scheme of classification, several others were working with the same goal in mind, including the American Robert F. Thorne
Thorne system (1992)
A modern system of plant taxonomy, the Thorne system of plant classification was drawn up by the botanist Robert F. Thorne . He replaced it in 2000 with a new system. These two systems were published in:...
, the Dane Rolf Dahlgren
Dahlgren system
One of the modern systems of plant taxonomy, the Dahlgren system was published by monocot specialist Rolf Dahlgren. His wife Gertrud Dahlgren carried on after his death.According to the extensive listing by Professor Reveal One of the modern systems of plant taxonomy, the Dahlgren system was...
, and Armen Takhtajan
Armen Takhtajan
Armen Leonovich Takhtajan or Takhtajian , was a Soviet-Armenian botanist, one of the most important figures in 20th century plant evolution and systematics and biogeography. His other interests included morphology of flowering plants, paleobotany, and the flora of the Caucasus...
of the U.S.S.R.. Each of them would go on to produce their own taxonomic schemes, though Cronquist's would prove to be the most widely adopted. While working on the project in the 1960s, Cronquist came to be close friends with Armen Takhtajan and both men put all of their information at one another's disposal. To this end Cronquist decided to learn Russian in order to have access to the scientific literature that the Soviet Union had accumulated, which was largely unknown to the rest of the world. He made several trips to the U.S.S.R. to meet with Takhtajan and other Soviet botanists and translated many botanical works from Russian throughout his life.
He published his first large scale taxonomic overview in The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants in 1968 with a revised and expanded second edition being released in 1988. This work also was a survey of the practices of systematic botany. In 1981 he published his landmark work, An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants. The work divided flowering plants into 2 classes with a number of subclasses and down to the family level, with each taxon being described and defined. The system would go on to be adopted by several major projects in floristics, including the Jepson Manual (1993), Flora of North America
Flora of North America
The Flora of North America North of Mexico is a multivolume work describing the native plants of North America. These days much of the Flora is available . The work is expected to fill 30 volumes when completed...
, Flora of China, Flora of Australia
Flora of Australia
The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 20,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens...
and of course Gleason and Cronquist's Manual of the Vascular Plants, which was published in 1991.
Works
Arthur Cronquist is probably best remembered for his work dealing with his Cronquist systemCronquist system
The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in his texts An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants and The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants .Cronquist's system places flowering plants into two...
, which was laid down in:
- An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants (1981) and
- The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants (1st edition 1968; 2nd edition 1988) ISBN 0-89327-332-5