GENSEL, PATRICIA G. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280. - William C. Dickison's contributions to botanical science.
William C. Dickison's PhD thesis entitled Comparative Morphological
Studies on Dilleniaceae, resulted in seven papers each dealing
with a different plant organ or structure- e.g. wood, carpels, pollen,
leaves, etc. This essentially set the stage for his life's work, which
involved careful and thorough anatomical investigations of several
angiosperm families, with the intent of using the information to solve
systematic problems. Some of these taxa fell in or near the
Dilleniidae or Rosidae sensu Cronquist but are more scattered
now (core eudicots, rosids, asterids in current phylogenies). Hi
seminal paper in 1975 in the Bases of Angiosperm Phylogeny
volume on the contributions of vegetative anatomy to understanding
angiosperm phylogeny still is pertinent to current morphological based
phylogenetic analyses. During his 30 year career, Bill collected,
studied and provided basic documentation of wood, floral, leaf or
pollen morphology/anatomy on, for example, Connaraceae, Cunoniaceae,
Actinidiaceae, Clethraceae, Styracaceae, Aristolochiaceae, and
smaller, less well-known families of tropical plants, such as the
Bonnetiaceae, Physenaceae, Medusagynaceae, Caryocaraceae,
Alseuosmiaceae, and Strasburgeriaceae. This information was used to
address questions of relationships and, frequently, ecological
adaptations. His posthumously published book, Integrative Plant
Anatomy, both introduces the study of plant anatomy and
illustrates how anatomy is used in various aspects of society and
other areas of botany. Numerous undergraduate and graduate students
recall him as positively influencing their view and knowledge of
botany. Thus his legacy is multifaceted: precise and excellent data
applicable to phylogenetic assessments of relationships for many
angiosperm families, an excellent slide and preserved specimen
collection housed at the UNC Herbarium, an overview of the nature and
value of plant anatomical research, and numerous students well trained
in plant morphology/anatomy/diversity.
Key words: anatomy, angiosperm, systematics