Naomi Fraga

Last updated
Naomi Fraga
Born1979 (age 4344)
Alma mater Claremont Graduate University
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Scientific career
Institutions California Botanic Garden
Thesis Diversity, endemism and conservation of California Monkeyflowers (Phrymaceae): a case study in Erythranthe section Paradantha  (2015)

Naomi Suzanne Fraga (born 1979) is an American botanist who is the Director of Conservation at the California Botanic Garden and research assistant professor of botany at Claremont Graduate University. She has focused her career on the conservation, monitoring and habitat restoration of rare plants across California. She was awarded the 2021 Center for Biological Diversity E.O. Wilson Award for Outstanding Science in Biodiversity Conservation. In 2023, Fraga received the Peter Raven Award from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. This award is given annually to a plant systematist who has made exceptional efforts at outreach to non-scientists.

Contents

Early life and education

Brodiaea filifolia, photo by Naomi Fraga Brodiaeafilifolia.jpg
Brodiaea filifolia, photo by Naomi Fraga

Fraga grew up in California. She was an undergraduate student at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona where she studied biology and botany. [1] [2] In 2002 she wrote a senior thesis on A Short Flora of Short Canyon, Kern County,California. [3]

Starting from 2001 she worked as a volunteer at the herbarium of the California Botanic Garden — then named "Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (RSABG)" — in Claremont, California. [1]

She undertook her master studies in botany at the Claremont Graduate University, finishing in 2005 with a thesis on A Vascular Flora of the Owens Peak Eastern Watershed, southern Sierra, Kern County, California. [3]

In 2015 she earned her Ph.D. with a dissertation on Phrymaceae , California Monkeyflowers. [4]

Research and career

Carson Valley monkeyflower, Erythranthe carsonensis, recognized as a distinct species by Naomi Fraga in 2012, after having been confused with Erythranthe (=Mimulus) montioides since its discovery in the mid 1800s. Carson Valley monkeyflower, Erythranthe carsonensis (29944039842).jpg
Carson Valley monkeyflower, Erythranthe carsonensis, recognized as a distinct species by Naomi Fraga in 2012, after having been confused with Erythranthe (=Mimulus) montioides since its discovery in the mid 1800s.

Fraga works as a research assistant professor at Claremont Graduate University. [1] She is responsible for the California Seed Bank which homes billions of seeds and the world's largest collection of native plant seeds from California.[ citation needed ]

Fraga campaigned to protect Tiehm's buckwheat (Eriogonum tiehmii), which was treated by the proposed construction of a lithium mine. [5] Tiehm's buckwheat has suffered in the changing climate of California, particularly with the diminished rainfall, excess temperatures and reduction in groundwater. [6] When Tiehm's buckwheat becomes stressed the plants that sprout do not produce viable seeds. [6] She also monitors and maintains the Amargosa niterwort (Nitrophila mohavensis) and contributed to the recovery of the Hidden Lake bluecurls (Trichostema austromontanum subsp. compactum). [7]

The standard author abbreviation N.S.Fraga is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name . [8]

Awards and honors

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

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

Mimulus, also known as monkeyflowers, is a plant genus in the family Phrymaceae, which was traditionally placed in family Scrophulariaceae. The genus now contains only seven species, two native to eastern North America and the other five native to Asia, Australia, Africa, or Madagascar. In the past, about 150 species were placed in this genus, most of which have since been assigned to other genera, the majority to genus Erythranthe.

<i>Diplacus rupicola</i> Species of flowering plant

Diplacus rupicola, the Death Valley monkeyflower, is a flowering plant in the family Phrymaceae.

<i>Erythranthe cardinalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythranthe cardinalis, the scarlet monkeyflower, is a flowering perennial in the family Phrymaceae. Together with other species in Mimulus section Erythranthe, it serves as a model system for studying pollinator-based reproductive isolation. It was formerly known as Mimulus cardinalis.

<i>Erythranthe nudata</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythranthe nudata, the bare monkeyflower, is a species of monkeyflower endemic to the serpentine soils of Colusa, Lake and Napa Counties in California. It is an annual flower with bright yellow tube-shaped blooms and small narrow leaves.

Diplacus aridus, is a species of monkeyflower with yellow blossoms. It was formerly known as Mimulus aridus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Folger Thorne</span> American botanist (1920–2015)

Robert F. Thorne was an American botanist. He was taxonomist and curator emeritus at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and professor emeritus at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. His research has contributed to the understanding of the evolution of flowering plants.

<i>Erythranthe alsinoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythranthe alsinoides is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names wingstem monkeyflower and chickweed monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus alsinoides.

