John C. Semple

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John Cameron Semple
Born1947 (age 75–76)
Boston, Massachusetts
Education Doctor of Philosophy
Alma mater
Known forCytology, morphology, phylogeny, and nomenclature of members of the tribe Astereae [1]
Children3
Scientific career
Fields Botany (including cytotaxonomy)
Institutions University of Waterloo
Thesis The Cytology, Flavonoid Chemistry and Systematics of the Texas Sleepy Daisy Xanthisma texanum DC. (Asteraceae) (1972)
Doctoral students Luc Brouillet
Author abbrev. (botany) Semple
Website uwaterloo.ca/astereae-lab/

John Cameron Semple (born 1947) is a botanist, cytotaxonomist, professor emeritus, and adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. [1] He was born in Boston and earned a degree of Bachelor of Science in 1969 from Tufts University, followed in 1971 and 1972 by Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. Semple is known for his work with members of the tribe Astereae, particularly goldenrods, American asters, and goldenasters, [2] and he maintains the University of Waterloo Astereae Lab website. [1] Semple's wife is Brenda, and in 2013, he named a newly discovered goldenrod species Solidago brendiae in honor of her. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

John Cameron Semple was born in 1947 [4] in Boston, the second child of three to Bob Semple, an accountant, and Margaret Semple, a school teacher. As a child, John had an interest in art and took classes in the subject at a local museum. In high school, he became interested in biology, and this led him to enroll in Tufts University in 1965 to begin the study of medicine. At the encouragement of a botany professor he met at Tufts, he included courses in botany and taxonomy in his studies and decided to attend graduate school to become a botanist. [5]

After earning a Bachelor of Science in 1969 from Tufts, [6] Semple enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis, spending most of his time at the Missouri Botanical Garden. [5] In 1971 and 1972, he earned Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in biology with a focus on botany. [6] His 1972 PhD dissertation was entitled The Cytology, Flavonoid Chemistry and Systematics of the Texas Sleepy Daisy Xanthisma texanum DC. (Asteraceae). [1] Semple acquired a background in cytotaxonomy and evolutionary classification while performing this research, as well as an affinity toward the study of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. [5]

Career

For post-doctoral studies, Semple remained at Washington University in St. Louis, also serving as a lecturer and visiting assistant professor, into the summer of 1974. Beginning that fall, he became a lecturer at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where he spent his career and retired in 2012. [5] One of Semple's early notable doctoral students was Canadian botanist Luc Brouillet. [7] [8]

The majority of Semple's post-retirement work has been focused on the goldenrod genus Solidago . [9] In February 2021, he and botanist James B. Beck published a revision of the genus based on a large phylogenomic study. This revision can be viewed on Semple's website [10] as well as in the original paper. [11]

Awards

Semple received the COSEWIC Service Award from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 1998, and the John Goldie Award from the Field Botanists of Ontario in 2018. [12]

Personal life

Semple and his wife Brenda have three sons and several grandchildren. [5]

Selected publications

The standard author abbreviation Semple is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name . [13] Semple has published over 220 works including several new species. [12] A sampling of his work is listed here in chronological order.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Semple 2021b.
  2. ↑ Semple 2021e.
  3. ↑ Semple 2013a, p. 4.
  4. ↑ IPNI 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Lotosky 2012.
  6. 1 2 Botanical Society of America 1995.
  7. ↑ Semple & Brouillet 1980a.
  8. ↑ Semple & Brouillet 1980b.
  9. ↑ Semple 2021c.
  10. ↑ Semple 2021d.
  11. ↑ Semple & Beck 2021a.
  12. 1 2 Semple n.d.a.
  13. ↑ International Plant Names Index.  Semple.

Related Research Articles

<i>Solidago</i> Genus of plants in the family Asteraceae

Solidago, commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of about 100 to 120 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are herbaceous perennial species found in open areas such as meadows, prairies, and savannas. They are mostly native to North America, including Mexico; a few species are native to South America and Eurasia. Some American species have also been introduced into Europe and other parts of the world.

<i>Symphyotrichum novae-angliae</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to central and eastern North America

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae) native to central and eastern North America. Commonly known as New England aster, hairy Michaelmas-daisy, or Michaelmas daisy, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant usually between 30 and 120 centimeters tall and 60 to 90 cm wide.

