Alastair Culham

Last updated

Alastair Culham
Born1965 (age 58–59)
Great Waltham, Essex, England
NationalityEnglish
Known forContributions to plant taxonomy, particularly in regard to flowering plants
Scientific career
Fields
Author abbrev. (botany) Culham
Alastair Culham's voice
recorded October 2013

Alastair Culham (born 1965) is an English botanist. He is a member of the staff of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading [1] and Curator of the University of Reading Herbarium (RNG). [2] He specialises in plant taxonomy, biosystematics and applications of techniques from molecular biology, phytogeography and phylogenetics. He focuses on broad-based research in biodiversity and taxonomy.

One aspect of his research concerns the effects of climate change on biodiversity. He has contributed to papers on the impacts of climate change on plant evolution [3] [4] [5] as well as reviews of data source quality [6] and computational approaches to large-scale niche modelling. [7]

His work on the evolutionary biology of plants of interest to horticulture includes relationships within Pelargonium [8] [9] [10] (a collaboration with Mary Gibby of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh), evolutionary patterns within plant genera on islands, with emphasis on Echium , the phylogenetic history of Drosera and phylogenetic and taxonomic revision on Actaea [11] and Ranunculaceae tribe Actaeae [12] (in collaboration with James Compton), a phylogenetic evaluation of Plectranthus and Solenostemon (coleus) (in collaboration with Alan Paton from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) and recently a review of Cyclamen phylogeny and classification [13] (in collaboration with James Compton and The Cyclamen Society).

Culham is also engaged in research on the use of molecular markers for the study of genetic diversity within plant populations for the conservation of endangered species. This was applied in a project to determine the genetic diversity within Toromiro (Sophora toromiro), [14] an endemic plant of Easter Island (in collaboration with Mike Maunder [15] ).

In fungi he has worked on development of molecular markers for identification of phytopathogenic soil fungi of the genus Fusarium [16] [17] with colleagues Roland Fox and Prashant Mishra of the University of California.

As of 2012 he coordinates the i4Life project, having recently completed the project that built the Catalogue of Life. [18]

Along with Vernon Heywood, Richard Kenneth Brummitt and Ole Seberg, Culham is the author of the standard reference book, Flowering Plant Families of the World . [19] He also sits on the editorial board of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society and the Science Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society.

The standard author abbreviation Culham is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name . [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ericales</span> Order of eudicot flowering plants

The Ericales are a large and diverse order of dicotyledons. Species in this order have considerable commercial importance including for tea, persimmon, blueberry, kiwifruit, Brazil nuts, argan, and azalea. The order includes trees, bushes, lianas, and herbaceous plants. Together with ordinary autophytic plants, the Ericales include chlorophyll-deficient mycoheterotrophic plants and carnivorous plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamiaceae</span> Family of flowering plants that includes sage and mint

The Lamiaceae or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender, and perilla, as well as other medicinal herbs such as catnip, salvia, bee balm, wild dagga, and oriental motherwort. Some species are shrubs, trees, or, rarely, vines. Many members of the family are widely cultivated, not only for their aromatic qualities, but also their ease of cultivation, since they are readily propagated by stem cuttings. Besides those grown for their edible leaves, some are grown for decorative foliage. Others are grown for seed, such as Salvia hispanica (chia), or for their edible tubers, such as Plectranthus edulis, Plectranthus esculentus, Plectranthus rotundifolius, and Stachys affinis. Many are also grown ornamentally, notably coleus, Plectranthus, and many Salvia species and hybrids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polygonaceae</span> Knotweed family of flowering plants

The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus Polygonum, and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789 in his book, Genera Plantarum. The name may refer to the many swollen nodes the stems of some species have, being derived from Greek [poly meaning 'many' and gony meaning 'knee' or 'joint']. Alternatively, it may have a different origin, meaning 'many seeds'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Cornaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants in the order Cornales. The family contains approximately 85 species in two genera, Alangium and Cornus. They are mostly trees and shrubs, which may be deciduous or evergreen, although a few species are perennial herbs. Members of the family usually have opposite or alternate simple leaves, four- or five-parted flowers clustered in inflorescences or pseudanthia, and drupaceous fruits. The family is primarily distributed in northern temperate regions and tropical Asia. In northern temperate areas, Cornaceae are well known from the dogwoods Cornus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malvaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao, roselle and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ornamentals, such as Alcea (hollyhock), Malva (mallow), and Tilia. The genera with the largest numbers of species include Hibiscus, Pavonia, Sida, Ayenia, Dombeya, and Sterculia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranunculaceae</span> Family of eudicot flowering plants

Ranunculaceae is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraniales</span> Order of flowering plants in the rosid subclade of eudicots

Geraniales is a small order of flowering plants, included within the rosid subclade of eudicots. The largest family in the order is Geraniaceae with over 800 species. In addition, the order includes the smaller Francoaceae with about 40 species. Most Geraniales are herbaceous, but there are also shrubs and small trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geraniaceae</span> Family of plants

Geraniaceae is a family of flowering plants placed in the order Geraniales. The family name is derived from the genus Geranium. The family includes both the genus Geranium and the garden plants called geraniums, which modern botany classifies as genus Pelargonium, along with other related genera.

