Thomas Franklin Daniel facts for kids

Thomas Franklin Daniel (born September 14, 1954) is an American botanist and teacher. A botanist is a scientist who studies plants. He is an expert on a special plant family called Acanthaceae.

He studied at Duke University and got his first degree in 1975. Later, in 1980, he earned his doctorate degree from the University of Michigan. A doctorate is a very high degree you get after a lot of study.

After finishing his studies, he worked as a professor and helped manage the plant collection (called an herbarium) at Arizona State University. An herbarium is like a library for dried plant samples, used for scientific study.

Since 1986, Thomas Daniel has been a part of the California Academy of Sciences. He worked there as a Curator of Botany, which means he was in charge of the plant collections and research. He also led the Botany Department several times. Besides this, he has been a research professor at San Francisco State University since 1998 and also works as a researcher at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

Books About Plants

Thomas Daniel has written several books about plants. These books help other scientists learn more about different plant families and species.

• 1999. Flora of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley: fasciculo 23. Acanthaceae Juss. This book is about the Acanthaceae plant family found in a specific valley.
• 1986. Systematics of Tetramerium (Acanthaceae). This book focuses on the Tetramerium group of plants within the Acanthaceae family.
• 1983. Carlowrightia (Acanthaceae). This book is all about the Carlowrightia group of plants.
• 1980. A systematic study of the genus Carlowrightia (Acanthaceae). This was his earlier, more detailed study on the Carlowrightia plants.

Honors and Recognition

Thomas Daniel has received several honors for his work in botany:

• He was the President of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists in 2001 and 2002. This group focuses on naming and classifying plants.
• He was the Treasurer for the Botanical Society of California from 1986 to 1989.
• Since 2003, he has helped manage funds for the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust, which supports plant-related projects.
• He is a member of the California Academy of Sciences Academy.
• He is also a member of the International Plant Taxonomy Association.
• Since 1994, he has been part of the Project Species Plantarum, which aims to create a global list of all plant species.

Plants Named in His Honor

Sometimes, scientists name new plant species after other scientists to honor their contributions. One plant from the Acanthaceae family was named after him:

• (Acanthaceae) Justicia danielii Durkee

See also

In Spanish: Thomas Franklin Daniel para niños