John Dransfield | |
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Known for | Botany Taxonomy Palm classification |
Spouse | Soejatmi Dransfield |
Scientific career | |
Author abbrev. (botany) | J.Dransf. |
John Dransfield (born 1945) is former head of palm research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. [1]
Dransfield has written or contributed to several books on palms, notably both the first and second editions of Genera Palmarum . The first edition was the standard reference for palm evolution and classification and the second edition, expanding on the original, is expected to achieve that same benchmark. [2]
He studied at the University of Cambridge, B.A.(1967) biology, M.A. (1970) botany and Ph.D. biology (1970) before working at Kew Gardens. [3]
Dransfield was awarded the inaugural David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration in 1999, recognising him as the "world authority on the systematics of the palm family (Arecaceae)". [4] In 2004, he was awarded the Linnean Medal, [5] an annual award given by the Linnean Society of London. In 2023 Dr. Dransfield was the recipient of the Dent Smith Memorial Award, the highest accolade from the International Palm Society. [6]
The genus Dransfieldia was named for him, as was the species Adonidia dransfieldii .
He married Soejatmi Dransfield (née Soejatmi Soenarko) in Malaysia (1977). [7]
Archontophoenicinae is a botanical subtribe consisting of four genera of palms, namely Archontophoenix from Queensland and New South Wales and Actinokentia, Chambeyronia and Kentiopsis from New Caledonia. Phylogenetic relationships between the four genera are unresolved.
Rhopalostylidinae is a botanical subtribe consisting of two genera of palms from Australia and New Zealand, Hedyscepe and Rhopalostylis. These two genera were formerly included in Archontophoenicinae, to which they are morphologically similar, until a recent revision.
Corypheae is a tribe of palm trees in the subfamily Coryphoideae. In previous classifications, tribe Corypheae included four subtribes: Coryphinae, Livistoninae, Thrinacinae and Sabalinae, but recent phylogenetic studies have led to the genera within these subtribes being transferred into other tribes. Tribe Corypheae is now restricted to the genus Corypha alone.
Cocoseae is a tribe of cocosoid palms of the family Arecaceae.
Areceae is a palm tree tribe in the family Arecaceae.
Dypsidinae is a subtribe of plants in the family Arecaceae.
Oncospermatinae is a palm tree subtribe in the tribe Areceae.
Ptychospermatinae is a palm tree subtribe in the tribe Areceae.
Caryoteae is a tribe in the palm family Arecaceae, distributed across Southeast Asia, from southern India and Sri Lanka east to Vanuatu and northernmost Queensland, Australia. It was long considered a member of subfamily Arecoideae on the basis of its inflorescences, which resemble those of tribe Iriarteeae, and the flowers arranged in triads, which are common across Arecoideae. However, phylogenetic studies based on DNA repeatedly link Caryoteae to subfamily Coryphoideae. Caryoteae do have leaves with induplicate folds, a feature found in most Coryphoid palms, but unlike most Coryphoideae, the leaves are pinnate or bipinnate (Caryota). Phoenix is the only other Coryphoid genus with induplicate, pinnate leaves.
Iriarteeae is a palm tribe in the subfamily Arecoideae.
Chamaedoreeae is a palm tribe in the subfamily Arecoideae. It has five genera.
Borasseae is a tribe in the palm subfamily Coryphoideae. The tribe ranges from southern Africa and Madagascar north through the Arabian Peninsula to India, Indochina, Indonesia and New Guinea. Several genera are restricted to islands in the Indian Ocean. The two largest genera, Hyphaene and Borassus, are also the most widespread.
Chuniophoeniceae is a tribe of palms in subfamily Coryphoideae of plant family Arecaceae. The four genera within the tribe are morphologically dissimilar and do not have overlapping distributions. Three of the genera are monotypic, while the fourth genus (Chuniophoenix) has three species.
Trachycarpeae is a tribe of palms in subfamily Coryphoideae of the plant family Arecaceae. It has the widest distribution of any tribe in Coryphoideae and is found on all continents, though the greatest concentration of species is in Southeast Asia. Trachycarpeae includes palms from both tropical and subtropical zones; the northernmost naturally-occurring palm is a member of this tribe. Several genera can be found in cultivation in temperate areas, for example species of Trachycarpus, Chamaerops, Rhapidophyllum and Washingtonia.
Phytelepheae is a tribe of plants in the subfamily Ceroxyloideae of the family Arecaceae.
Clinospermatinae is a subtribe of plants in the family Arecaceae.
Basseliniinae is a subtribe of plants in the family Arecaceae.
Pelagodoxeae is a tribe of plants in the family Arecaceae found in Oceania, namely in New Guinea and the Marquesas Islands. The tribe has two monotypic genera, which are:
Euterpeae is a tribe of Neotropical plants in the family Arecaceae. Genera in the tribe are:
Genera Palmarum is a botany reference book that gives a detailed overview of the systematic biology of the palm family (Arecaceae). The first edition of Genera Palmarum was published in 1987. The second edition was published in 2008, with a reprint published in 2014. Genera Palmarum is currently the most detailed monograph on palm taxonomy and systematics.