Integrative paleobotany: Affirming the role of fossils in modern plant biology - Introduction and dedication

Abstract

If you are interested in plant evolution, try this quick exercise: take a phylogenetic tree of the plant kingdom, close your eyes, and point your finger randomly to a node of the phylogeny. Irrespective of the clade to which you are pointing, there is one thing you should know about it: the living representatives of that clade have evolved as a result of a long process in which failed attempts are the rule, and as a result, the diversity of extinct forms accumulated in the fossil record far exceeds that recorded in the extant flora. From this simple concept, Gar W. Rothwell made his career. Because of that, here is a second thing you should know about the plant clade to which you pointed at random: Gar has, more likely than not, contributed information about evolution in that clade at some point in his career. Gar was one of the principal contributors to the revival of paleobotany from a largely descriptive discipline to a vibrant field of investigation at the forefront of modern evolutionary sciences that contributes crucial insights into plant evolution, equal in importance to those provided by genetics and molecular biology. Because of this, the impact of Gar’s scientific contributions reaches far beyond the field of paleobotany, with important implications for wide areas of plant biology, including anatomy and morphology, development, systematics, phylogeny, and evolution. Gar earned a master’s degree in the laboratory of Thomas N. Taylor (University of Illinois at Chicago, 1966) studying Paleozoic seeds in the genus Conostoma (Rothwell and Eggert 1970; Rothwell 1971a). He subsequently earned his PhD degree in the laboratory of Wilson N. Stewart (University of Alberta, 1973), where he reconstructed the plants in the seed fern genus Callistophyton (Rothwell 1972b, 1975, 1980, 1981). His work was instrumental in ushering in studies of fossil plants as whole living organisms, looking at both structure and development. These early experiences launched Gar on a career in plant evolutionary biology that stretched over a half century, during which he occupied positions at the University of Alberta, University of London–Chelsea College, Ohio University, and Oregon State University. Throughout his career, Gar’s scholarly work and contributions have been recognized by numerous awards and honors: the Isabel Cookson Award, the Edgar T. Wherry Award, the Michael A. Cichan Award, the Merit Award of the Botanical Society of America, and honorary membership in the International Organization of Palaeobotany, where he served for 12 years as secretary-treasurer and president.