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

Oclemena is a small genus of North American flowering plants in the tribe Astereae within the family Asteraceae.

<i>Symphyotrichum</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae

Symphyotrichum is a genus of over 100 species and naturally occurring hybrids of herbaceous annual and perennial plants in the composite family, Asteraceae, most which were formerly treated within the genus Aster. The majority are endemic to North America, but several also occur in the West Indies, Central and South America, as well as in eastern Eurasia. Several species have been introduced to Europe as garden specimens, most notably New England aster and New York aster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astereae</span> Tribe of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae

Astereae is a tribe of plants in the family Asteraceae that includes annuals, biennials, perennials, subshrubs, shrubs, and trees. They are found primarily in temperate regions of the world. Plants within the tribe are present nearly worldwide divided into over 250 genera and more than 3,100 species, making it the second-largest tribe in the family behind Senecioneae.

<i>Symphyotrichum lateriflorum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to central and eastern North America

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae). Commonly known as calico aster, starved aster, and white woodland aster, it is native to eastern and central North America. It is a perennial and herbaceous plant that may reach heights up to 120 centimeters and widths up to 30 centimeters.

<i>Symphyotrichum pilosum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to central and eastern North America

Symphyotrichum pilosum is a perennial, herbaceous, flowering plant in the Asteraceae family native to central and eastern North America. It is commonly called hairy white oldfield aster, frost aster, white heath aster, heath aster, hairy aster, common old field aster, old field aster, or steelweed. It may reach 20 to 120 centimeters tall, and its flowers have white ray florets and yellow disk florets.

<i>Symphyotrichum lanceolatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to much of North America

Symphyotrichum lanceolatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to North America. Common names include panicled aster, lance-leaved aster, and white panicled aster. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 1.5 meters tall or more, sometimes approaching 2 m. The lance-shaped leaves are generally hairless but may feel slightly rough to the touch on the top because of tiny bristles. The flowers grow in clusters and branch in panicles. They have 16–50 white ray florets that are up to 14 millimeters long and sometimes tinged pink or purple. The flower centers consist of disk florets that begin as yellow and become purple as they mature.

<i>Symphyotrichum dumosum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to North America and Hispaniola

Symphyotrichum dumosum is a species of flowering plant of the family Asteraceae commonly known as rice button aster and bushy aster. It is native to much of eastern and central North America, as well as Haiti and Dominican Republic. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach a height of 1 meter.

<i>Solidago nana</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago nana is a North American plant species in the family Asteraceae, with the common names baby goldenrod and dwarf goldenrod. The species is native to deserts and mountainsides in the western United States, from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Basin in the states of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.

<i>Symphyotrichum patens</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to the United States

Symphyotrichum patens, commonly known as late purple aster or spreading aster, is a perennial, herbaceous plant found in the eastern United States.

<i>Symphyotrichum boreale</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to North America

Symphyotrichum boreale is a species of flowering plant of the aster family (Asteraceae) native to North America. Commonly known as rush aster, northern bog aster, and slender white aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach heights of 85 centimetres.

<i>Symphyotrichum ontarionis</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to eastern and central North America

Symphyotrichum ontarionis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to eastern North America. Commonly known as Ontario aster and bottomland aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach heights of 120 centimeters. Each flower head has many tiny florets put together into what appear as one.

<i>Symphyotrichum racemosum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to the US

Symphyotrichum racemosum is a species of flowering plant native to parts of the United States and introduced in Canada. It is known as smooth white oldfield aster and small white aster. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a late-summer and fall blooming flower.

<i>Symphyotrichum estesii</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae endemic to Coffee County, Tennessee, US

Symphyotrichum estesii is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, endemic to Coffee County, Tennessee. Commonly called May Prairie aster and Estes's aster, it is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 30 to 85 centimeters in height. Its flowers have white ray florets and yellow disk florets. It is named in honor of botanist Dwayne Estes who discovered it in 2008.

<i>Symphyotrichum simmondsii</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae endemic to the southeastern United States

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<i>Symphyotrichum potosinum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Arizona and Mexico

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<i>Symphyotrichum turneri</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Mexico

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphyotrichinae</span> Subtribe of plants in the family Asteraceae

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References

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