Ralph Erskine Cleland

Ralph Erskine Cleland, 1947

Ralph Erskine Cleland (20 October 1892 – 11 June 1971) was an American botanist. In 1947, he was the President of the Botanical Society of America. He was also a professor at the Department of Botany at Indiana University. Cleland's most seminal field of research concerned the genetics of the plant genus Oenothera.^[1][2] He discovered the structures of linked rings of meiotic chromosomes (not to be confused with ring chromosomes)^[3] that, by their interference with functions such as chromosomal crossover explained the unusual genetics and reproduction of plants in the genus Oenothera.^[4][5]

References

1. "Ralph Erskine Cleland (1892-1971)". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
2. Harte, Cornelia. Oenothera: Contributions of a Plant to Biology. Springer 2012 ISBN 978-3642842887
3. Dunn, E.W. Dobzhansky, Th. Sinnott, L.C. Principles of Genetics. Publisher: McGraw-Hill 1957 ASIN: B0000CK0MJ
4. Steiner, Erich (1982). "Ralph Erskine Cleland". Biographical Memoirs 53. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
5. Cleland, R. E. Oenothera: Cytogenetics and Evolution. Academic Press 1972. ISBN 978-0121764500
6. "Author Query for 'R.E.Cleland'". International Plant Names Index.

External links

• National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir