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William L. Stern, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Biography
After a rather undistinguished career in high school, where I majored in vocational agriculture, I enlisted in the U.S. Navy and saw duty in the U.S. and on Guam during WWII. I enrolled in Rutgers University where I majored in botany (I was the only botany major) and minored in Zoology. Then it was off to the University of Illinois where I received both the M.S. and Ph.D. in botany. I received an instructorship then at the Yale School of Forestry after which I joined the Smithsonian Institution as Curator. I subsequently became Chairman of the Smithsonian's Department of Botany. During this time I took leave of absence for a year to work for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the Philippines. I left the Smithsonian to become Professor of Botany at the University of Maryland and during that time I served the National Science Foundation as Program Director for Systematic Biology. I joined the University of Florida in 1979 as Chairman of the Department of Botany and Professor. I served in the former post until 1985. During these several appointments, I engaged in field work in Panama, Dominica, Jamaica, Venezuela, Philippines, western United States, and Florida Keys.
My research interests were originally in the application of wood anatomy to the phylogeny of dicotyledons, however, for the last 15 years, I have turned my attention to the vegetative anatomy and phylogeny of orchids. Ah, the lure of orchids. Not only are these my research passion, but my home-grown avocation. The challenge of bringing them to flower in the alien environment of greenhouse and garden keeps me both enthralled and busy. On several occasions I have collected wild orchids, namely, in Jamaica. I am also interested in growing native Florida trees and shrubs, and I have assembled a modest collection in my garden. Because they are adapted to our climate, they grow well regardless of artificial watering and fertilizing; a great way to reduce garden-tending. I enjoy living in Gainesville for many reasons, but among these is the great variety of plants that will survive and grow here. It's a great place for the plant lover.
Education
- B.S. Rutgers University, 1950
- M.S. University of Illinois, 1951
- Ph.D. University of Illinois, 1954
- M.S. Thesis Title: The comparative anatomy of the xylem and phylogeny of the Julianiaceae
- Ph.D. Dissertation Title: The comparative anatomy of the xylem and phylogeny of the Lauraceae
Academic Positions
- Instructor, then Assistant Professor, Yale School of Forestry, 1953-1960
Curator, then Chairman, Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution, 1960-1967 - Professor, Department of Botany, University of Maryland, 1967-1979
- Program Director, Systematic Biology, National Science Foundation, 1978, 1979
- Chairman, then Professor, University of Florida, 1979-present
Research Interests / Major Research Achievements:
Comparative vegetative anatomy and phylogeny of orchids with the goal to produce a volume on these plants for C.R. Metcalfe's "Anatomy of the Monocotyledons." Although there are significant anatomical data to the early 1900's, little has been done since then, and even fewer apply anatomy to solve phylogenetic hypotheses. A major achievement has been setting to rest the idea that members of subfamily Apostasioideae represent the ancestral stock of all other orchids.
Present Research
My research is based on light and scanning electron microscope investigations of the anatomy of orchid vegetative organs with the goal of using the results to establish hypotheses of phylogeny. To this end I prepare microscope slides after sectioning and staining tissues and subject the latter to detailed observations. Using these data, and applying cladistic methods, hypotheses are established pointing to the potential derivation and relationships of the test materials available. Eventually our findings are assembled in manuscript form, with appropriate illustrations, for publication in scholarly journals. I collaborate closely with colleagues at U.F. and at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Courses Taught:
University of Florida
- History of Modern Botany
- Plants in Human Affairs
- Tropical Botany
- Introductory Botany
- Wood Anatomy, Properties and Use
- Phylogeny, Ecology, and Structure of Wood
- Biology: Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior
- Seminar in Ethnobotany
- Plant Microtechnique
University of Maryland
- General Botany
- Humanistic Botany
- Plant Microtechnique
- Principles of Plant Anatomy
- Origins of Modern Botany
- Natural History of Tropical Plants
- Morphology/Taxonomy Seminar
- Identification of Woods and Timbers
School of Forestry - Yale University
- Anatomy and Identification of Wood
- Research Methods in Plant Anatomy
- Seminar in Tropical Forestry
Membership in Professional Organizations:
- Botanical Society of America (President, 1985, 1986)
- American Society of Plant Taxonomists (President, 1981)
- International Association for Plant Taxonomy
- International Association of Wood Anatomists
Grants received
- "Molecular and morphological systematics of Stanhopeinae (Orchidaceae)." National Science Foundation. 1995-1998. $191,000.
- Supplement to "Comparative anatomy and systematics of Orchidaceae." National Science Foundation. 1992, 1993. $6,000.
- "Comparative anatomy and systematics of Orchidaceae." National Science Foundation. 1990-1994. $155,700.
- "Ultrastructure of osmophores and systematics in Orchidaceae." National Science Foundation. 1986-1989. $120,000.
- "Ultrastructure of osmophores and systematics in Orchidaceae." National Science Foundation. 1983-1986. $133,000.
Selected Publications
Carlsward, B.S., W.L. Stern, W.S. Judd, and T.W. Lucansky. 1997. Comparative leaf anatomy and systematics in Dendrobium, Sections Aporum and Rhizobium (Orchidaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 158:332-342.
Holtzmeier, M.A., W.L. Stern, and W.S. Judd. 1998. Comparative anatomy and systematics of Senghas's cushion species of Maxillaria (Orchidaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 127:43-82.
Morris, M.W., W.L. Stern, and W.S. Judd. 1996. Vegetative anatomy and systematics of subtribe Dendrobiinae (Orchidaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 120:89-144.
Stern, W.L. 1997. Vegetative anatomy of subtribe Orchidineae (Orchidaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 124:121-136.
Stern, W.L. 1997. Vegetative anatomy of subtribe Habenariinae (Orchidaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 125:211-227.
Stern, W.L., M.W. Morris, and W.S. Judd. 1994. Anatomy of the thick leaves in Dendrobium section Rhizobium (Orchidaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 155:716-729.
Thorsch, J. and W.L. Stern. 1997. Tracheary studies and the terrestrial ancestry of Orchidaceae. International Journal of Plant Sciences 158:222-227.
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Last Updated 6/28/05
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