ILLUSTRATED FLORA OF EAST TEXAS - Brit - Botanical Research ...

252 INTRODUCTION/BOTANY AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Frank W. Gould (1913–1981) (Fig. 156), curator
at TAES from 1949 to 1979, is without doubt one of
the most important figures in the history of botany at
Texas A&M University and in the state as a whole.
Born in Mayville, North Dakota, he came to Texas in
1949 with a Ph.D. in botany from the University of
California at Berkeley. As a professor in the Range
Science Department at what was then Texas Agricultural
and Mechanical College, he influenced Texas
botany in numerous ways. Though his doctoral dissertation
was on a Camassia (Hyacinthaceae, formerly
Liliaceae), he went on to become the expert on the
grasses of Texas, publishing numerous scientific
papers and several books on the subject. To this day,
the most used and comprehensive of these is The Grasses
of Texas published in 1975. That treatment of the more
than 500 grasses of the state includes numerous
illustrations and is still one of the most usable publications
in the country for the identification of grasses.
Many of the illustrations in that volume are reprinted FIG. 156/FRANK W. GOULD (1913–1981). PHOTO
here thanks to the generosity of Lucile Gould Bridges, COURTESY OF LUCILE GOULD BRIDGES.
widow of Dr. Gould. Other important works by
Gould include Grasses of the Southwestern United States (Gould 1951), Texas Plants—A
Checklist and Ecological Summary (Gould 1962, 1969, 1975a), Grasses of the Texas Coastal Bend
with Thadis Box (1965), a textbook, Grass Systematics (Gould 1968a), and Common Texas
Grasses (Gould 1978). Besides producing very helpful and practical books, he was also one
of the pioneers in using cytotaxonomy (the study of chromosome number, type, and behavior)
in his research on the systematics of the grass family. Gould’s extensive work received national
and even international recognition. Under his leadership, the Tracy Herbarium increased in
size from 4,000 to 150,000 specimens (McCarley 1986). The Mexican grass genus Gouldochloa
(Valdés-Reyna et al. 1986) is named in his honor.
Stephan L. Hatch, now director of the TAES collection, is widely recognized as the foremost
current authority on Texas grasses. He and his numerous students have continued the
TAES tradition of excellence in grass research with numerous publications, including Grasses
(Poaceae) of the Texas Cross Timbers and Prairies (Hignight, Wipff, & Hatch 1988), Texas Range
Plants (Hatch & Pluhar 1993), Grasses of the Texas Gulf Prairies and Marshes (Hatch et al.
1999), and a book in preparation updating Gould’s (1975b) Grasses of Texas (classroom teaching
version—Hatch 2002). The publication of Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Texas (Hatch et al.
1990 and online at http://www.csdl.tamu.edu-/FLORA/taes/tracy/coverNF.html) was another
major achievement. Hatch has also made major contributions to the S.M. Tracy Herbarium,
which is currently curated by Dale Kruse. Further, Hatch and colleagues, including Eddy
Dawson, have provided extensive online information about grasses, including a list of Texas
species, a key to Texas species, extensive floral dissection images, and numerous grass illustrations,
etc. (S.M. Tracy Herbarium 2003). One of Hatch’s students, Stanley D. Jones, has
been very active in Texas botany, particularly through his studies of the genus Carex
(Cyperaceae). He has numerous publications, often co-authored with Gretchen D. Jones and
J.K. Wipff (e.g., Jones 1994a, 1994b, 1999; Jones & Hatch 1990; Jones & Reznicek 1991;
Jones & Jones 1992; Jones & Wipff 1992a, 1992b, Jones et al. 1990a, 1990b, 1996, 1997).
Also associated with TAES is Ed McWilliams of the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural
Sciences. McWilliams is an expert on Texas Bromeliaceae (e.g., McWilliams 1992, 1995) and,
though retired, continues to do research on invasive exotics.