People

Wood, John

Job Title Honorary Research Associate
Department Herbarium
Section Herbarium
Science Teams Drylands: Tropical America
Joined Kew
Foreign Language(s) Spanish, Arabic (basic), French and German.

Qualifications & Appointments

BA (Hons), Univ. Cambridge, 1966

MA, Univ. Cambridge, 1969

PGCE, London Univ., 1970

MA, Reading Univ., 1981

Cert Manag, Wolverhampton Univ., 1996.

Role

Taxonomy of Acanthaceae (Strobilanthes), Labiatae (Salvia, Lepechinia); floristics, plant distribution patterns and conservation in Bolivia.

Long-term interest in the taxonomy of Labiatae and especially Acanthaceae. Within Acanthaceae principal interest is in Strobilanthes worldwide, but also strong interests in other genera, notably Justicia, Dicliptera, Stenostephanus and Dyschoriste. Collaborating with Robert Scotland (University of Oxford) and colleagues in a series of papers related to the systematics and taxonomy of Strobilanthes and its allies. In Labiatae principal interests are in Neotropical Salvia and Lepechinia. At country level principal interest is in Bolivia, with some interest in Arabia. In Bolivia co-ordinating a Darwin project involved in taxonomy, conservation and awareness raising, but also with a growing interest in the total flora of the country, including the taxonomy of groups with high levels of endemism and/or taxonomic challenge, e.g. Tecoma (Bignoniaceae), Convolvulaceae, Polygala and Amaryllidaceae.

Projects

Plant Diversity and Conservation in Bolivia

Selected Publications 2001-2005

Wasshausen, D.C. & Wood, J. (2001). The genus Stenostephanus in Bolivia. Harvard Papers in Botany 6 (2): 449-454.

Wasshausen, D.C. & Wood, J.R.I. (2003). The genus Dyschoriste (Acanthaceae) in Bolivia and Argentina. Brittonia 55 (1): 10-18.

Wood, J.R.I. & Wasshausen, D.C. (2003). Notes on the genus Ruellia (Acanthaceae) in Bolivia, Peru and Brazil. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 116 (2): 263-274.

Wasshausen D.C. & Wood, J.R.I. (2004). Notes on the genus Justicia in Bolivia. Kew Bulletin 58 (4): 769-831.

Wasshausen D.C. & Wood, J.R.I. (2004). Acanthaceae of Bolivia. (Contributions from the United States National Herbarium; 49,  152 pp.) Washington, D.C.: Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History.

Wood, J.R.I. (ed) (2005). La Guia "Darwin" de las Flores de Los Valles Bollivianos. Darwin Initiative Project 162/11/010.

Wood, J.R.I. (2006). Inter-Andean Dry Valleys of Bolivia- Floristic Affinities and Patterns of Endemism. In Pennington, R.T., Lewis, G.P. & Ratter, Ja. (eds) Neotropical Savannas and Seasonally Dry Forests. Syst. Assoc. Special Volume No. 69.

Selected Publications pre-2001

Wood, J.R.I. (1983). The Aloes of the Yemen Arab Republic. Kew Bulletin 38: 13-31.

Wood, J.R.I. (1988). Colombian Acanthaceae - some new discoveries and some reconsiderations. Kew Bulletin 43: 1-51.

Wood, J.R.I. & Harley, R.M. (1989) The genus Salvia (Labiatae) in Colombia. Kew Bulletin 44: 211-278.

Wood, J.R.I. (1994). Notes relating to the Flora of Bhutan XXXI: Acanthaceae with special reference to Strobilanthes. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 51: 175-273.

Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A Handbook of the Yemen Flora. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.