Focus: Seed Plants - Research

Richard Ree (Associate Curator)

studies plant systematics and evolution, focusing on phylogenetic inference, molecular and morphological trait evolution, and biodiversity informatics. He's particularly interested in plant diversity in the Himalayan region of south-central China (the Hengduan Mountains region), which is one of only a few biodiversity hotspots in the temperate zones.

Michael Dillon (Curator Emeritus)

continues the Museum's long standing interest in the flora of Peru. His research focuses on exploration and collecting in highly diverse and threatened habitats and the systematics and biogeography of neotropical Asteraceae.

William Burger (Curator Emeritus)

has been investigating the flora of Costa Rica since 1965. His Flora Costaricensis series in Fieldiana, Botany provides detailed revisions of the plants of Costa Rica. Bill's research interests also include understanding the evolution of angiosperms and factors influencing species richness and diversification of angiosperms.

Doel Soejarto (Adjunct Curator)

Robin Foster is an ecologist/conservation biologist studying tropical plant communities, their composition, dynamics and geography, as well as floristics, and the reproductive biology of plants. He is a key member of the joint Field Museum/Conservation International Rapid Assessment Team (RAP).