Harold Ernest Robinson (May 22, 1932 – December 17, 2020) was an American botanist and entomologist.

Career

Robinson's specialty was the sunflower family (

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

) and the

bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in s ...

s. He has named or described over 2,800 new species and subtribes, more than one tenth of the number of species in the Asteraceae. This figure is also about one quarter of the number of flowering plants described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

. Robinson has written over 650 publications, mainly on the Asteraceae, mosses (Bryophyta),

Marchantiophyta The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of ...

, and the long-legged fly family

Dolichopodidae Dolichopodidae, the long-legged flies, are a large, cosmopolitan family of true flies with more than 7,000 described species in about 230 genera. The genus ''Dolichopus'' is the most speciose, with some 600 species. Dolichopodidae generally are ...

(describing over 200 new species and 6 new genera, such as '' Harmstonia'' and '' Nanomyina'') and many other subjects. He received a B.S. from

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

in 1955, an M.S. from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

in 1957, a Ph.D. from Duke University in 1960. From 1960 to 1962 as assistant professor at

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was founded in 1854. The campus is a national arboretum and one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the America ...

(

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Off ...

), he became Associate Curator of

lower plants Non-vascular plants are plants without a vascular system consisting of xylem and phloem. Instead, they may possess simpler tissues that have specialized functions for the internal transport of water. Non-vascular plants include two distantly rel ...

at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, Washington (1960–1962). Later he was appointed Associate Curator (1964–1971) and finally Curator of Botany from 1971.

Research

Robinson, together with collaborators, investigated the taxonomy of several bryophytes,

green alga The green algae (singular: green alga) are a group consisting of the Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister which contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/Streptophyta. The land plants (Embryophytes) have emerged deep in the Charophyte alga as ...

e (co-naming a new genus '' Struveopsis''), and

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

s of family Hippocrateaceae (now a synonym of the staff vine family

Celastraceae The Celastraceae (staff-vine or bittersweet) are a family of 97 genera and 1,350 species of herbs, vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales. The great majority of the genera are tropical, with only ''Celastrus'' (the sta ...

). He made a study of the

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...

of the genus '' Houstonia'' of the madder family. Robinson's major interest went to the sunflower family (

). In the

neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

al tribe

Eupatorieae Eupatorieae is a tribe of over 2000D.J.N.Hind & H.E.Robinson. 2007. Tribe Eupatorieae In: ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol.VIII. (Joachim W.Kadereit & Charles Jeffrey, volume editors. Klaus Kubitzky, general editor). Springer-Ve ...

, Robinson (with co-worker King) has named at least one species in 27 of the genera. He later worked on the reorganization of the tribes Senecioneae,

Heliantheae The Heliantheae (sometimes called the sunflower tribe) are the third-largest tribe in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). With some 190 genera and nearly 2500 recognized species, only the tribes Senecioneae and Astereae are larger. The name is ...

Liabeae Liabeae is a tribe in the plant family Asteraceae. It is endemic to the Neotropics, where it is most diverse in the northern and central Andes.Dillon, M. O., et alChapter 27: Liabeae.In: Funk, V. A., et al. (eds.) ''Systematics, Evolution, and Bi ...

, and

Vernonieae Vernonieae is a tribe of about 1300 species of plants in the aster family. They are mostly found in the tropics and warmer temperate areas, both in the Americas and the Old World. They are mostly herbaceous plants or shrubs, although there is a ...

. Robinson has made a detailed study of the many secondary metabolite chemicals found in the Eupatorieae tribe, such as

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s, (poly) acetylenes, and

terpenoid The terpenoids, also known as isoprenoids, are a class of naturally occurring organic chemicals derived from the 5-carbon compound isoprene and its derivatives called terpenes, diterpenes, etc. While sometimes used interchangeably with "terpenes" ...

s (see ''

Ichthyothere ''Ichthyothere'' is a genus of flowering plants, found in parts of South America (the Amazon) and Central America. The name ''ichthyothere'' literally translates as ''fish poison''. These plants' active constituent is a chemical called ichthyot ...

