John Edward Braggins | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Wellington, New Zealand | 9 August 1944
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biology, bryology |
Institutions | University of Auckland |
Thesis |
John E. Braggins is a New Zealand botanist and bryologist, known for his research into ferns and liverworts. Braggins lectured at the University of Auckland from 1969 until 2000, during which time he supervised and mentored a significant number of New Zealand botanists. During Braggins' career, he has taken part in the identification of 12 species and one suborder, many of which are endemic New Zealand liverworts.
Braggins was born in Wellington on 9 August 1944. [2] [3] He was adopted by Edward George Braggins and Sarah Braggins, who moved to Dannevirke, where he spent much of his childhood. [4] For his first year of high school, the family moved back to Wellington, where Braggins attended Rongotai College. [4]
He developed an interest in ferns as a child, [3] in part due to his parents buying Braggins a copy of Herbert Boucher Dobbie's New Zealand Ferns. His parents allowed him to build ferneries at the family's homes in Dannevirke and Wellington. [4]
Braggins attended the Victoria University of Wellington, attaining a Bachelor of Science in 1966, followed by a Master of Science in 1969, [4] during which he studied the fern genus Botrychium. [5] At university, Braggins was an active part of the Victoria University biological society, and attended field trips organised by the Wellington Botanical Society. [4]
In 1969, Braggins moved to Auckland, where he became a lecturer in botany at the University of Auckland and worked on a PhD on Pteris ferns, [3] [5] being awarded the doctorate in 1975. [2] Braggins became a senior lecturer in the biology department, [6] and was a supervisor and lecturer for biologists such as Elizabeth Brown, Peter de Lange, Matt Renner, Matt von Konrat, Dan Blanchon and Mark F. Large, [3] [2] many of whom were inspired to become bryologists by Braggins. [4] Braggins collaborated with Large to produce Spore Atlas of New Zealand Ferns and Fern Allies (1991). [3] [2] The pair continued collaborating on fern-related studies, and in 2004 produced the book Tree Ferns, the first major work focusing entirely on the taxonomy and horticulture of tree ferns. [7] [8]
Braggins developed an interest for hornworts and liverworts during his university studies, which led to him making major contributions to the knowledge of New Zealand endemic liverworts, including making descriptions for nine liverwort species, and contributing to Engel & Glenny's Flora of the Liverworts and Hornworts of New Zealand. [5] Over time, Braggins became known as one of the leading experts in hepaticology (the study of liverworts) in New Zealand. [4] At the University of Auckland, Braggins worked on the identification of Riccardia furtiva in 1989 and Zoopsis nitida in 1997. [2]
Braggins lectured at the University of Auckland until 2000, [2] when he was made to retire due to a department restructure. [4] This led Braggins to becoming an honorary research associate of Auckland War Memorial Museum, where he donated many of his type specimens, and working as a freelance botanical consultant. [4] Braggins worked on identifying the Libertia species L. cranwelliae and L. mooreae (named after Lucy Cranwell and Lucy Moore respectively) in 2002, [9] and helped in the identification of five species of Frullania liverworts between 2003 and 2011. [2] Further collaborative work by Braggins helped in the identification of the liverworts Lophocolea mediinfrons and Schizophyllopsis papillosa in 2013, and in 2015, the suborder Myliineae, which Braggins had identified in 2005 with J. J. Engel, was formally described. [10]
In 2020, Braggins collaborated on a paper which established Pteris carsei as a distinct species separate from Pteris comans ; something that Braggins had originally recognised in his 1975 PhD. [11]
In 1999, Braggins received the Borg-Warner Robert O. Bass Visiting Scientist award by the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. [13] Braggins received the Allan Mere Award, the premier award given by the New Zealand Botanical Society, in 2013. [14] In 2024, Braggins became an Associate Emeritus of Auckland War Memorial Museum, in recognition for his contributions to plant taxonomy, education and dedication to botany. [3]
Two species have been named after Braggins: the monotypic liverwort Bragginsella anomala in 1997, [15] [5] and the liverwort Lepidozia bragginsiana in 2014. The taxon authors of Lepidozia bragginsiana chose to recognise Braggins due to his role in organising liverwort collecting expeditions and for mentoring younger bryologists. [16]
Jungermanniaceae is the namesake family of leafy liverworts. It is a group of small plants that are widely distributed. Several genera formerly included within the family are now classified in the Myliaceae or Solenostomataceae.
Libertia is a genus of monocotyledonous plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1824. It is native to South America, Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand. Eight species are endemic to New Zealand.
Aneuraceae is a family of thallose liverworts in the order Metzgeriales. Most species are very small with narrow, branching thalli.
Solenostomataceae is a family of liverworts in the order Jungermanniales.
Acrobolbus epiphytus is a liverwort species in the genus Acrobolbus. It occurs in New Zealand.
Gymnomitriaceae is a liverwort family in the order Jungermanniales.
Cephaloziaceae is a family of liverworts.
The Botany of Lord Auckland's Group and Campbell's Island is a description of the plants discovered in those islands during the Ross expedition written by Joseph Dalton Hooker and published by Reeve Brothers in London between 1844 and 1845. Hooker sailed on HMS Erebus as assistant surgeon. It was the first in a series of four Floras in the Flora Antarctica, the others being the Botany of Fuegia, the Falklands, Kerguelen's Land, Etc. (1845–1847), the Flora Novae-Zelandiae (1851–1853), and the Flora Tasmaniae (1853–1859). They were "splendidly" illustrated by Walter Hood Fitch.
Petalophyllum, or petalwort, is a genus of liverworts in the order Fossombroniales.
Aneura is a genus of liverworts in the family Aneuraceae.
Lophocolea is a genus of liverworts belonging to the family Lophocoleaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution.
Elizabeth Anne Brown was a New Zealand-born Australian bryologist who primarily contributed to the systematics of liverworts.
Anastrophyllaceae is a family of liverworts belonging to the order Jungermanniales.
Balantiopsidaceae is a family of liverworts belonging to the order Jungermanniales.
Frullania wairua, the spirit liverwort or radar bush liverwort, is a species of liverwort in the order Porellales. It is one of 24 species in the large genus Frullania that are native to New Zealand. The species was first described by Matt von Konrat and John E. Braggins in 2005 in the New Zealand Journal of Botany.
Frullania hattorii is a species of liverwort in the order Porellales, native to Tasmania, Australia. The species was first described by Matt von Konrat and John E. Braggins in 2003.
Frullania truncatistyla is a species of liverwort in the order Porellales. The species was first described by Matt von Konrat, Jörn Hentschel, Jochen Heinrichs and John E. Braggins in 2011, and is native to New Zealand.
Frullania colliculosa is a species of liverwort in the order Porellales, native to New Zealand. The species was first described by Matt Von Konrat, Jörn Hentschel, Jochen Heinrichs, John E. Braggins and Tamás Pócs in 2010.
Frullania hodgsoniae is a species of liverwort in the order Porellales, native to New Zealand. The species was first described by Matt Von Konrat, Jörn Hentschel, Jochen Heinrichs, John E. Braggins and Tamás Pócs in 2010.
Lepidozia bragginsiana is a species of liverwort in the order Jungermanniales, native to New Zealand. The species was first described by Endymion Dante Cooper and Matthew Anton Martyn Renner in 2014.