Diplacus clevelandii is an uncommon species of monkeyflower known by the common name Cleveland's bush monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus clevelandii.

<i>Erythranthe floribunda</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythranthe floribunda is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name many-flowered monkeyflower. It is native to western North America from western Canada to California and northern Mexico, to the Rocky Mountains. It grows in many types of habitat, especially moist areas. It was formerly known as Mimulus floribundus.

Erythranthe parishii is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Parish's monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus parishii.

<i>Diplacus pictus</i> Species of flowering plant

Diplacus pictus is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name calico monkeyflower.

<i>Mimetanthe</i> Species of flowering plant

Mimetanthe is a genus of flowering plants in the family Phrymaceae. It has only one species, Mimetanthe pilosa, synonym Mimulus pilosus, known by the common names false monkeyflower and downy mimetanthe. It is native to the western United States and Baja California, where it grows in moist and disturbed habitat types. This plant is different enough from other monkeyflowers that it is treated in its own monotypic genus, Mimetanthe, or it may be retained in Mimulus.

Erythranthe pulsiferae is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names candelabrum monkeyflower and Pulsifer's monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus pulsiferae. It is native to the western United States from Washington to northern California, where it grows in wet habitat such as streambanks. It is an annual herb growing 2 to 21 centimeters tall. The leaves occur in a basal rosette and oppositely along the stem, each on a short petiole and with an oval blade. The tubular base of the flower is encapsulated in a ribbed calyx of sepals with tiny pointed lobes. The flower is roughly a centimeter long and yellow in color, sometimes with red spotting or pink-tinged white coloration in the mouth.

<i>Diplacus pygmaeus</i> Species of flowering plant

Diplacus pygmaeus is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Egg Lake monkeyflower.

<i>Erythranthe shevockii</i> Species of flowering plant

Erythranthe shevockii is a rare species of monkeyflower known by the common name Kelso Creek monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus shevockii.

<i>Erythranthe</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Phrymaceae

Erythranthe, the monkey-flowers and musk-flowers, is a diverse plant genus with more than 120 members in the family Phrymaceae. Erythranthe was originally described as a separate genus, then generally regarded as a section within the genus Mimulus, and recently returned to generic rank. Mimulus sect. Diplacus was segregated from Mimulus as a separate genus at the same time. Mimulus remains as a small genus of eastern North America and the Southern Hemisphere. Molecular data show Erythranthe and Diplacus to be distinct evolutionary lines that are distinct from Mimulus as strictly defined, although this nomenclature is controversial.

<i>Thyridia repens</i> Species of flowering plant

Thyridia repens, with common names creeping monkeyflower, Native musk, Maori musk, and native monkey flower, is a herbaceous succulent plant native to New Zealand and Australia that grows as low mats. Its flowers are light purple or white. It is the only species in the genus Thyridia.

Dr. Lucinda A. McDade is an American botanist and plant collector who is noted for her study of Acanthaceae and her work in conservation biology. She received her B.S. in Biology from Newcomb College of Tulane University, and her Ph.D. in Botany/Zoology from Duke University.

<i>Eriogonum tiehmii</i> Species of buckwheat plant endemic to Nevada

Eriogonum tiehmii, known as Tiehm's buckwheat, is a species of flowering plant endemic to the Silver Peak Range of Esmeralda County, Nevada in the United States. Its only known population is at high risk of destruction due to proposed mining for lithium by Australian company Ioneer. In 2020, a noticeable decline in the known population was attributed to the mining operation.

<i>Erythranthe barbata</i> Species of plant

Erythranthe barbata, the bearded monkeyflower, is a species of plant in the lopseed family endemic to the southern Sierra Nevada mountains in the state of California.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Naomi Fraga ·Claremont Graduate University". Claremont Graduate University. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  2. "Conservation Champion: Naomi Fraga, Ph.D." Center for Plant Conservation. 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  3. 1 2 "Naomi Fraga homepage". anabaena.net. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  4. Fraga (2015).
  5. Barber, Gregory. "The Lithium Mine Versus the Wildflower". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  6. 1 2 "California builds a 'Noah's Ark' to protect wildlife from extinction by fire and heat". Los Angeles Times. 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  7. 1 2 "2019 Recovery Champions | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service". FWS.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  8. International Plant Names Index.  N.S.Fraga.
  9. "CPC Star Awards". Center for Plant Conservation. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  10. "California Botanist Named 2021 E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Award Recipient". Center for Biological Diversity. Retrieved 2022-07-29.