''), together with and Ferdinand Bohlmann. This resulted in a large number of publications mostly in the journal '' Phytochemistry'' in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1970 Robinson and King stressed the need for diagnostic character analysis in his classic article entitled ''The New Synantherology''. In 1974 Robinson named a new subtribe Luziolinae of oryzoid (= rice-like)

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

es Poaceae, but this was not supported by molecular study. Robinson also named the small genus '' Synanthes'' of

epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

s from Paraguay, as well as named 32 new species from the bromeliad family. These were mostly in the genera '' Navia'' and '' Lindmania'', '' Connellia'', and ''

Cottendorfia ''Cottendorfia'' is a genus of plants in the family Bromeliaceae. The genus name is for Johann Georg Freiherr Cotta von Cottendorf, German patron of the sciences (1796-1863). There is only one known species, ''Cottendorfia florida'', endemic t ...

'', such as '' Navia albiflora'' and '' Navia aliciae''. In 1999 he merged '' Pepinia'' into ''

Pitcairnia ''Pitcairnia'' is a genus of plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Pitcairnioideae. It was named for William Pitcairn, Scottish physician and gardener (1711–1791). The genus ''Pitcairnia'' ranks as the second most prolific of the bromel ...

'' at generic level. He made several illustrations for the ''Catalog of Botanical Illustrations'', Smithsonian Institution, such as for '' Brewcaria duidensis''. In 1986 Robinson gave a critical but constructive opinion on

cladistics Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived cha ...

in the article. "A Key to the Common Errors of Cladistics".

Awards and legacy

In 2010, Robinson received the

Asa Gray Award Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

, the highest honour of the

American Society of Plant Taxonomists The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) is a botanical organization formed in 1935 to "foster, encourage, and promote education and research in the field of plant taxonomy, to include those areas and fields of study that contribute to and b ...

. In 1996, the plant genus '' Robinsonecio'' (in the family

) from Mexico and Guatemala, and then '' Haroldia'', which is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s belonging to the family Asteraceae, was published in 2009, were both named in his honour.

