William Wayt Thomas

Elizabeth G. Britton Curator of Botany, Institute of Systematic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden

Ph.D., University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan (1982)
"The Systematics of Rhynchospora section Dichromena (Cyperaceae)"
Expertise: Systematics of Cyperaceae, Simaroubaceae, and Picramniaceae; flora of the Atlantic Coastal forests of Brazil

Profile

The focus of my research is plants of the American tropics, especially Brazil. I have three primary interests: the vegetation of Atlantic coastal Brazil, especially the coastal forests of the state of Bahia; systematics of the Sedge family (Cyperaceae), especially the beaked-rushes (Rhynchospora); and the systematics of the Tree-of-Heaven family (Simaroubaceae and its segregate families, Picramniaceae and Surianaceae). I believe that systematic research provides a much-needed foundation for conservation of biodiversity. To that end, my work in Bahia is made available to local conservation organizations and has had a significant impact on conservation in the region. I also run the Organization for Flora Neotropica, an international organization that promotes the preparation of systematic monographs of plants and fungi in the American tropics.

Selected Publications

Thomas, W. W. 2002. Simaroubaceae. Pages . In: S. Mori, C. Gracie, J. Mitchell, J.-J. de Granville and G. Cremers (eds.), Guide to the Vascular Plants of Central French Guiana, Part 2. Dicotyledons. The New York Botanical Garden, New York.

Thomas, W. W. 1999. Conservation and monographic research on the flora of tropical America. Biodiversity and Conservation 8: 1007-1015.

Thomas, W. W. 1999. Simaroubaceae. Pages 899-900 in P. M. Jorgensen & S. LeÛn-Y·nez (eds.), Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

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