From Plant Press, Vol. 24, No. 1, January 2021.
By Robin Everly, Jennifer Doubt, and Linda Ley
Robert “Bob” Root Ireland (1932–2020) was a longtime Research Associate at the U.S. National Herbarium (US), Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C. He died on December 8, 2020, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 88. Ireland was preceded in death by his wife, Ellen, who died in 1996, and he is survived by two sons, Ed and Joe.
Born in Kingman, Kansas, on September 25, 1932, Ireland received his B.A. (1956) and M.A. (1957) from the University of Kansas. Upon graduating, he was hired by Conrad V. Morton of the Smithsonian Institution as ‘Herbarium Aid in Cryptogams’, and one year later he was promoted to Assistant Curator of Bryophytes. He remained at the Smithsonian until 1962 when he relocated to Seattle to assist Elva Lawton in producing the Moss Flora of the Pacific Northwest. While working part time for Lawton, he began his doctoral program at the University of Washington. His thesis was entitled, “A taxonomic revision of the genus Plagiothecium in North America.” He obtained his doctoral degree in 1966.
Upon graduating, Ireland was offered the position of Curator of Bryophytes at the National Museum of Natural Sciences (now the Canadian Museum of Nature) in Ottawa, Ontario, which was previously held by bryologist Howard Crum. From 1991 to 1994 his title was Research Scientist, Bryophytes. During his tenure at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ireland, with his active program of field work and many bryological connections—not to mention his strong curatorial focus—expanded the size of the Bryophyte Herbarium (CANM) to approximately 250,000 specimens, focusing primarily on Canadian bryophytes. Alongside his own research at the National Museum, Ireland supported many students and enthusiasts in the exploration of bryophytes, inspiring great esteem in the Canadian botanical community for his kindness, professionalism, and expertise.
Ireland was a Research Associate at the Missouri Botanical Garden beginning in 1990, and he was also a Research Collaborator at the U.S. National Herbarium from 1999 to 2004, and then a Research Associate from 2004 to 2016. In 2001, he received the first of two National Geographic Society grants to study the moss flora of the Bío-Bío region of south-central Chile. At the U.S. National Herbarium, he worked closely with Harold E. Robinson, Research Botanist Emeritus, who passed away in December 2020, in Arlington, Virginia.
In addition to contributing taxonomic treatments to major floras such as the Moss Flora of Mexico, the Moss Flora of Central America, the Moss Flora of China and the Bryophyte Flora of North America, Ireland authored or co-authored 85 papers and books, including the Moss Flora of the Maritime Provinces. Published in 1982, the clear keys to the species, full generic key, and comprehensive glossary of this latter work make it a contemporary favorite that is highly valued by bryologists. Many of its illustrations were republished, with Ireland’s support, in J. Faubert’s three-volume Flore des Bryophytes du Quebec-Labrador (2012–2014).
Ireland’s research bibliography can be found in the Smithsonian Research Online database. The most recent paper attributed to him in the database is “Studies on the moss flora of the Bio-Bio Region of Chile: Part 3” (Ireland, R.R., G. Bellolio, J. Larrain, and R. Rodriguez. 2017. PhytoKeys 77: 1-20. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.77.10926).
Ireland took a special interest in the Botany and Horticulture Library, which is part of Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. Over the years he donated many books, including the Illustrated Moss Flora of Antarctica by Ryszard Ochyra, Ronald I. Lewis Smith and Halina Bednarek-Ochyra (2008). He helped librarian Robin Everly select bryological books for the library and contributed funds for future book purchases.
In April 2015, Ireland was made an Honorary Member of the Société québécoise de bryologie. The society called Ireland “a figurehead of twentieth century Canadian bryology”.
For further reference, see “There is no moss on this rolling stone!” by Vicki Funk (The Plant Press 13(1): 14-16; 2010).
Comments