Alan Meerow

Alan W. Meerow
Born	1952 New York, New York,USA
Known for	Contributions to the taxonomy of theAmaryllidaceae,horticulture of palms and tropical ornamentals
Scientific career
Fields	Botany,Horticulture
Author abbrev. (botany)	Meerow

Alan W. Meerowis an Americanbotanist,born inNew York Cityin 1952. He specializes in thetaxonomyof thefamilyAmaryllidaceaeand thehorticultureofpalmsand tropical ornamental plants. He also works on thepopulation geneticsandmolecular systematicsofcycadsandpalms.

He studied at the Bronx High School of Science and then at theUniversity of New York.Dropping out after a year, aged 19, he moved to Santa Cruz,California.After living on a farm for four years he decided to resume his studies inbotanyandhorticultureat theUniversity of California.

Initially his interest in botany was focused on trees, working for three years in thearboretumof the University. He graduated in December 1978 and continued his postgraduate study at theUniversity of Florida,after working for two years at theMarie Selby Botanical Gardensin Sarasota, Florida, where his interest in Amaryllidaceae was stimulated. His master's thesis, in 1983, was on the taxonomy of the genusEucharis.He continued with the same subject in his doctoral studies, producing his thesis entitled "A Monograph of Eucharis andCaliphruria(Amaryllidaceae) "in 1986.

He then moved to theUniversity of Florida's Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center where he was a palm and tropical ornamental specialist. As well as carrying out research on the phylogeny and taxonomy of the Amaryllidaceae, he bredHippeastrumand other ornamental species. In 1998 theInternational Bulb Societyawarded him theHerbert Medalin recognition of his contributions to the knowledge ofbulbous plants.

From October 1999 until July 2019, he was located at the National Germplasm Repository of the United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), based in Miami, working on the conservation, genetics, systematics, characterization, and breeding of species of subtropical and tropical ornamentals.In 2005, theAmerican Society of Plant Taxonomistsawarded him the Peter Raven Award for Scientific Outreach.In 2017, he was awarded theDavid Fairchild Medal for Plant Explorationby theNational Tropical Botanical Garden.Upon retirement from USDA, Meerow became a Research Fellow of theMontgomery Botanical Centerin Coral Gables, FL, and is an adjunct professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University.

Selected publications

Meerow has published over 250 scientific papers, numerous magazine and university extension articles, and is the author or co-author of three popular books on palms.

• Meerow, Alan W(1986).A monograph ofEucharisandCaliphruria(Amaryllidaceae)(Ph. D. Thesis).University of Florida.
• Meerow, AW;Snijman, DA (1998). "Amaryllidaceae".Flowering Plants · Monocotyledons.pp. 83–110.doi:10.1007/978-3-662-03533-7_11.ISBN978-3-642-08377-8.S2CID240114483.,inKubitzki (1998).(additional excerpts)
• Meerow, Alan W.; Fay, Michael F.; Chase, Mark W.; Guy, Charles L.; Li, Qin-Bao; Snijman, Deirdre; Yang, Si-Lin (2000).Phylogeny of Amaryllidaceae: Molecules and morphology.Csiro. pp. 372–386.ISBN9780643099296.Retrieved25 January2015.,inWilson & Morrison (2000)
• García, Nicolás;Meerow, Alan W.;Soltis, Douglas E.;Soltis, Pamela S.(1 March 2014). "Testing Deep Reticulate Evolution in Amaryllidaceae Tribe Hippeastreae (Asparagales) with ITS and Chloroplast Sequence Data".Systematic Botany.39(1): 75–89.doi:10.1600/036364414X678099.S2CID86117335.
• Meerow, A.W.;Fay, M.F.;Guy, C.L.; Li, Q.-B.; Zaman, F.Q.;Chase, M.W.(1999). "Systematics of Amaryllidaceae based on cladistic analysis of plastid rbcL and trnL-F sequence data".Am. J. Bot.86(9): 1325–1345.doi:10.2307/2656780.JSTOR2656780.PMID10487820.
• Meerow, A.W.;Guy, C.L.; Li, Q.-B.; Yang, S.-L. (2000)."Phylogeny of the American Amaryllidaceae Based on nrDNA ITS Sequences"(PDF).Systematic Botany.25(4): 708–726.doi:10.2307/2666729.JSTOR2666729.S2CID20392462.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 23 September 2015.Retrieved25 January2015.
• Meerow, Alan W.;Snijman, Deirdre A. (December 2001). "Phylogeny of Amaryllidaceae Tribe Amaryllideae Based on nrDNA ITS Sequences and Morphology".American Journal of Botany.88(12): 2321–2330.doi:10.2307/3558392.JSTOR3558392.PMID21669663.S2CID28891491.
• Meerow, Alan W.;Guy, Charles L.; Li, Qin-Bao; Clayton, Jason R. (2002)."Phylogeny of the Tribe Hymenocallideae (Amaryllidaceae) Based on Morphology and Molecular Characters".Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden.89(3): 400–413.doi:10.2307/3298600.JSTOR3298600.
• Meerow, Alan W.;van der Werff, Henk (1 July 2004)."Pucara(Amaryllidaceae) Reduced to Synonymy withStenomessonon the Basis of Nuclear and Plastid DNA Spacer Sequences, and a New Related Species ofStenomesson".Systematic Botany.29(3): 511–517.doi:10.1600/0363644041744400.S2CID85742067.
• Meerow, AW;Francisco-Ortega, J; Schnell, RJ (2006)."Phylogenetic relationships and biogeography within the Eurasian clade of Amaryllidaceae based on plastid ndhF and nrDNA ITS sequences: lineage sorting in a reticulate area?".Systematic Botany.31(1): 42–60.doi:10.1600/036364406775971787.JSTOR25064128.S2CID85953035.Retrieved2018-04-29.Full text
• Meerow, Alan W.;Snijman, Deirdre A. (2006)."The never-ending story: multigene approaches to the phylogeny of Amaryllidaceae".Aliso.22:355–366.doi:10.5642/aliso.20062201.29.Retrieved25 January2015.
• Meerow, Alan W.;Reveal, James L.; Snijman, Deirdre A.; Dutilh, Julie H. (November 2007). "(1793) Proposal to conserve the nameAmaryllidaceaeagainstAlliaceae,a "superconservation" proposal ".Taxon.56(4): 1299–1300.doi:10.2307/25065925.JSTOR25065925.
• Meerow, Alan.Towards a phylogeny of the Amaryllidaceae.pp. 169–179.,inRudall et al. (1995)

