William (Bill) Robert Barker is an honorary research associate of the

State Herbarium of South Australia The State Herbarium of South Australia, sometimes called the South Australian Herbarium, and having the herbarium code, AD, is located in Adelaide, South Australia. It is one of several State and Commonwealth herbaria in Australia. The Depart ...

. He is a former chief botanist of the State Herbarium. With Robyn Mary Barker and Laurence Haegi he had a particular interest in ''

Hakea ''Hakea'' ( ) is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants in the family ''Proteaceae'', endemic to Australia. They are shrubs or small trees with leaves that are sometimes flat, otherwise circular in cross section in which case they are s ...

'' in the family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...

. He was also involved in taxonomic revisions of ''

Lawrencia ''Lawrencia'' is a plant genus in the family Malvaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia. Systematics Species include: *''Lawrencia berthae'' (F.Muell.) Melville - Showy Lawrencia *''Lawrencia buchananensis'' Lander *''Lawrencia chrysoderma ...

'', ''

Lasiopetalum ''Lasiopetalum'', commonly known as velvet bushes, is a genus of about forty-five species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, all endemic to Australia. Description Most species of ''Lasiopetalum'' are spreading or prostrate, many ...

'' and ''

Spyridium ''Spyridium'' is a genus of about thirty species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, and is endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Spyridium'' are shrubs or subshrubs usually with small leaves, flowers usually in clusters of small ...

''. In his retirement he is presently involved in outstanding research work, finalising revisions and publications. Barker is a life member and is the current president of the Australasian Systematic Botany Society. His primary research expertise is in biodiversity discovery, species and populations and ecological processes.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, William Robert 1948 births 20th-century Australian botanists Living people 21st-century Australian botanists