Joseph Whipple Congdon
Joseph Whipple Congdon (April 13, 1834 – April 5, 1910)[1] [2] was a lawyer by trade who contributed significantly to early botanical exploration in California, particularly in the Yosemite region, where he resided in Mariposa from 1882 until 1905.[3] [4] Congdon was born in Pomfret, Connecticut and graduated Brown University with the class of 1855. He was admitted to the bar in Providence, Rhode Island in 1860. He served a term in the Rhode Island legislature for 1878–79. The "Analytical Class-Book of Botany", coauthored with his aunt, [carrying the epigram "Science is the only interpreter of Nature"] antedated by two years the first edition of Class Book of Botany, by Asa Gray. Congdon was the botanist whom correctly diagnosed the rediscovery of the long-lost Shortia galacifolia , a relict herb that had been long sought by Gray.[5]
Congdon discovered over 30 new species of plants, many of which are rare and endemic to the Yosemite region, including Lewisia congdonii , Eriophyllum congdonii , Garrya congdonii , Lomatium congdonii , Monolopia congdonii , and others.
Congdon's collection in Yosemite National Park form an important record of that flora: he was the first botanist to collect the rare Yosemite bog-orchid (Platanthera yosemitensis ) in 1895; a species that was not recognized as distinct until 2007[6]
Reading
[edit ]- Jenkins, Charles F. (1942). "Asa Gray and his quest for Shortia glaucifolia". Arnoldia Vol. 2:13–28.
- Jepson, Willis L. (1928). "The botanical explorers of California-II". Joseph Whipple Congdon. Madrono Vol. 1:175–177.
Publications
[edit ]- Greene, Francis and Joseph W. Congdon. (1855). Analytical Class-Book of Botany. D. Appleton & Co., New York.
- Congdon, J.W. (1891). "Mariposa County as a botanical district". Zoe 2:234–236.
- Congdon, J.W. (1900). "New species, principally from Mariposa County". Erythea 7:183–189.
- Congdon, J.W. (1904). "A new Lupine from California". Muhlenbergia 1:38. 1904.
References
[edit ]- ^ Congdon, George Edward (1921). The Congdon Chronicle. p. 230.
- ^ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2006). CRC World Dictionary of Grasses: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms and Etymology. CRC Press. p. 2279. ISBN 0-8493-1303-1.
- ^ O'Dowd, Sarah C. (2004). A Rhode Island Original: Frances Harriet Whipple Green McDougall. UPNE. p. 138. ISBN 1-58465-379-5.
- ^ Thomas, John Hunter (1991). Flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains of California: A Manual of the Vascular Plants. Stanford University Press. p. 36. ISBN 0-8047-1862-8.
- ^ Jenkins, Charles F. (1942). "Asa Gray and his Quest for Shortia galacifolia". Arnoldia. 2 (3 & 4): 13–28. JSTOR 42953488.
- ^ Colwell, Alison (2011). "Yosemite Bog Orchid: a long journey to discovery". Yosemite Science. Vol. 1, no. 1. Yosemite National Park.
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