Mary E. Barkworth facts for kids

Mary Elizabeth Barkworth, born in 1941 in Marlborough, UK, is an American botanist. She is a specialist in studying grasses, which scientists call Poaceae. When other scientists write about plants she has studied or named, they often use her last name, "Barkworth," as a short way to give her credit.

What Does a Botanist Do?

A botanist is a scientist who studies plants. They learn about how plants grow, where they live, and how they are related to each other. Mary Elizabeth Barkworth focuses on grasses, which are a very important group of plants. Grasses include many plants we use every day, like wheat, corn, and rice. They also cover much of the Earth's surface, from lawns to vast prairies.

Naming New Plants

One important job of a botanist is to identify and name new plant species. This helps scientists around the world understand and talk about different plants. Mary Elizabeth Barkworth has helped name or reclassify several plants. For example, she worked on:

• Nasella duriuscula
• Piptochaetium fuscum (with A.M. Cialdella and K. Gandhi)

Mary Elizabeth Barkworth's Research

Mary Elizabeth Barkworth has spent many years researching different aspects of plants, especially grasses. Her work helps us understand how plants are related and how they have evolved. She has written many scientific papers and books. Here are some examples of her research:

• 1975: She studied how a plant called Brodiaea douglasii can be different within the same species.
• 1981: She looked at the outer skin of grass leaves (foliar epidermes) to help classify different types of Stipeae grasses in North America.
• 1982: She wrote about a plant called "Bur buttercup," which is a type of weed that came from other countries.
• 1982: She also studied the early development of grass embryos to help classify Stipeae grasses.
• 1983: With Dewey RD and Adkins RJ, she worked on new ways to group perennial Triticeae grasses in the Intermountain Region.
• 1984: She studied Stipa lemmonii, another type of grass, looking at where it grows and how it is classified.
• 1985: With Dewey DR, she identified different groups of perennial Triticeae grasses in North America based on their genes.
• 1986: She observed Piptochaetium grasses in North and Central America, noting where they grow and how they are classified.
• 1988: She identified new types of Piptochaetium grasses found in Mexico.
• 1997: With Burkhammer RI and Talbert LE, she described a new species of grass called Elymus calderi.
• 1993: She contributed to the Flora of North America, a huge project that describes all the plants growing north of Mexico.
• 2011: She wrote about Triticeae grasses found in Australia and New Zealand.
• 2014: With Cialdella, A.M. and Gandhi, K., she made a new scientific name for Piptochaetium fuscum.
• 2016: With other botanists like Sandra Knapp, she helped propose changes to the rules for naming algae, fungi, and plants in the International Code of Nomenclature.