People
Gasson, Peter E.
| Job Title | Plant Anatomy Researcher |
|---|---|
| Department | Jodrell |
| Section | Micromorphology |
| Science Teams |
Drylands: Tropical America Malpighiales Leguminosae Myrtaceae Large-Scale Syntheses Drylands: Africa |
| Joined Kew | 1979 |
| Foreign Language(s) |
Qualifications & Appointments
BSc (Hons), Agricultural Botany, Univ. Reading, 1979
PhD, Botany (Timber Technology), Imperial College, 1985
DIC, Imperial College, 1985.
Council, International Association of Wood Anatomists, IAWA (1994-99)
Hardwood Committee, IAWA (1988-89)
Softwood Committee, IAWA (1998-2004).
Role
Systematic and comparative plant anatomy, especially of wood (secondary xylem).
Research focused on plant anatomy, especially hardwoods (Dicotyledons, particularly Leguminosae, Malpighiales, Myrtaceae and CITES listed species) and softwoods (gymnosperms), in the context of systematics and conservation and often in collaboration with curators and researchers worldwide. Identification of fragmentary plant material for user groups such as archaeologists, palaeontologists, antique dealers, customs and police. Collaboration on an interactive wood identification database with colleagues at North Carolina State University. Some aspects of studies are applied to specific problems of conservation, including sustainable utilization of fuelwoods in arid regions and urban development, such as the influence of urban trees on nearby buildings.
Projects
Anatomical Identification of Plant Material
Authentication and Chemical Fingerprinting of Economically Important Species
CITES: UK Scientific Authority
Fuelwoods: Structure and Sustainability
New Phylogeny of the Caesalpinioideae, Leguminosae
Sustainable Management of Fuelwood Trees in the Caatinga of Northeast Brazil
Systematics of Neotropical Acacia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae)
Systematics of the Tropical African Genus Berlinia (Detarieae: Caesalpinioideae: Leguminosae)
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Lavin, M., Pennington, R.T., Klitgaard, B.B., Sprent, J.I., Cavalcante de Lima, H., & Gasson, P.E. (2001). The Dalbergioid legumes (Fabaceae): delimitation of a pantropical monophyletic clade. American Journal of Botany 88(3): 503-533.
Gasson, P., Trafford, C. & Matthews, B. (2003). Wood anatomy of Caesalpinioideae. In Klitgaard, B. & Bruneau, A. (eds). Advances in legume systematics Part 10, Higher level systematics. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 63-93.
Gasson, P., Wray, E. & Schrire, B.D. (2004). Wood anatomy of the tribe Millettieae with comments on related papilionoid legumes. IAWA Journal 25: 485-545.
Jansen, S., Baas, P., Gasson, P., Lens, F. & Smets, E. (2004). Variation in xylem structure from tropics to tundra: evidence from vestured pits. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Biological Sciences, Plant Biology. 101: 8833-8837.
Richter, H.G., Grosser, D., Heinz, I. & Gasson, P.E. (eds) (2004). IAWA list of microscopic features for softwood identification. IAWA Journal 25: 1-70.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Cutler, D.F., Rudall, P., Gasson, P.E. & Gale, R.M.O. (1987). Root identification manual of trees and shrubs. A guide to the anatomy of roots of trees and shrubs hardy in Britain and northern Europe. Chapman & Hall. 245 pp.
Wheeler, E.A., Baas, P. & Gasson, P.E. (eds) (1989). IAWA List of Microscopic Features for Hardwood Identification. IAWA Bulletin ns 10: 219-332.
Gasson, P.E. & Cutler, D.F. (1998). Can we live with trees in our towns and cities? Arboricultural Journal 22: 1-9.
Hepper, N., Gasson, P., Gale, R. & Killen, G. (2000). Wood Chapter 15. In Nicholson, P.T. & Shaw, I. (eds) Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 334-371.
Gasson, P. (2000). Does wood anatomy support tribal and generic classification in Papilionoid Leguminosae? In Herendeen, P.S. & Bruneau, A. (eds) Advances in Legume Systematics Part 9. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 201-215.