Merritt Lyndon Fernald
Encyclopedia
Merritt Lyndon Fernald was an American
botanist. In his time he was regarded as the most respected scholar of the taxonomy
and phytogeography of the vascular plant
flora of temperate eastern North America
. He published more than 850 scientific papers and wrote and edited the seventh and eighth editions of Gray's Manual of Botany. Fernald also wrote a book Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America in 1919-1920 with Alfred Kinsey
, published in 1943.
, his father was Merritt Caldwell Fernald, a college professor at the University of Maine, and his mother was Mary Lovejoy Heywood. He attended Orono High School, during high school he decided that he wanted to become a botanist, he collected plants around Orono and had two botanical papers published while still at high school. He attended Maine State College for a year, but at age 17 was invited to work as an assistant at the Gray Herbarium at Harvard University
. He began studying at Harvard in 1891 and graduated in 1897, then he joined the faculty as a teacher and also remained working at the Herbarium.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
botanist. In his time he was regarded as the most respected scholar of the taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
and phytogeography of the vascular plant
Vascular plant
Vascular plants are those plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the clubmosses, Equisetum, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms...
flora of temperate eastern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. He published more than 850 scientific papers and wrote and edited the seventh and eighth editions of Gray's Manual of Botany. Fernald also wrote a book Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America in 1919-1920 with Alfred Kinsey
Alfred Kinsey
Alfred Charles Kinsey was an American biologist and professor of entomology and zoology, who in 1947 founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, as well as producing the Kinsey Reports and the Kinsey...
, published in 1943.
Biography
Fernald was born in Orono, MaineOrono, Maine
Orono is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It was first settled in 1774 and named in honor of Chief Joseph Orono of the Penobscot Nation. It is home to The University of Maine. The population was 10,362 at the 2010 census.- Geography :...
, his father was Merritt Caldwell Fernald, a college professor at the University of Maine, and his mother was Mary Lovejoy Heywood. He attended Orono High School, during high school he decided that he wanted to become a botanist, he collected plants around Orono and had two botanical papers published while still at high school. He attended Maine State College for a year, but at age 17 was invited to work as an assistant at the Gray Herbarium at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He began studying at Harvard in 1891 and graduated in 1897, then he joined the faculty as a teacher and also remained working at the Herbarium.
Other sources
- Stuckey, Ronald L. (2000), Fernald, Merritt Lyndon, In: American National Biography Online, Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
.