Appendices & Glossary - Botanical Research Institute of Texas

1358 APPENDIX TWENTY-FIVE/LYNN R. LOWREY MEMORIAM
never published a book, he wrote both for his own newsletter and for other publications, including
The American Horticultural Magazine, Carroll Abbott’s Texas Wildflower Newsletter, The Native
Plant Society of Texas Newsletter, and The American Nurseryman. He was ahead of his times in recognizing
the need for biodiversity, using fruiting plants for wildlife, and using locally adapted strains for
preservation.
Some of the East Texas plants Lynn recommended were Acer saccharum, Cyrilla racemiflora, Itea
virginica, Crataegus marshallii, Crataegus opaca, Fagus grandifolia, Ilex decidua, Bignonia capreolata,
and Asimina triloba. A yellow berried Ilex vomitoria, named “Saratoga Gold” was a significant native
that he promoted.
He considered the Texas Pistache, Pistacia texana, and the Anacacho Orchid, Bauhinia lunarioides,
two of the most rare plants in Texas. He propagated both and is largely responsible for introducing
them to the horticultural trade. He loved collecting in Mexico and is known for his work on the Mexican
oaks, particularly Quercus polymorpha, Q. rysophylla and Q. canbyii. He, along with Dr. Ray Jordan and
Emmet Dodd, while on a trip to Mexico, discovered a new species of legume, subsequently named
Myrospermum sousanum. Two perennials that Lynn promoted were Ruellia brittoniana var. katie and
a pink form of Scutellaria suffrutescens.
During the last few years of his life, Lynn worked with his daughter and son-in-law, Patsy and Mike
Anderson, at Anderson Nursery in Houston. His last horticultural work and contribution to society were
with a little known Chinese plant, Camptotheca acuminata. His propagation material was donated to
the Stehlin Foundation in Houston and to Xylomed Research in Monroe, Louisiana, for cancer research.
In Lynn’s honor, Dr. Li Shiyou, subsequently named another species Camptotheca lowreyana.
The seeds of knowledge planted by Lynn R. Lowrey will continue to flourish both far and wide.