Geoffrey Thomas Sandford Baylis
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Geoffrey Thomas Sandford Baylis (24 November 1913 – 31 December 2003) was a New Zealand botanist and
Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...
specialising in
plant pathology Plant pathology or phytopathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Plant pathology involves the study of pathogen identification, disease ...
and
mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...
. He was employed at the
University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...
for 34 years undertaking research into plant and fungal ecology and symbiotic interactions, taxonomy and anatomy. He collected hundreds of plant specimens in the field and founded the Otago Regional Herbarium (OTA). He discovered the sole ''
Pennantia baylisiana ''Pennantia baylisiana'', commonly known as Three Kings kaikōmako or (Māori language, Māori), is a species of plant in the family Pennantiaceae (Icacinaceae in older classifications). It is Endemism, endemic to Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Is ...
'' living on Three Kings Island in 1945, and was elected as a Fellow of the
Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...
in 1961.


Early life and education

Baylis was born in Palmerston North to Gerald Baylis, an agricultural scientist, and his wife Daisy (Kathleen Daisy Baylis (nee Aston), sister of New Zealand botanist
Bernard Aston Bernard Cracroft Aston (9 August 1871 – 31 May 1951), also known as Barney Aston, was New Zealand's first official agricultural chemist and was also a notable botanist. He was born in Beckenham, Kent, England, on 9 August 1871. He was a m ...
). The family moved to
Campbells Bay Campbells Bay is a suburb of the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore located in Auckland, New Zealand. Geography Campbells Bay is located in the East Coast Bays of the North Shore, New Zealand, North Shore, between Mairangi Bay and Casto ...
on Auckland's North Shore in 1920, where Geoff and his sister Geraldine attended Takapuna Primary School and were then some of the first students at Campbells Bay School. Geoff attended
Takapuna Grammar School Takapuna Grammar School is a state coeducational secondary school located in the suburb of Belmont on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Established in 1927, the school mainly serves the eponymous suburb of Takapuna and the entire Dev ...
before enrolling at the
University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
(then Auckland University College) in 1931. In 1935, he earned his MSc on the ecology of the
mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
''Avicennia resinifera'' (now ''
Avicennia marina ''Avicennia marina'', commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae (formerly in the Verbenaceae or Avicenniaceae). As with other mangroves, it occurs in the intert ...
'' subsp. a''ustralasia'') with a thesis entitled, "Some observations on ''Avicennia officinalis'' Linn in New Zealand". In 1936, a scholarship enabled Baylis to attend London Imperial College where he gained his PhD in 1938 in Plant Pathology. His PhD thesis was entitled, "The influence of certain fungi on the germination of peas; and, A physiological study of the pathogenicity of several species of
Sclerotinia ''Sclerotinia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Sclerotiniaceae. The widely distributed genus contains 14 species. Taxonomy A number of species previously assigned to ''Sclerotinia'' are now considered to be members of the closely related gen ...
". On returning to New Zealand, Baylis joined the DSIR at
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where he researched diseases of linen flax (''Linum usitatissimum''). In 1940, he volunteered for the
Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...
. During his
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
service he served on board HMS ''Crocus'' on Atlantic convoy duty.


Professional life

In 1946, he was appointed Lecturer-in-Charge of Botany at
University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...
, taking over from the Rev. Dr J. E. Holloway. He became first Professor of Botany (1952) and was Head of the Department for 34 years, retiring in 1978. Based on his numerous plant collections, Baylis founded the Otago Regional Herbarium (OTA), which is located at the Botany Department at the University of Otago. Geoff Baylis' research made several important contributions to our understanding of the role of mycorrhizae, or the symbiotic relationship between plant roots and soil fungi. His pioneering experiments on endomycorrhizae in broadleaf ('' Griselinia littoralis'') showed that seedlings growing in natural soils develop vescicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae by associating with fungi that assist with
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...
uptake, whereas seedlings that did not develop such mycorrhize stagnated. Other researchers at the University of Otago (including Baylis and his research students) and elsewhere completed similar studies on other plants thereby extending his early results.