• Meerow, A.W.; Jost, L.; Oleas, N. (2015)."Two new species of endemic Ecuadorean Amaryllidaceae (Asparagales, Amaryllidaceae, Amarylloideae, Eucharideae)".PhytoKeys(48): 1–9.doi:10.3897/phytokeys.48.4399.PMC4408727.PMID25931969.
• Roncal, J.; Couderc, M.; Baby, P.; Kahn, F.; Millán, B.; Meerow, A. W.; Pintaud, J-C. (2015). "Palm diversification in two geologically contrasting regions of western Amazonia".Journal of Biogeography.42(8): 1503–1513.doi:10.1111/jbi.12518.S2CID83703325.
• Jestrow, B.; Peguero, B.; Jiménez, F.; Cinea, W.; Hass, M.; Reeve, A.; Meerow, A.W.; Griffith, M.P.; Maunder, M.; Francisco-Ortega, J. (2016). "Genetic diversity and differentiation of the Critically Endangered Hispaniolan palm Coccothrinax jimenezii MM Mejía & RG García based on novel SSR markers".Biochemical Systematics and Ecology.66:216–223.doi:10.1016/j.bse.2016.04.013.
• Leiva, S.; Meerow, A.W. (2016)."A new species of Clinanthus from northern Peru (Asparagales, Amaryllidaceae, Amarylloideae, Clinantheae)".PhytoKeys(63): 99–106.doi:10.3897/phytokeys.63.8895.PMC4956931.PMID27489481.
• Meerow, A.W.; Ayala-Silva, T.; Irish, B.M. (2015)."Lagerstroemia speciosa 'Big Pink': An Improved Pink-flowered Queen's Crape Myrtle".HortScience.50(10): 1593–1594.doi:10.21273/hortsci.50.10.1593.
• Noblick, L. R.; Meerow, A.W. (2015). "The transfer of the genus Lytocaryum to Syagrus".Palms.59:57–62.
• Richardson, J. E.; Whitlock, B. A.; Meerow, A. W.; Madriñán, S. (2015)."The Age of Chocolate: a biogeographic history of Theobroma and Malvaceae".Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.3:120.doi:10.3389/fevo.2015.00120.
• Yeng, W. S.; Meerow, A. W.; Croat, T. B. (2016)."Resurrection and new species of the Neotropical genus Adelonema (Araceae: Philodendron Clade)"(PDF).Systematic Botany.41:32–48.doi:10.1600/036364416x690732.S2CID87392060.
• Oleas, N.; Meerow, A. W.; Francisco-Ortega, J. (2016)."Genetic structure of the threatened Phaedranassa schizantha (Amaryllidaceae)".Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.182:169–179.doi:10.1111/boj.12444.
• Freitas, C.; Meerow, A. W.; Pintaud, J-C.; Henderson, A.; Noblick, L.; Costa, F. R. C.; Barbosa, C. E.; Barrington, D. (2016)."Phylogenetic analysis of Attalea (Arecaceae): insights into the historical biogeography of a recently diversified Neotropical plant group".Bot. J. Linn. Soc.182(2): 287–302.doi:10.1111/boj.12466.
• Meerow, A. W.; Salas-Leiva, D.; Francisco-Ortega, J.; Griffith, P.; Calonje, M.; Stevenson, D.; Nakamura, K. (2017). "Phylogeography and conservation genetics of the Caribbean Zamia clade: an integrated systematic approach with SSRs and single copy nuclear genes".Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden.32:309–322.doi:10.1111/1442-1984.12158.
• Meerow, A. W.; Gideon, M.; Nakamura, K. (2017). "Hybridization between ecotypes in a phenotypically and ecologically heterogeneous population of Iris savannarum (Iridaceae) in Florida".Plant Species Biology.32(4): 309–322.doi:10.1111/1442-1984.12158.
• Campos-Rocha, A.; Meerow, A.W.; Lopes, E.F.M.; Semir, J.; Mayer, J.L.S.; Dutilh, J.H.A. (2017)."Eithea lagopaivae, a new critically endangered species in the previously monotypic genus Eithea Ravenna (Amaryllidaceae)".PhytoKeys(85): 45–58.doi:10.3897/phytokeys.58.13369.PMC5624176.PMID29033659.
