26 November 1916 – 10 February 1981 1
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium (NCU) curates about a dozen vascular plant specimens collected by Deems Norwood Wiggs. Some of his labels have “Herbarium of Atlantic Christian College” printed at the top. Atlantic Christian College in Wilson, Wilson County, North Carolina was founded in 1902; in 1990 it changed its name to Barton College.
Dr. Wiggs collected primarily in eastern North Carolina: Wilson, Pender, Nash, and Greene Counties. It is odd that no specimens of Diamorpha smallii (synonym= Diamorpha cymosa; “Elf-orpine”) collected by Wiggs have been cataloged, despite the fact that this plant was the subject of both his masters and doctoral work. In fact, as of January 2025, no specimens collected by Wiggs have been cataloged in sernecportal.org by the Emory University Herbarium (GEO), despite this being the institution where Wiggs did his doctoral work.2
Deems was one of ten children born to Blonnie Hertford Wiggs (1882-1955) and Ora Elizabeth Herring Wiggs (1888-1971) in Fremont, Wayne County, North Carolina.1 “[Wiggs] grew up in a rather large musically inclined family and as a result took several years of violin lessons… in addition to a violinist, [he was] a jazz enthusiast and gourmet cook. [He] served in the armed forces on two occasions. During World War II, he worked in the Pentagon as a secretary. During the Korean War, which interrupted [his] graduate studies, he worked for two years with Korean botanists on hydroponics, specifically on research on growing high-yield vegetables in nutrient solutions.”5
Wiggs earned both B. S. and M.S. (1952) from George Washington University.3 He earned a Ph.D. from Emory University in 1956. The title of Wiggs’ doctoral dissertation was, “Studies on the ecological life history of Diamorpha cymosa (Nutt.) Britton”. He joined the faculty of Atlantic Christian College ca. 1958 and was promoted to full professor rank in 1961.4 While at Atlantic Christian College (ACC), “Dr. Wiggs was commissioned by the federal government to do research on the tobacco mosaic virus. This work centered around North Carolina States University, but certain aspects of it were handled at ACC.”5 Wiggs’ collaborator at North Carolina State University was Dr. George Blanchard Lucas, Professor of Plant Pathology.6 “[Wiggs] also had a variety of teaching responsibilities … [and] at one time or another, he [taught] General Botany and Zoology, Ecology, Microbiology, and Cytology.”5 Wiggs retired from Atlantic Christian College in 1979 and lived in Warsaw, Duplin County, North Carolina until his death at age 64 in 1981.1,5

In addition to NCU, other herbaria that curate vascular plant specimens collected by Dr. Wiggs include Arizona State University (ASU), Arkansas State University (STAR), Auburn University (AUA), Austin Peay State University (APSC), Baylor University (BAYLU), Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CM), East Carolina State University (ECUH), Georgia Southern University (GAS), Harvard Herbaria (GH), Utah State University (UTC), Louisiana State University (LSU:LSU and LSU: NO), University of Texas at Austin (LL; TEX), James F. Matthews Center for Biodiversity Studies (UNCC), Murray State University (MUR), Northern Kentucky University (KNK), Old Dominion University (ODU), The Pennsylvania State University (PAC), Southern Illinois University (SIU), Tennessee Technological University (HTTU), Towson University (BALT), University of Central Arkansas (UCAC), University of Kansas (KANU), University of Mississippi (MISS), University of North Carolina at Pembroke (PEMB), University of South Alabama (USAM), University of South Florida (USF), University of Southern Mississippi (USMS), University of Tennessee, Knoxville (TENN), University of the South (UOS), Valdosta State University (VSC), and College of William & Mary (WILLI).
PUBLICATIONS:
Wiggs, D. N. 1968. Inhibitory effects of juices of various fungi on tobacco mosaic virus. Plant Disease Reporter 52 (7): 528-529.
Lucas, G. B. and D. N. Wiggs. 1963. Relative inhibitory power of juices from various plants on tobacco mosaic virus. Phytopathology 53: 624.
Wiggs, D. N. and G. B. Lucas. 1962. Inactivation of tobacco mosaic virus by volatile chemicals. Phytopathology 52: 983-985.
Wiggs, D.N. and Platt, R.B. 1962. Ecology of Diamorpha cymosa. Ecology, 43: 654-670. https://doi.org/10.2307/1933455
Wiggs, Deems Norwood. 1956. Studies on the ecological life history of Diamorpha cymosa (Nutt.) Britton. Ph.D. thesis, Emory University.
SOURCES:
1. Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83804182/deems-norwood-wiggs
2. SERNEC Data Portal. 2025. http//:sernecportal.org/index.php. Accessed on January 18.
3. The Duplin Times (Warsaw, N.C.) March 13, 1952, edition 1, page 2. https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92074110/1952-03-13/ed-1/seq-2/ Accessed on 18 January 2025.
4. Anonymous. 1961. Trustees Promote Six of Faculty. The Collegiate, Atlantic Christian College Newspaper. March 10, 1961, pg. 1. https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/2014236903/1961-03-10/ed-1/seq-1.pdf Accessed on 18 January 2025.
5. Dozier, Gregory. 1979. Wiggs Retires. The Collegiate, Atlantic Christian College Student Newspaper. April 26, 1979, edition 1, page 1. https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/2014236903/1979-04-26/ed-1/seq-1/ Accessed on 18 January 2025.
6. Wiggs, D. N. 1968. Inhibitory effects of juices of various fungi on tobacco mosaic virus. Plant Disease Reporter 52 (7): 528-529.