Honours and awards

He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...
in 1961, and attended his last Fellows' AGM on his 90th birthday, as one of the two longest serving living fellows. He served on the
Otago Museum Otago (, ; ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government region. Its po ...
Trust Board as the University's Representative. He received the Royal Society's
Hutton Medal The Hutton Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Society Te Apārangi to a researcher who, working within New Zealand, has significantly advanced understanding through work of outstanding scientific or technological merit. Frederick Wollaston Hu ...
in 1994; he was a foundation and life-long member and President of the New Zealand Ecological Society; and in 1997 he was elected an Associate of Honour of the Royal Horticultural Institute of New Zealand. He also served for many years on the Catlins Forest Park Advisory Committee. In 1959, Geoff became one of the three founding Governors of the Hellaby Grasslands Trust, a position he maintained for 42 years. The annual Geoff Baylis Lecture was established by the Botanical Society of Otago in 2002 to honour his contributions to the society and field of botany. Geoff Baylis was the speaker at the inaugural lecture in 2002, and as of 2022 there have been a total of 20 different lectures and speakers in the intervening years.


Eponymy

The following species of plants and fungi have been named in honour of Geoff Baylis: * The critically endangered tree, ''
Pennantia baylisiana ''Pennantia baylisiana'', commonly known as Three Kings kaikōmako or (Māori language, Māori), is a species of plant in the family Pennantiaceae (Icacinaceae in older classifications). It is Endemism, endemic to Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Is ...
'' (W.R.B.Oliv) G.T.S.Baylis, or Three Kings kaikōmako. * The
liverwort Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry ...
'' Plagiochila baylisii''
Inoue Inoue (kanji: , historical kana orthography: ''Winouhe'') is the 16th most common Japanese surname. Historically, it was also romanized as Inouye, and many Japanese-descended people outside of Japan still retain this spelling. A less common varia ...
& R.M.Schust., which was thought to be endemic to
Fiordland Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...
, South Island, New Zealand but is also known from
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, Australia. * The critically endangered
secotioid Secotioid fungi produce an intermediate fruiting body form that is between the mushroom-like hymenomycetes and the closed bag-shaped gasteroid fungi, gasteromycetes, where an evolutionary process of gasteromycetation has started but not run to co ...
fungus '' Deconica baylisiana'' ( E. Horak) J.A. Cooper (originally described by
Egon Horak Egon Horak (born Innsbruck in 1937) is an Austrian mycologist who has described more than 1000 species of fungi, including many from the Southern Hemisphere, particularly New Zealand and South America. He was an executive editor of the scientific ...
in 1971 as ''Nivatogastrium baylisianum'' E. Horak).


Family and personal life

In his younger years, Baylis was an avid mountaineer and took part in several climbing trips to the
Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...
. In 1965 he and his climbing companions had to be rescued by plane after being trapped by bad weather on the
Volta Glacier The Volta Glacier is located in Mount Aspiring National Park in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. It is split into upper and lower glaciers which are connected by an icefall. The Upper Volta Glacier is between in altitude an ...
. Baylis flatted in, and later bought, the historic Dunedin house "Threave" in upper High Street, a Robert Lawson-designed house which he fully restored, as well as extending the building's woodland surrounds. He became a collector of art and antique silverware and porcelain, and was a regular attendee at classical music concerts. He also had an extensive garden which contained both native and exotic species. Geoff remained unmarried throughout his life, but kept close ties with his sister Genevieve Chamberlain and her family. He moved back to Campbells Bay, next door to the original family home (which he had bought and restored for his nephew Geoffrey Chamberlain). He died there on New Year's Eve, 2003, at the age of 90.


Taxon names authored

Geoff Balyis named seven species in four different genera of plants. * '' Elingamita'' G.T.S.Baylis * '' Elingamita johnsonii'' G.T.S.Baylis * ''
Pennantia baylisiana ''Pennantia baylisiana'', commonly known as Three Kings kaikōmako or (Māori language, Māori), is a species of plant in the family Pennantiaceae (Icacinaceae in older classifications). It is Endemism, endemic to Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Is ...
'' (W.R.B.Oliv) G.T.S.Baylis * ''Solanum aviculare'' var. ''latifolium'' G.T.S.Baylis * '' Solanum capsiciforme'' (Domin) G.T.S.Baylis


Selected works

* * * * * * * * * * * *


Image Gallery


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baylis, Geoff 20th-century New Zealand botanists Academic staff of the University of Otago 1913 births 2003 deaths New Zealand fellows of the Royal Society New Zealand conservationists People from Palmerston North