<i>Pelargonium</i> Genus of plants

Pelargonium is a genus of flowering plants that includes about 280 species of perennials, succulents, and shrubs, commonly called geraniums, pelargoniums, or storksbills. Geranium is also the botanical name and common name of a separate genus of related plants, also known as cranesbills. Both genera belong to the family Geraniaceae. Carl Linnaeus originally included all the species in one genus, Geranium, and they were later separated into two genera by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in 1789.

<i>Actaea racemosa</i> Species of plant

Actaea racemosa, the black cohosh, black bugbane, black snakeroot, rattle-top, or fairy candle, is a species of flowering plant of the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to eastern North America from the extreme south of Ontario to central Georgia, and west to Missouri and Arkansas. It grows in a variety of woodland habitats, and is often found in small woodland openings. The roots and rhizomes were used in traditional medicine by Native Americans. Its extracts are manufactured as herbal medicines or dietary supplements. Most dietary supplements containing black cohosh are not well-studied or recommended for safe and effective use in treating menopause symptoms or any disease. In contrast, some herbal medicinal products containing black cohosh extract hold a marketing authorization in several states of the European Union and are well-studied and recommended for safe and effective use for the relief of menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and profuse sweating attacks. Such differentiation between the product types seems to be important.

<i>Cyclamen</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae

Cyclamen is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. In English, it is known by the common names sowbread or swinebread. Cyclamen species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to the Caucasus and Iran, with one species in Somalia. They grow from tubers and are valued for their flowers with upswept petals and variably patterned leaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemerocallidoideae</span> Subfamily of flowering plants

Hemerocallidoideae is a subfamily of flowering plants, part of the family Asphodelaceae sensu lato in the monocot order Asparagales according to the APG system of 2016. Earlier classification systems treated the group as a separate family, the Hemerocallidaceae. The name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, Hemerocallis. The largest genera in the group are Dianella, Hemerocallis (15), and Caesia (11).

<i>Actaea</i> (plant) Genus of plants

Actaea, commonly called baneberry, bugbane and cohosh, is a genus of flowering plants of the family Ranunculaceae, native to subtropical, temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Species complex</span> Group of closely related similar organisms

In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each other, further blurring any distinctions. Terms that are sometimes used synonymously but have more precise meanings are cryptic species for two or more species hidden under one species name, sibling species for two species that are each other's closest relative, and species flock for a group of closely related species that live in the same habitat. As informal taxonomic ranks, species group, species aggregate, macrospecies, and superspecies are also in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siparunaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Siparunaceae is a family of flowering plants in the magnoliid order Laurales. It consists of two genera of woody plants, with essential oils: Glossocalyx in West Africa and Siparuna in the neotropics. Glossocalyx is monospecific and Siparuna has about 74 known species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peridiscaceae</span> Family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales

Peridiscaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. Four genera comprise this family: Medusandra, Soyauxia, Peridiscus, and Whittonia., with a total of 12 known species. It has a disjunct distribution, with Peridiscus occurring in Venezuela and northern Brazil, Whittonia in Guyana, Medusandra in Cameroon, and Soyauxia in tropical West Africa. Whittonia is possibly extinct, being known from only one specimen collected below Kaieteur Falls in Guyana. In 2006, archeologists attempted to rediscover it, however, it proved unsuccessful.

<i>Beesia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Beesia is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family. It was named in 1915 after the plant nursery firm Bees of Chester, who financed the plant hunting trips of George Forrest and Frank Kingdon-Ward in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiopteridaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

Cardiopteridaceae is a eudicot family of flowering plants. It consists of about 43 species of trees, shrubs, and woody vines, mostly of the tropics, but with a few in temperate regions. It contains six genera, the largest of which is Citronella, with 21 species. The other genera are much smaller.

<i>Tetracarpaea</i> Genus of flowering plants

Tetracarpaea is the only genus in the flowering plant family Tetracarpaeaceae. Some taxonomists place it in the family Haloragaceae sensu lato, expanding that family from its traditional circumscription to include Penthorum and Tetracarpaea, and sometimes Aphanopetalum as well.

<i>Pelargonium coronopifolium</i> Subshrub in the family Geraniaceae from western South Africa

Pelargonium coronopifolium is a subshrub of up to 40 cm high. It has green to slightly greyish, linear to narrowly elliptical leaves often with irregular teeth towards the tip and white to purple flowers in groups of one to four. It can be found in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Old publications suggested the name buck's horn plantain-leaved stork's bill, but this name never gained common use.

