Carlyle August Luer (August 23, 1922 – November 9, 2019) was a

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

specializing in the

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

. His specialty interest was the

Pleurothallidinae The Pleurothallidinae are a neotropical subtribe of plants of the orchid family (Orchidaceae) including 29 genera in more than 4000 species. Naturally occurring species of this subtribe are among the more popular orchids of horticulturalists, es ...

(Genus ''

Pleurothallis ''Pleurothallis'' is a genus of orchids commonly called bonnet orchids. The genus name is derived from the Greek word , meaning "riblike branches". This refers to the rib-like stems of many species. The genus is often abbreviated as "Pths" in hor ...

'') and allied species. Born to Carl & Vera Luer, he was raised in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

and later attended

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

, graduating in 1946. From there he went on to be a surgeon in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

and upon retirement in 1975 took up the study and botanical illustration of Orchids. He aided in the foundation of the

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden located at 900 South Palm Avenue in Sarasota, Florida. The Gardens are located on the grounds of the former home of Marie and William Selby. The Gardens acquired the Historic Spanish Point ...

and was the first editor of their research journal ''Selbyana''. He was a senior curator at the

Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropy, philanthropist Henry Shaw (philanthropist), Henry Shaw. I ...

and published numerous articles and two books related to orchid taxonomy. Luer died at the age of 97 on November 9, 2019.

References

1922 births 2019 deaths People from Alton, Illinois Washington University School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Illinois 21st-century American botanists Missouri Botanical Garden people Washington University in St. Louis alumni Orchidologists {{botanist-stub