• Campos-Rocha, A.; Meerow, A.W.; Semir, J.; Dutilh, J.H.A. (2017). "A new species of Griffinia (Amaryllidaceae) from Espírito Santo state, Brazil, and reassessment of Griffinia concinna".Phytotaxa.327(2): 175–183.doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.327.2.6.
• Griffith, M.P.; Calonje, M.; Meerow, A.W.; Francisco-Ortega, J.; Knowles, L.; Aguilar, R.; Tut, F.; Sánchez, V.; Meyer, A.; Noblick, L.R.; Magellan, T.M. (2017)."Will the same ex situ protocols give similar results for closely related species?".Biodiversity and Conservation.26(12): 2951–2966.doi:10.1007/s10531-017-1400-2.
• Iglesias-Andreu, L.G.; Octavio-Aguilar, P.; Vovides, A.P.; Meerow, A.W.; de Cáceres-González, F.N.; Galván-Hernández, D.M. (2017). "Extinction risk of Zamia inermis (Zamiaceae): a genetic approach for the conservation of its single natural population".International Journal of Plant Sciences.178(9): 715–723.doi:10.1086/694080.S2CID90842769.
• Jestrow, B., Peguero, B., Jiménez, F., Verdecia, R., González-Oliva, L., Moya, C.E., Cinea, W., Griffith, M.P., Meerow, A.W., Maunder, M. and Francisco-Ortega, J., 2017. A conservation framework for the Critically Endangered endemic species of the Caribbean palm Coccothrinax. Oryx, pp. 1–12. doi:10.1017/S0030605317000588..
• Meerow, A.W., Reed, S.T., Dunn, C. and Schnell, E., 2017. Fragrance analysis of two scented Hippeastrum species. HortScience 52: 1853–1860.
• Salas-Leiva, D. E.; Meerow, A. W.; Calonje, M.; Francisco-Ortega, J.; Griffith, M. P.; Nakamura, K.; Sánchez, V.; Knowles, L.; Knowles, D. (2017)."Shifting Quaternary migration patterns in the Bahamian archipelago: evidence from the Zamia pumila complex at the northern limits of the Caribbean island biodiversity hotspot".American Journal of Botany.104(5): 757–771.doi:10.3732/ajb.1700054.PMID28515078.
• Campos-Rocha, A., A. W. Meerow & J. H. A. Dutilh. 2018. Two new critically endangered species of Hippeastrum (Amaryllidaceae) from the Brazilian Cerrado. Phytotaxa 360: 91–102.
• de Lima, N.E., Carvalho, A. A., Meerow, A. W. and Manfrin, M. H. 2018. A review of the palm genus Acrocomia: Neotropical green gold. Organism Diversity and Evolution 18: 151–161.

Bibliography

• Kubitzki, K.,ed. (1998).The families and genera of vascular plants. Vol.3.Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.ISBN978-3-540-64060-8.Retrieved14 January2014.
• Wilson, K. L.; Morrison, D. A., eds. (19 May 2000).Monocots: Systematics and evolution (Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Comparative Biology of the Monocotyledons, Sydney, Australia 1998).Collingwood, Australia:CSIRO.ISBN978-0-643-06437-9.Retrieved14 January2014.Excerpts
• Rudall, P.J.;Cribb, P.J.; Cutler, D.F.; Humphries, C.J., eds. (1995).Monocotyledons: systematics and evolution (Proceedings of the International Symposium on Monocotyledons: Systematics and Evolution, Kew 1993).Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens.ISBN978-0-947643-85-0.Retrieved14 January2014.

External links

• Alan Meerow: Google Scholar citations
• Data related toMeerowat Wikispecies
• Alan Meerow ORCID record