Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany

Jose Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany was initiated in 2001 by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, USA.^[1] It is named after José Cuatrecasas, a pioneering botanist and taxonomist who worked on the flora of tropical South America. It is awarded annually to a scientist who has made a very significant contribution to advancing the field of tropical botany. Nominations for the award can be made by all in the Botany Department at the museum.

Jose Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany
Awarded for	significant contribution to advancing the field of tropical botany
Presented by	Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, USA
First awarded	2001
Website	http://botany.si.edu/cuatrecasas/cuatrecasasmedal.cfm

The award is a bronze medal with an image of José Cuatrecasas on one side and the awardee's name and date of presentation on the other.

The awardees are:
2001: Rogers McVaugh^[2] a taxonomist of tropical and temperate species particularly Lobeliaceae and Myrtaceae, author of tropical floras for Panama, Guatemala, the Guyana Highlands and Mexico, and biographies of several botanists.
2002: P. Barry Tomlinson^[3] specialist in anatomy, morphology and tropical botany, author of books on mangroves, tropical trees, the anatomy of monocotyledons and with inspirational commitment to teaching students about the tropics.
2003: John Beaman^[4] long-time curator of the Michigan State University Herbarium, and especially for his work on the floras of Mexico and northern Borneo and the taxonomy Asteraceae.
2004: David John Mabberley^[5] for his work with the tropical genera Chisocheton (Meliaceae) and Grewia, on pachycaul trees and his authorship of several important books.
2005: Joint award to Jerzy Rzedowski and Graciela Calderón de Rzedowski^[6] for both their individual and joint contributions to tropical botany, especially of Mexico, including their regional floras and work on the genus Bursera (Burseraceae).
2006: Sherwin Carlquist,^[7] a wood anatomist especially of tropical angiosperm families who also worked on evolution of plants on islands.
2007: No award
2008: Mireya Correa,^[8] Director of the Herbarium of the University of Panama, for work on plant systematics, especially the flora of Panama, an educator and administrator.
2009: Norris H. Williams^[9] for his work on neotropical Orchidaceae that includes molecular phylogenetics, the chemistry of floral fragrances, and pollination biology that has advanced understanding of orchid evolution and insect pollinators.
2010: Beryl B. Simpson^[10][11] for work on the phylogeny and biogeography of several angiosperm groups (especially Krameriaceae, Polylepis (Rosaceae) and Perezia (Asteraceae)), primarily from the American Southwest, Mexico, and Central and South America.
2011: No award
2012: Walter S Judd^[12] for his research, field work, and teaching, especially his work with the Ericaceae, Melastomataceae, and Miconeae. Along with co-authors he has written Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach,^[13] one of the most widely used university-level text books in phylogenetics.
2013: Ana Maria Giulietti Harley^[14] for her research and field work especially of Eriocaulaceae and the flora of Brazil.
2014: H. Peter Linder^[15][16] for contributions to the systematics, biogeography, and evolution of Orchidaceae, Restionaceae, and Poaceae as well as work on identifying biogeographical patterns in the Southern Hemisphere and especially in Africa.
2015: Paulo Günter Windisch^[17] for his work on systematics, biogeography, and evolution of neotropical pteridophytes, and also for educating and mentoring university students in Brazil.
2016: Kamaljit S Bawa^[18][19] for his work on tropical biology and international conservation, especially reproductive ecology and population genetics in both the Old and New World tropics. He is the founder of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment.
2017: Robin B. Foster^[20] for work on cataloging the flora of Barro Colorado Island in Panama and then developing the first of a network of tropical forest dynamics plots that has advanced study of tropical ecosystems and theories for their function and high biodiversity.
2018: Alan K. Graham^[21] for his work on understanding the origins and history of neotropical floras that has made particular use of pollen and microfossils.
2019: Sandra D Knapp^[22] tropical botanist and educator, advocate for conserving biodiversity, floristics, collections, the relationships between plants and people and particularly for her work with the Solanaceae.
2020:
2021: Sebsebe Demissew^[23] for his life's work in conserving and recording the very diverse Ethiopian flora with many endemic species, and leadership of the Ethiopian Flora Project and the National Herbarium.
2022: Fabián A. Michelangeli for research on the systematics and taxonomy of Melastomataceae, ant-plant interactions and the floristics of the Guayana Highlands.^[24]

References

1. "Jose Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany". The Plant Press. 4 (1). 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
2. Tancin, Charlotte (2009). "Remembering Rogers McVaugh (1909–2009)" (PDF). Bulletin of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. 21 (2): 8–9. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
3. "P. Barry Tomlinson Receives Second Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 5 (2). 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
4. "John Beaman Recieves [sic] Third Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 6 (2). 2003. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
5. "David Mabberley Receives Fourth Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 7 (3). 2004. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
6. "Rzedowskis Receives Fifth Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 8 (3). 2005. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
7. "Dr. Sherwin Carlquist". Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
8. "Correa Receives Seventh Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 11 (3). 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
9. "Williams Receives Eighth Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 12 (2). 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
10. "Simpson Receives Ninth Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 13 (4). 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
11. Kapsalis, Effie. "Wonderful Women Wednesday: Dr. Beryl Simpson". Smithsonian History. Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
12. "Judd Receives 10th Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 15 (3). 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
13. JUdd, Walter S; Campbell, Christopher S; Kellogg, Elizabeth A; Stevens, Peter F; Donoghue, Michael J (2015). Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach (4 ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 677. ISBN 9781605353890.
14. "Giulietti Receives 11th Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 16 (3). 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
15. "Linder Receives 12th Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 17 (3). 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
16. Krupnick, Gary A (2014). "Biogeography: There's no place like home". The Plant Press. 14 (3): 1. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
17. "Windisch Receives 13th Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 18 (3). 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
18. "Bawa Receives 14th Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 19 (3). 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
19. "Shoots and Leaves - Accolades". ATREE. ATREE Trust. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
20. "Foster Receives 15th Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 20 (3). 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
21. "Graham Receives 16th Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 21 (3). 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
22. "Knapp Receives 17th Cuatrecasas Medal". The Plant Press. 22 (3). 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
23. "Ethiopian Prof. Designated as 2021 Recipient of José Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany". Ethiopia Observer. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
24. Zona, Scott. "Fabián A. Michelangeli José Cuatrecasas Medal Recipient". Twitter. Retrieved 17 May 2022.