By DrM

Vernon and Christine Heywood (photo: Stephen Jury)

Dr M introduced to #adventbotany this year, #adventbotanists, botanists whose birthdays fall within advent. The first featured Erasmus Darwin a great botanical mind from a bygone age. Dr M’s second #adventbotanist features Vernon Heywood, born on 24th December 1927, widely recognised as a world authority on biodiversity and plant systematics, medicinal and aromatic plants, and the conservation of wild relatives of crop plants, and still very much active in his field.

Vernon Heywood was Professor of Botany and Head of Department at the University of Reading and in 1987 he left Reading (although still retaining the title Emeritus Professor of Botany) and became founder and director of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) where his work very much emphasised the essential mission of botanic gardens as allowing people to connect with plants.

Vernon Heywood has published 60 books and 500 papers on plant taxonomy and systematics, medicinal plants, scanning electron microscopy, ecology, conservation, botanic gardens and plant genetic resources.