References

  1. ↑ Forest fire's environmental impact could last a decade Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine , .
  2. ↑ Coco-de-mer arrives at Reading University Herbarium,.
  3. ↑ Yesson, C. and Culham, A. (2006) Phyloclimatic modeling: Combining phylogenetics and bioclimatic modeling. Systematic Biology, 55 (5). pp. 785–802. ISSN 1063-5157 doi : 10.1080/1063515060081570
  4. ↑ Heywood, V. and Culham, A. (2009) The impacts of climate change on plant species in Europe. Report T-PVS/Inf9E. In: Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats. 29th meeting of the Standing Committee, Bern.
  5. ↑ Yesson, C., Toomey, N. H. and Culham, A. (2009) Cyclamen: time, sea and speciation biogeography using a temporally calibrated phylogeny. Journal of Biogeography, 36 (7). pp. 1234–1252. ISSN 0305-0270 doi : 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01971.x
  6. ↑ Yesson, C., Brewer, P. W., Sutton, T., Caithness, N., Pahwa, J. S., Burgess, M., Gray, W. A., White, R. J., Jones, A. C., Bisby, F. A. and Culham, A. (2007) How global is the global biodiversity information facility? PLoS ONE, 2 (11). p. 1124. ISSN 1932-6203 doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0001124
  7. ↑ Heap, M. J. and Culham, A. (2010) Automated pre-processing strategies for species occurrence data used in biodiversity modelling. Lecture Notes in Computer Science: Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, Part I (6279). pp. 517–526. ISSN 0302-9743 doi : 10.1007/978-3-642-15384-6
  8. ↑ Bakker, F. T., Culham, A., Pankhurst, C. E. and Gibby, M. (2000) Mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA-based phylogeny of Pelargonium (Geraniaceae). American Journal of Botany, 87 (5). pp. 727–734. ISSN 1537-2197
  9. ↑ Bakker, F.T., Culham, A., Hettiarachi, P. , Touloumenidou, T. and Gibby, M. (2004) Phylogeny of Pelargonium (Geraniaceae) based on DNA sequences from three genomes. Taxon, 53 (1). pp. 17–28. ISSN 0040-0262
  10. ↑ Bakker, F.T., Culham, A., Marais, E.M. and Gibby, M. (2005) Nested radiation in Cape Pelargonium. In: Bakker, F.T., Chatrou, L.W., Gravendeel, B. and Pelser, P.B. (eds.) Plant Species-Level Systematics: New Perspectives on Pattern & Process. Gantner Verlag, Rugell, Liechtenstein. ISBN   9783906166391
  11. ↑ Compton JA, Culham A, Jury SL. 1998 Reclassification of Actaea to include Cimicifuga and Souliea (Ranunculaceae): phylogeny inferred from morphology, nrDNA ITS, and cpDNA trnL-F sequence variation. Taxon 47 (3): 593–634
  12. ↑ Compton, J.A. and Culham, A. Phylogeny and circumscription of tribe Actaeeae Ranunculaceae. Systematic Botany, 27 (3) July–September 2002, 502–511.
  13. ↑ Compton, J.A., Clennett, J.C.B. and Culham, A. (2004) Nomenclature in the dock. Overclassification leads to instability: a case study in the horticulturally important genus Cyclamen (Myrsinaceae). Botanical Journal of The Linnean Society, 146 (3). pp. 339–349. ISSN 0024-4074 doi : 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2004.00322.x
  14. ↑ Maunder, M., Culham, A., Alden, B., Zizka, G., Orliac, C., Lobin, W., Bordeu, A., Ramirez, J.M. and Glissmann-Gough, S. Conservation of the toromiro tree: Case study in the management of a plant extinct in the wild. Conservation Biology, 14(5), 2000, 1341–1350.
  15. ↑ Hunt for Easter tree, Times Higher,
  16. ↑ Mishra, P.K., Fox, R.T.V. and Culham, A. (2003) Development of a PCR-based assay for rapid and reliable identification of pathogenic Fusaria. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 218 (2). pp. 329–332. ISSN 0378-1097 doi : 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2003.tb11537.x
  17. ↑ Mishra, P.K., Fox, R.T.V. and Culham, A. (2003) Inter-simple sequence repeat and aggressiveness analyses revealed high genetic diversity, recombination and long-range dispersal in Fusarium culmorum. Annals of Applied Biology, 143 (3). pp. 291–301. ISSN 0003-4746 doi : 10.1111/j.1744-7348.2003.tb00297.x
  18. ↑ "Project organisation – i4life". University of Reading. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  19. ↑ Heywood, V.H. , Brummit, R.K., Culham, A. and Seberg, O. (2007) Flowering plant families of the world. Kew Books (Europe) Firefly Books (North America). ISBN   9781554072064
  20. ↑ International Plant Names Index.  Culham.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.