Rolla Milton Tryon Jr. (August 26, 1916 – August 20, 2001) was an American botanist who specialized in the systematics and evolution of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except ...

s and other spore-dispersed plants (

pteridology A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...

). His particular focus and interest lay in two areas, historical biogeography of ferns and the taxonomy of tropical American ferns.

Biography

Rolla Milton Tryon Jr. was born August 26, 1916 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. His father was an American history and education professor at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

. Tryon's first scientific paper was published in 1934 (at the age of 18) on the ferns in Chesterton,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

where his family’s summer cottage was located. In 1935, he received his A.A. degree and in 1937 his B.S., both from the University of Chicago. He enrolled in the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

for a Ph.M., graduating in 1938. Then, at Harvard, earning he earned both his M.S. in 1940 and Ph.D. in 1941 working with

Merritt Lyndon Fernald Merritt Lyndon Fernald (October 5, 1873 – September 22, 1950) was an American botanist. He was a respected scholar of the taxonomy and phytogeography of the vascular plant flora of temperate eastern North America. During his career, Fernald pu ...

and

Charles Alfred Weatherby Charles Alfred Weatherby (1875–1949) was an American botanist. Weatherby was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Charles Nathaniel Weatherby and his wife, the former Grace Weld. Not long after Charles Alfred's birth, the family moved to Colorado. ...

on ferns in the genera ''

Pteridium Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (egg ...

'' and ''

Doryopteris ''Doryopteris'' is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Cheilanthoideae of the family Pteridaceae. Species The Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscription of the genus was uncertain . The ''Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World'' lists spe ...

''. During World War II, he worked as a lab technician in the

U.S. Chemical Warfare Service The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

. After the war, he returned to teach at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

. then at the University of Wisconsin, where he met his future wife and lifelong collaborator, Alice Faber, a student at the time. In 1947, Tryon joined the faculty at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...

as an Associate Professor of Botany and became assistant curator in the herbarium of 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 philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million ...

. Tryon left Missouri in 1957 to travel with Alice to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

to study the fern flora of the American tropics. When they returned, Tryon served as a research associate at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...

Herbarium at Berkeley. In 1958, Tryon returned to Harvard as Curator of Ferns at the

Gray Herbarium The Harvard University Herbaria and Botanical Museum are institutions located on the grounds of Harvard University at 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Botanical Museum is one of three which comprise the Harvard Museum of Natu ...

where he remained with his wife until 1987. In 1972, he became a professor of biology at Harvard. The two Tryons wrote a complete survey of ferns, ''Ferns and Allied Plants: with Special Reference to Tropical America,'' with emphasis on

tropical America The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

, which was published in 1982. Tryon was a member of the

American Fern Society The American Fern Society was founded in 1893. Today, it has more than 1,000 members around the world, with various local chapters. Among its deceased members, perhaps the most famous is Oliver Sacks, who became a member in 1993. Willard N. Clut ...

for 69 years, starting in 1932, and held various roles in the society including curator and librarian of the library and herbarium from 1946 to 1957; president from 1974-1975; he was made an honorary member in 1978. At the New England Botanical Club, he was recording secretary from 1964-1968, associate editor of the Society’s Journal Rhodora from 1961-1977, editor-in-chief from 1977-1981, vice-president from 1984-1986 and president from 1986-1988. In 1984, he received a Merit Award from the

Botanical Society of America The Botanical Society of America (BSA) represents professional and amateur botanists, researchers, educators and students in over 80 countries of the world. It functions as a United States nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership society. History The s ...

. Following his Harvard retirement, he became an adjunct professor at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Co ...

. He died August 20, 2001.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tryon, Rolla M. Jr. American botanists Missouri Botanical Garden people 1916 births 2001 deaths Harvard University alumni Pteridologists University of Chicago alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Harvard University faculty Washington University in St. Louis faculty 20th-century American botanists American botanical writers University of California, Berkeley staff