(29 August 1911 – 6 February 2000)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium (NCU) has cataloged over 1,300 specimens collected by Robert K. Godfrey. Without doubt many more will be found as we continue to catalog our collections.
Godfrey earned his undergraduate degree from Maryville College in Tennessee, then earned masters degrees at North Carolina State University and Harvard University. He earned his doctorate in 1952 at Duke University under Dr. Hugo Leander Blomquist with his thesis, “Pluchea, section Stylismnus, in North America, the Bahama Islands and the Greater Antilles.”
He joined the faculty of Florida State University in Tallahassee in 1954. He was Curator of the herbarium at Florida State, and it was named in his honor in 2002.
Robert Godfrey was married to Eleanor Niernsee (d. 1995); together they had two daughters.
Longtime associate Robert Kral wrote a tribute to Godfrey in the American Society of Plant Taxonomists Newsletter, volume 15, June 2001. “The Robert K. Godfrey Endowment for the Study of Botany” has been established at FSU. The fund is to be used to support field and herbarium studies in botany, specifically to include: 1) support of the FSU Herbarium for enhancement and maintenance of the Collection, such as matching support for part-time curatorial assistance; and 2) sponsorship of independent research in the-field of botany and plant ecology for both students and faculty, such as systematic/taxonomic studies, botanical inventory, rare plant surveys, and studies in plant ecology or plant conservation biology. The FSU Foundation address is 225 University Center, Building C, Suite 3100, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-2660; phone 850 644-6000; fax 850 644-6211).
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:
Kurz, H., and R. K. Godfrey. 1993. Trees of northern Florida. University of Florida Press, Gainesville.
Godfrey, R.K. 1988. Trees, shrubs and woody vines of northern Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. The University of Georgia Press, Athens. 734pp.
Herz, W., K. Watanabe, R. K. Godfrey, and J. F. Blount. 1984. 3-germacren-6,12-olides from an undescribed Liatris taxon. Phytochemistry 23:599-606.
Godfrey, R. K. 1983. Donovan Steward Correll, 1908-1983. Bulletin, Fairchild Tropical Garden 38:6-7.
Godfrey, R. K. and J. W. Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of the southeastern United States, Vol. II: Dicotyledons. University of Georgia Press, Athens. 933 pp.
Ward, D. B., and R. K. Godfrey. 1979. Lewton’s Polygala. Pages 50-51 in D. B. Ward, ed. Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida, volume V, Plants. University Presses of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Godfrey, R.K. and Jean Wooten. 1975. Aquatic and wetland plants of the southeastern United States, Vol. I: Monocotyledons. University of Georgia Press, Athens. 712 pp.
Blaisdell, R S., J. Wooten, and R. K. Godfrey. 1974. The role of magnolia and beech in forest processes in the Tallahassee, Florida, Thomasville, Georgia area. In Proceedings of the Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference. pp. 363-397.
Godfrey, R. K. 1969. Sida 3:447.
Godfrey, R.K. 1967. Review of A Dictionary of Flowering Plants and Ferns by J.C. Willis. Economic Botany 21(4): 398.
Godfrey, R. K., and A. F. Clewell. 1965. Polygamodioecious Leitneria floridana (Leitneriaceae). Sida 2:172-173.
Godfrey, R.K. 1964. Review of The Flora of Delhi by J.K. Maheshwari. American Midland Naturalist 72(2): 511-512.
Godfrey, R. K. and Preston Adams. 1964. The identity of Sagittaria isoeteformis (Alismataceae). Sida 1:269 – 273.
Godfrey, R.K. 1963. Review of Aquatic Angiosperms: A systematic account of common Indian aquatic angiosperms by K. Subramanyam. Science, New Series 142 (no. 3596): 1158.
Godfrey, R.K. 1963. Review of Plant Taxonomy Methods and Principles by Lyman Benson. American Midland Naturalist 69(1); 252-253.
Godfrey, R. K. 1963. Wahlenbergia linarioides (Campanulaceae) in Florida: A second adventives species for the United States. Sida 1: 185-186.
Godfrey, R. K., and Herman Kurz. 1962. Florida Torreya destined for extinction. Science 136 (no. 3519): 900 and 902.
Kurz, H., and R. K. Godfrey. 1962. Trees of northern Florida. University of Florida Press, Gainesville.
Reinert, Grady W., and R. K. Godfrey. 1962. Reappraisal of Utricularia inflata and U. radiata (Lentibulariaceae). American Journal of Botany 49(3): 213-220.
Godfrey, R.K., Grady W. Reinert, and Richard D. Houk. 1961. Observations on microsporocarpic material of Azolla caroliniana. American Fern Journal 51(2): 89-92.
Godfrey, R. K. 1961. Liatris provincialis, sp. nov. (Compositae), endemic in western Florida. American Midland Naturalist 66 (2): 466-470.
Godfrey, R. K. 1961. Gisekia pharnacioides, a new weed. Rhodora 63:226-228.
Godfrey, R. K. 1961. Plantago cordata still grows in Georgia. Castanea 26(3): 119-120.
Godfrey, R. K., and H. Larry Stripling. 1961. A synopsis of Pinguicula (Lentibulariaceae) in the southeastern United States. American Midland Naturalist 66(2): 395-409.
Godfrey, R. K. 1958. Some identities in Halesia (Styracaceae). Rhodora 60:86-88.
Godfrey, R. K., and R. Kral. 1958. Observations on the Florida flora. Brittonia 10 (4) :166-177.
Godfrey, R. K. 1949. A change of status for two species of Chrysopsis. Rhodora 51(606): 113-115.
Godfrey, Robert K. 1948. Studies in the Compositae of North Carolina. I. Liatris. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 64(2); 241-249.
Photo courtesy of Department of Biological Science, Florida State University