Plant Science CV
GUY L. NESOM
2925 Hartwood Drive
Fort Worth, TX 76109
www.guynesom.com
Email: guynesom@sbcglobal.net
EDUCATION
Ph.D. (Systematic Botany) - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC (1980)
M.A. (Systematic Botany) - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC (1970)
B.A. (Psychology/Biology) - Davidson College, Davidson NC (1967)
CURRENT POSITION
* Private contractor, full-time 2008-2013 contract with the Flora of North America program to provide taxonomic treatments of vascular plant genera and families for developing volumes
* Research Affiliate, Herbarium of the University of Texas, Austin
PREVIOUS POSITIONS
Research Botanist – Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth (June 2001 through March 2008)
Botanist, Flora of North America program – North Carolina Botanical Garden, UNC-Chapel Hill (August
2000 – continuing at BRIT through 2005)
Botanist/Senior Scientist: Biota of North America Program, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (September 1998 – June 2000)
Project Coordinator and Botanist/Ecologist: Texas Research Institute for Environmental Studies (TRIES),
Sam Houston State University, Huntsville TX
(May 1995 – July 1998)
Curator: UT-Lundell Herbarium of the Plant Resources Center, University of Texas, Austin TX
(1986 – May 1995)
Associate Professor (tenured): Memphis State University, Memphis TN (1980 – 1986)
RECENT WORK EXPERIENCE
For FNA, beyond the Asteraceae, I have provided taxonomic treatments of Cucurbitaceae, Garryaceae, Melastomataceae, Oleaceae, Oxalidaceae, Phrymaceae, Rhamnaceae, Verbenaceae, and various genera of Rosaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, Apiaceae, and Araliaceae.
At BRIT, my research was centered on the taxonomy of plants of Texas and the southeastern United States, as well as a broader reach into Mexico and other parts of the world.
At BONAP, involvement in various projects: Reconstruction and nomenclatural update of floristic databases for US National Parks; Update/revision of Parts 1, 3, and 4 of Strausbaugh & Core’s Flora of West Virginia; Contributions to various aspects of the “Synthesis of the North American Flora;” Identifications of field collections for US Forest Service vegetation studies in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Pennsylvania; wwriting proposals for potential funding.
As Botanist/Ecologist at TRIES, involvement in various studies, each documented by a journal publication and/or technical report (with date of completion):
“Effect of removal of cattle grazing on bottomland hardwood communities, Trinity River National
Wildlife Refuge, Texas” (PI, Aug-Oct 1996, Oct 1997).
“Ecological Classification System for plant communities of Sam Houston National Forest, Texas”
(botanist and field crew leader for data collection, Sep 1996).
“Survey of R&E species in Davy Crockett and Sabine National Forests, Texas” (PI, Jan 1996).
“Taxonomic study of the rare and endangered east Texas species, Aster scabricaulis” (PI, Dec 1995).
"Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan" for Camp J.T. Robinson (33,000 acres), Arkansas
Army National Guard, North Little Rock, Arkansas (author, Dec 1997).
Floristic inventories of Camp Navajo (10,500 acres), Arizona, and Dixie Target Site, (6,500 acres), Texas
(plant taxonomist, Sep 1996, both projects).
Wetland delineations on National Guard bases in Missouri and Oklahoma (plant taxonomist, Dec 1995).
As Herbarium Curator at UT, I handled specimens and record-keeping for a high volume of transactions in a large museum, curated existing specimens, collected and identified new collections (primarily from Texas, Mexico, and the southwestern US), maintained databases associated with the collection, and supervised 4-6 workers. At Memphis State and at UT, I taught a variety of courses, including Intro Botany; Intro Biology; Plant Ecology; Taxonomy of Vascular Plants; Plant Diversity; Evolution, Ecology, and Society; and Topics in Current Evolutionary Theory.
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS and RESEARCH
I have been an active researcher in the systematics of plants of the United States and Mexico, conducting field work in both the eastern and southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. I have published studies on the taxonomy and evolution of species and species groups in 30 plant families, including Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Iridaceae, Phrymaceae, Rhamnaceae, Scrophulariaceae, and Verbenaceae. Published research also includes studies on forest community structure and evolutionary phenomena such as seed dispersal, hybridization, geographic variation in chromosome number, and documentation of invasive species. I also have been involved in floristic studies and am an expert in the general identification of vascular plants of North America (including the northern half of Mexico).
Author or coauthor (with 70+ different collaborators) of 425 (through mid 2013) published journal articles, books, and reviews, not including technical reports, book reviews, and abstracts. These primarily concern the taxonomy and evolution of vascular plants, especially the sunflower family (Asteraceae) in the United States, Mexico, and other parts of the world (South America, Africa, and Australia). Research in this family has primarily covered a group of interrelated genera including daisy fleabanes (Erigeron), aster (Aster), and goldenrods (Solidago). Comprehensive studies dealing with these plants have recently (1994; 2000; 2008 in press) been completed and published: (1) a world-wide survey and classification of the 191 genera of the tribe Astereae, among which 12 genera and over 130 species have been described as new to science, (2) a world-wide survey of species traditionally considered to comprise the genus Aster in the broad sense, (3) a conspectus of the 91 genera of Astereae occurring in North America and Central America, and (4) Flora of North America treatments of 62 genera (in 5 tribes) with 420 species. I have collaborated in major evolutionary investigations based primarily on molecular evidence.