Louis Cutter Wheeler (1910–1980) was an American botanist and professor of botany with an international reputation for his research on

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

Biography

Louis Cutter Wheeler's father was a citrus farmer in California, where the summer appearance of the "intricate

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

" of ''

Euphorbia albomarginata ''Euphorbia albomarginata'' (formerly ''Chamaesyce albomarginata''), whitemargin sandmat or rattlesnake weed, is a small low-growing perennial, in the spurge family (Euphorbia, Euphorbiaceae) native to desert, chaparral, and grassland habitats of ...

'' (rattlesnake weed) aroused Louis's interest in botany. After attending La Verne Junior College, he studied botany from 1931 to 1933 at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

under

Carl Epling Carl Clawson Epling (15 April 1894 – 17 November 1968) was an American botanist and taxonomist. Epling is best known for being the major authority on the Lamiaceae (mint family) of the Americas from the 1920s to the 1960s. In his later years he a ...

and from 1933 to 1934 at Claremont University College under Philip A. Munz. After graduating in 1934 with a master's degree, Wheeler worked for the U.S. Forest Service in the

Siskiyou Mountains The Siskiyou Mountains are a Coast Ranges, coastal subrange of the Klamath Mountains, and located in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately from east of Crescent City, Calif ...

and in the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in Southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabri ...

within the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains () are a mountain range located in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert ...

. From 1936 to 1939 he was a graduate student at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He was a co-collector with

Bernice Giduz Schubert Bernice Giduz Schubert (October 6, 1913 – August 14, 2000) was an American botanist. Her academic career developed over 53 years as a professor and herbarium curator with Harvard University. She made many collection trips in Mexico and the Unit ...

. From 1939 to 1945 Wheeler was a botany instructor and research assistant at several different universities. At the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, he became an assistant professor in 1945 and was eventually promoted to associate professor and then full professor, retiring as professor emeritus in 1975. The Flora of Ceylon Project was supported by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, the Ceylon Department of Agriculture, and the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya. Funded by the Project, Wheeler collected in the

Puttalam District Puttalam is a district of Sri Lanka situated near the west coast of the country. The district has an area of . Along with the Kurunegala District, it forms the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. The district capital is Puttalam, which border ...

(1969),

Anuradhapura District Anuradhapura ( ''anūrādhapūra distrikkaya''; ''Aṉurātapuram māvaṭṭam'') is a district in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its area is 7,179 km². Major cities * Anuradhapura (Municipal Council) Other towns * Bulnewa * Eppaw ...

(1971), and

Kandy District Kandy District (, ) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1,940 km2 (750 sq mi). Administrative divisions Ethnic groups and religion Major cities Suburbs of city of Kandy * Peradeniya * Katugasto ...

(1977).

Family

Louis Cutter Wheeler an older brother, Willis Hayes (1906–1996), and 4 sisters, Hazel Ruth (1908–2013), Florence Elizabeth (1914–1920), Muriel Flora (1917–2006), and Janet Lucile (1919–2016). Their father was born in Kansas and arrived in California around 1903 from Colorado. Their mother was born in Massachusetts and belonged to New England's Cutter family, whose history was written by

William Richard Cutter William Richard Cutter (August 17, 1847 – June 6, 1918) was an American historian, librarian, genealogist, and writer. Life Born in Woburn, Massachusetts, on August 17, 1847, he was the son of Dr. Benjamin Cutter and Mary Whittemore Cutter. ...

. Louis Cutter Wheeler married Leota May Brice (1909–1995) in 1935. They had two daughters. Willis Hayes Wheeler became a plant pathologist and botanist, working for the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

Selected publications

Articles

* 1938. ''Lichens of Point Lobos Reserve''. The Bryologist Vol. 41, No. 5 (Oct., 1938), pp. 107–113 * 1941 ''Euphorbia subgenus Chamaesyce in Canada and the United States exclusive of southern Florida''. Rhodora 43:97-154, 168–205, 223-286 * 1941 ''Euphoribaceae of the Washington-Baltimore area ''. 10 pp.

Books

* 1973. ''Cobb Estate Nature Trail''. 33 pp. ed. Altadena CA: The Altadenan Publ. Co.

Eponyms

* (

) ''

Chamaesyce ''Chamaesyce'' is a subgenus (formerly considered a genus) of plants in the family Euphorbiaceae. Recent phylogenetic studies have shown that ''Chamaesyce'' is deeply nested within the broader ''Euphorbia''. Specifically, ''Chamaesyce'' is very ...

geyeri'' var. ''wheeleriana'' ( Warnock & M.C.Johnst.) MayfieldPhytologia 75(2): 179 1993 (IK) * (

) ''

Argythamnia ''Argythamnia'' is a genus of plants of the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1756.Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

) ''

Phyllanthus ''Phyllanthus'' is the largest genus in the plant family Phyllanthaceae. Estimates of the number of species in this genus vary widely, from 750David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book.'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University ...

wheeleri'' G.L.Webster * (

Dothioraceae The Dothioraceae are a family of fungi in the order Dothideales. Species in this family have a widespread distribution, and are biotrophic or necrotrophic A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic ...

) '' Metasphaeria wheeleri'' Linder

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Louis Cutter 1910 births 1980 deaths University of California, Los Angeles alumni Claremont Graduate University alumni Harvard University alumni University of Southern California alumni Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science People from La Verne, California 20th-century American botanists