Thomas Gordon Hartley (9 January 1931 in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the seat of government of Jefferson County, within the Beaumont– Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston ( ...

– 8 March 2016 in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, Australia) was an American

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Biography

In 1955 Hartley graduated in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

with the academic degree

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In 1957 he received his

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

and in 1962 his Ph.D. degree at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...

. From 1961 to 1965 he led an expedition of the

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...

for the study of

phytochemical Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes . Some phytochemicals have been used as poison ...

s. From 1965 to 1971 he was associative curator at the

Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. In 1971, he became a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO Plant Industry,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. Thomas Gordon Hartley became notable for his study on the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Der ...

. He described several new plant taxa and genera from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

like ''

Maclurodendron ''Maclurodendron'' is a plant genus in the family Rutaceae. It was first described in 1982 by Thomas Gordon Hartley. It consists of six evergreen tree species in particular native to Vietnam, China, Peninsular Malaysia, and Borneo. They are dio ...

'' and ''Neoschmidia'' and wrote revisions on genera like ''

Zanthoxylum ''Zanthoxylum'' is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type genus of the tribe Zanthoxyleae in ...

'' and ''

Acronychia ''Acronychia'' is a genus of about fifty species of plants in the rue family Rutaceae. The leaves are simple or pinnate, and the flowers bisexual with four sepals, four petals and eight stamens. They have a broad distribution including in India, ...

''. In 1989, he and Benjamin Clemens Stone made a major revision of the genera ''

Melicope ''Melicope'' is a genus of about 240 species of shrubs and trees in the family Rutaceae, occurring from the Hawaiian Islands across the Pacific Ocean to tropical Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Plants in the genus ''Melicope'' have simple or ...

'' and ''Pelea'' when they largely synonymized the genus ''Pelea'' with the genus ''Melicope''. In 1969, botanist

Hermann Otto Sleumer Hermann Otto Sleumer (February 21, 1906 in Saarbrücken – October 1, 1993 in Oegstgeest) was a Dutch botanist of German birth. The plant genera ''Sleumerodendron'' Virot (Proteaceae) and ''Sleumeria'' Utteridge, Nagam. & Teo (Icacinaceae The I ...

named a genus of plants from

, ''

Hartleya ''Hartleya'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Stemonuraceae. The only species is ''Hartleya inopinata''. It is native to New Guinea. The genus name of ''Hartleya'' is in honour of Thomas Gordon Hartley (1931–201 ...

'' (from the family

Stemonuraceae Stemonuraceae is a eudicot family of flowering plants. Genera This listing was sourced from the Angiosperm Phylogeny Website and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew * '' Cantleya'' * '' Codiocarpus'' * '' Discophora'' * '' Gastrolepis'' * ''Gomphand ...

) in Hartley's honour.

Selected works

*1966: ''A revision of the Malesian species of Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae)'' *1967: ''A revision of the genus Lunasia (Rutaceae)'' *1969: ''A revision of the genus Flindersia (Rutaceae)'' *1970: ''Additional notes on the Malesian species of Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae)'' *1974: ''A revision of the genus Acronychia (Rutaceae)'' *1975: ''Additional notes on the genus Flindersia (Rutaceae)'' *1975: ''A new species of Zanthoxylum (Rutaceae) from New Guinea'' *1977: ''A revision of the genus Acradenia (Rutaceae)'' *1977: ''A revision of the genus Bosistoa (Rutaceae)'' *1989: (with Benjamin Clemens Stone): ''Reduction of Pelea with new combinations in Melicope (Rutaceae)''. Taxon 38: 119–23 *2001: ''Allertonia. On the taxonomy and biogeography of Euodia and Melicope (Rutaceae).''

References

External links

Short biography from the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Thomas Gordon 1931 births 2016 deaths American botanists University of Iowa alumni University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni Harvard University staff Arnold Arboretum