Brendan Lepschi ‘Your Time Would Be Better Spent Digging Holes – Taxonomy, Plant Names and Why Nothing Ever Stays the Same’

You are here

Thursday, 25 July 2019 - 12:30pm

Brendan, Curator at the Australian National Herbarium, will discuss some of the reasons plant names change and outline the principles of botanical nomenclature and the rules governing it, using members of the iconic Australian family Goodeniaceae as an example.

Abstract

Plant names are in a seemingly constant state of flux, as a result of new research by workers both in Australia and overseas. While it may seem chaotic, there is order behind the tumult.  In this presentation Brendan Lepschi will discuss some of the reasons plant names change, and outline the principles of botanical nomenclature and the rules governing it, using members of the iconic Australian family Goodeniaceae as examples.  Brendan will also discuss how you can keep up to date with plant name changes in Australia.

Biography

Brendan Lepschi is the Curator of the Australian National Herbarium (ANH) at the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research in Canberra.  He started work at the ANH in 1992, working with Lyn Craven on a revision of the genus Melaleuca.  From 1995 to 1998, he worked as a botanist with the Western Australian Herbarium in Perth, focusing primarily on resolving taxonomic problems relating to rare and threatened flora.  In late 1998 he returned to the Australian National Herbarium, taking on the role of Curator in 2002.  Along with managing the collections of the ANH, Brendan is also responsible (with colleague Anna Monro) for the Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) and Australian Plant Census (APC).  His research interests include the taxonomy of the genus Melaleuca, the sandalwood family (Santalaceae), Goodeniaceae (especially Dampiera), local floristics, and the introduced flora.  He is also the inglorious author of the largely irrelevant, yet remarkably persistent, series of apparently humorous botanical works, the Tree of Liff and the Taller Tree of Liff.