Selected works

* Rhyne, C. and H. Robinson. 1968. ''Struveopsis'', a new genus of green algae. Phytologia 17:467-472 * Robinson, H. 1969, A Monograph of Foliar Anatomy of the Genera ''Connellia'', ''Cottendorfia'' and ''Navia'' (Bromeliaceae). Washington.. * King, R. M., & H. Robinson. 1970. The new synantherology. Taxon 19:6-11. * King, R. M., and H. Robinson. 1970 : ''Eupatorium'', a composite genus of Arcto-Tertiary distribution. Taxon 19: 769–774. * King, R. M., and H. Robinson 1970 : Studies in the Eupatorieae (Compositae). XXV. A new genus ''Eupatoriadelphus''. Phytologia 19: 431–432. * King, R. M., & H. Robinson. 1970. New combinations in ''Ageratina''. Phytologia 19:208-229. * Reed, C. F. and H. Robinson. 1971. Bryophytes of Monteverde, Costa Rica. Phytologia 21: 6-21. * Terrell E. E., H. Robinson, 1974 Luziolinae, a new subtribe of oryzoid grasses. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 101: 235-235 SI* King, R. M. & H. Robinson. 1975.- Studies in the Eupatorieae (Asteraceae), CXXXIX. A new genus, ''Aristeguietia''. - Phytologia 30: 217–220. * Robinson H., 1978 Studies in the Heliantheae (Asteraceae). XII. Re-establishment of the genus ''Smallanthus''. Phytologia 39: 47-47 * Robinson H.,: 1978 - . Compositae-Liabeae. 1978. 63 pp. Flora of Ecuador volume 8 * Robinson H., 1980 Studies in the Heliantheae (Asteraceae). XXVI. New species of ''Ichthyothere''. Phytologia 47: 128-128 * Robinson H., 1981 A revision of the tribal and subtribal limits of the Heliantheae (Asteraceae). Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 51: 1-1 * Robinson H., A. M. Powell, R. M. King, J. F. Weedin, 1981 Chromosome numbers in Compositae. XII. Heliantheae. Smithsonian Contribributions to Botany 52: 1-1 * Bohlmann, F., Zdero, C., Grenz, M., Dhar, A.K., Robinson, H., King, R.M.. "Naturally occurring terpene derivatives .307. 5 diterpene and other constituents from 9 ''Baccharis'' species." - Phytochemistry 20 281 - 286, 1981. * Robinson H., 1983 Studies in the Heliantheae (Asteraceae). XXX. A new species of ''Ichthyothere'' from Cayenne. Phytologia 53: 388-388 * * Terrell, E.E., W.H. Lewis, H. Robinson, and J.W. Nowicke. 1986. Phylogenetic implications of diverse seed types, chromosome numbers, and pollen morphology in ''Houstonia'' (Rubiaceae) Am. J. Bot. 73:103-115. * King, R.M. & Robinson, H. 1987. The genera of the Eupatorieae (Asteraceae). Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 22: 1–581. * Robinson, H. 1993. A review of the genus ''Critoniopsis'' in Central and South America (Vernonieae: Asteraceae) Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 106: 606–627. * Robinson, H. 1993. Three new genera of Vernonieae from South America, ''Dasyandantha'', ''Dasyanthina'', and ''Quechualia''. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 106(4): 775–785. * Robinson, H., & J. Cuatrecasas. 1993. New species of ''Pentacalia'' (Senecioneae: Asteraceae) from Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Novon 3(3): 284–301. * Robinson, H. 1994. ''Cololobus'', ''Pseudopiptocarpha'', and ''Trepadonia'', three new genera from South America (Vernonieae: Asteraceae). Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 107(3): 557–568. * Robinson, H. 1994. New combination in American Vernonieae (Asteraceae). Phytologia 76: 27–29. * Robinson, H. 1995. New combinations and new species in American Vernonieae (Asteraceae). Phytologia 78(5): 384–399. * Robinson, H. 1995. Two new species of ''Ichthyothere'' (Heliantheae: Asteraceae) from Ecuador and Peru. Sida 16(4): 731–736. *Robinson, H. & V. Funk. 1995. Compositae of Ecuador I: Key to frequently collected genera. In: R. Valencia & H. Balslev (eds.) Estudios sobre diversidad y ecología de plantas, p. 65-75. PUCE, Quito. * Robinson, H. 1997. New species of ''Aphanactis'' in Ecuador and Bolivia and new combinations in ''Selloa'' (Heliantheae: Asteraceae). Brittonia 49(1): 71–78. * Robinson, H. 1997. New species of ''Aphanactis'', ''Calea'', ''Clibadium'' and ''Tridax'' (Heliantheae, Asteraceae) from Ecuador and Peru. Phytologia 82(1): 58–62. * Robinson, H. 1997. New species of ''Archibaccharis'' and ''Baccharis'' from Bolivia and Peru (Asteraceae: Astereae). Biollania, Edición Esp. No. 6: 501–508. * Robinson, H. 1997. New species of ''Ayapanopsis'' and ''Hebeclinum'' from South America (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae). Biollania, Edición Esp. No. 6: 509–514. * Robinson, H. 1999 New species and new combinations of Neotropical Eupatorieae (Asteraceae). Phytologia 84: 347–353. * Robinson, H. 1999. Generic and subtribal classification of American Vernonieae. Smithson. Contributions Bot. 89: 1–116.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Harold E. 1932 births 2020 deaths Duke University alumni American phycologists 21st-century American botanists Botanists with author abbreviations Bryologists American entomologists People from Syracuse, New York Ohio University alumni University of Tennessee alumni Wofford College faculty Scientists from New York (state)