Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria
Australian National Herbarium
Biographical Notes
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Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria |
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Orchard,
Anthony (Tony) E. (1946 - )Born in North Adelaide, South Australia, 22 May 1946.
Botanist, State Herbarium of South Australia (AD) (1972); Curator, Cheeseman Herbarium, Auckland, NZ, (AK) (1972-1978); foundation Curator, Tasmanian Herbarium (HO) (1978-1992); Editor/Executive Editor, Flora of Australia (1992-1998), Director (and other positions) at ABRS Flora Section (1998-2003); botanist and Herbarium Registrar, Australian National Herbarium, Canberra, (2003-2005); Compiler, Australian Plant Census (2005-2006); Assistant Manager, Plant Biosecurity, Biosecurity Australia (2006-2009), Australian Botanical Liaison Officer, ABLO, Kew (2008-2009).
In retirement, compiling and publishing a detailed biography of the botanist/explorer Allan Cunningham in collaboration with his wife, T.A.Orchard.
Main research interests in Rosaceae, Haloragaceae, Asteraceae, Rubiaceae. Collections mainly in AD (pre-1972), AK (New Zealand, some Australia) and HO (Tasmania), but duplicates widely distributed.
Plant collections from all Australian States and Territories, and New Zealand.
Source: Extracted from: A.E.Orchard (1999) A History of Systematic
Botany in Australia, in Flora of Australia Vol.1, 2nd ed.,
ABRS. [consult for source references];
A.E. Orchard pers com 2.3.2015
Portrait Photo: 1999, M.Fagg
Tony's botanical career began at the University
of Adelaide, where he completed Honours for
work on the genus Acaena and a PhD under
Hansjorg Eichler for taxonomic studies in
the Halogoraceae. He moved swiftly into a
Botanist position at the SA Herbarium in 1972,
and swiftly again into the role of Curator of the
Cheeseman Herbarium in Auckland NZ which
he held for six years.
From there he took up
the Curatorship of the Tasmanian Herbarium,
where among his many achievements over the
14 years he held this role, was recognition of
the importance of the cryptogam collection and
modernisation of its curation, and the beginning
of the process of digitisation that prepared HO
for its role in the AVH.
In 1992, Tony moved to Canberra to begin
his extraordinary contribution to the Flora of
Australia project, initially as one of the editors,
and later as Alex George's worthy successor
as Chief Editor.
Tony's taxonomic output has been prodigious
as both author and editor. He has over 150
publications in taxonomy including numerous
flora treatments and full revisions of many
and varied plant groups but mainly Asteraceae
and Halogoraceae.
He has been a potent
contributor to a number of key debates in
taxonomy including Acacia nomenclature, the
recognition of paraphyletic taxa and the merger
of the zoological and botanical Codes.
He has
been an important chronicler of the history of
Australasian systematic botany, in particular the
Flora of Australia project and more recently the
life and works of Alan Cunningham.
As Editor
he directed the publication of 20 volumes
of the Flora of Australia and 10 parts of the
Species Plantarum series, as
well as a number of interactive
identification products
and other miscellaneous
publications of the ABRS.
Source: Extracted from: Proposal for Nancy Burbidge medal for 2016, by Darren Crayn
Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 168-9 (September–December 2016) p.20-21
Data from 12,550 specimens
