Milo Samuel Baker (July 19, 1868 – January 4, 1961) was an American botanist, specializing in plants of the northern coastal region of California, as well as the genus ''
Viola
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...
''.
In 1875 Milo Samuel Baker moved with his family to
Tehama County, California
Tehama County ( ) is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,829. The county seat and largest city is Red Bluff. Tehama County comprises the Red Bluff, California ...
. After graduating from secondary school in San Jose, he became a school teacher in
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
and
Modoc County
Modoc County () is a county located in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 8,700 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,686 from the 2010 census. This makes it California's third-least-populous county. The co ...
. He studied from 1891 to 1892 at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1895. He taught from 1901 to 1906 at San Francisco's Lowell High School. After working as a farmer and rancher in Kenwood, he was a professor of botany from 1922 to 1945 at Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC). He established the North Coast Herbarium at SRJC and in 1933 donated his private collection to the Herbarium. In retirement, he continued to tend the Herbarium and at SRJC continued to teach the introductory field botany course until he was over 90. Baker Hall at SRJC is named in his honor. The herbarium that Baker established is now housed at
Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Sonoma State offers 92 bachelor's degree programs, 19 master's de ...
.
He was a co-collector with
Jens Clausen
Jens Christen (Christian) Clausen (March 11, 1891 – November 22, 1969) was a Danish- American botanist, geneticist, and ecologist. He is considered a pioneer in the field of ecological and evolutionary genetics of plants.
Biography
Clausen w ...
, Franklin P. Nutting (1876–1957), and Harrison Smith. Baker sent many botanical specimens to
Edward Lee Greene
Edward Lee Greene (August 20, 1843–November 10, 1915) was an American botanist known for his numerous publications including the two-part ''Landmarks of Botanical History'' and the describing of over 4,400 species of plants in the American W ...
. Baker did pioneering research on the flora of eastern Shasta, Modoc, and Lassen counties. He was president of the
California Botanical Society
The California Botanical Society was founded by Willis Linn Jepson in 1913, since when it has advanced the knowledge of botanical sciences in the Western United States
Services
The society services are: the journal ''Madroño'', published since 1 ...
in 1952.
He married Jennie Churchill on 14 July 1897.
Cryptantha
''Cryptantha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. They are known commonly as cat's eyes and popcorn flowers (the latter name is also used to refer to the Affinity (taxonomy), closely related genus ''Plagiobothrys' ...
Ewan
Ewan is a Scottish name with multiple sources. It is usually an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic name Eòghann "noble born" and therefore derived ultimately from Latin ''Eugenius''. A Pictish name, ''Uuen'' (or ''Wen'') meaning "(the) warrior ...
Greene
Greene may refer to:
Places United States
*Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Greene, Iowa, a city
* Greene, Maine, a town
** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene
* Greene (town), New York
**Greene (village), New York, in the to ...