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Collectors of the UNC Herbarium
Wilbur Howard Duncan
(15 October 1910 -- 25 March 2005)
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This photograph of Wilbur Duncan
(ca. 1983) appeared in the 2005 issue of Tipularia:
The Journal of the Georgia Botanical Society
(volume 20, page 2). The entire issue was dedicated to
Dr. Duncan.
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With approximately 10% of
the UNC Herbarium's 750,000 specimens catalogued to date, we
have found over 200 specimens collected by Wilbur Duncan. Most
are from the southeastern United States. The earliest specimen
of his so far catalogued in NCU's collection -- Cypripedium
parviflorum from Pinnacle Mountain in Sevier County, Tennessee
-- dates from 1938. The most recent specimen -- Commelina
diffusa -- was collected in a cornfield near Gardi in Wayne
County, Georgia in September, 1979. As we continue to database
our collection, no doubt more specimens collected by Wilbur
Duncan will be found. Duncan collected over 30,000 specimens,
often in multiple sets, that he distributed to herbaria around
the southeastern United States. He and his botanist wife, Marion
Bennett Duncan, wrote several botanical field guides for the
general public.
Besides NCU, other herbaria
that have significant numbers of Wilbur Duncan's specimens include:
GA University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia,
U.S.A.
A & GH Arnold Arboretum
and Gray Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
IA University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.A.
(transferred to ISC in 2004)
MO Missiouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri,
U.S.A.
US Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.,
U.S.A.
Selected single author publications
Duncan, W. H. 1933. Root systems of certain
woody species of old fields. A. M. Thesis, Indiana University,
Bloomington, IN.
Duncan, W. H. 1933. Ecological comparison of leaf structures
of Rhododendron puctatum Andr. and the ontogeny of
epidermal scales. Amer. Midland Naturalist 14: 83-96.
Duncan, W. H. 1940. A study of root development in three soil
types in the Duke Forest. Ph.D. thesis, Duke University, Durham,
NC.
Duncan, W. H. 1940. A new species of oak from Georgia. Amer.
Midland Naturalist 24: 755-756.
Duncan, W. H. 1941. Guide to Georgia Trees. University of Georgia
Press, Athens, Georgia.
Duncan, W. H. 1944. A new species of Baptisia. Rhodora
46: 29-31.
Duncan, W. H. 1948. Preliminary reports on the flora of Georgia
-- 1. The distribution in Georgia of spermatophytes new and
rare to the state. Castanea 13: 70-83.
Duncan, W. H. 1950. Preliminary reports on the flora of Georgia
-- 4. Notes on the distribution of flowering plants including
species new to the state. Castanea 15: 145-159.
Duncan, W. H. 1950. Synonymy in Viburnum obovatum and
V. cassinoides. Rhodora 52: 179-182.
Duncan, W. H. 1950. A new variety of Arenaria. Phytologia
3: 282.
Duncan, W. H. 1950. Stamen numbers in Cuphea. Rhodora
(volume number ?) 185-188.
Duncan, W. H. 1950. Quercus oglethorpensis -- range
extensions and phylogenetic relationships. Lloydia 13: 243-248.
Duncan, W. H. 1954. Polypodium aureum in Florida and
Georgia. Amer. Fern J. 44: 155-158.
Duncan, W. H. 1954. More and more weeds in Georgia. Bulletin
of the Georgia Academy of Science 12: 99-102.
Duncan, W. H. 1955. New records for Georgia ferns. Amer. Fern
J. 45:1-10.
Duncan, W. H. 1957. Asimina (Annonaceae) in Georgia.
Bulletin of the Georgia Academy of Science 15: 9-15.
Duncan, W. H. 1959. Leaf variation in Liquidambar styraciflua
L. Castanea 24: 99-111.
Duncan, W. H. 1959. A naturally occurring F1 hygrid of Monarda
media and M. fistulosa. Rhodora 61: 301-305.
Duncan, W. H. 1960. Azolla caroliniana Willd. in Georgia.
Amer. Fern J. 50: 266-267.
Duncan, W. H. 1962. Stemmed white violets of Georgia. Bulletin
of the Georgia Academy of Science 19: 75-76.
Duncan, W. H. 1962. Data on sessile-flowered Trillium
(Liliaceae). Castanea 27: 165-173.
Duncan, W. H. 1964. New Elatine (Elatinaceae) populations
in the southeastern United States. Rhodora 66: 48-53.
Duncan, W. H. 1966. Disjuncts in the southeastern United States.
Amer. J. Bot. 53: 633.
Duncan, W. H. 1966. Asplenium X kentuckiense
on granitic gneiss in Georgia. Amer. Fern J. 56: 145-149.
Duncan, W. H. 1967. Woody vines of the southeastern United States.
Sida 3: 1-76.
Duncan, W. H. 1969. Celastrus (Celastraceae) in the
southeastern United States. Sida 3: 309-310.
Duncan, W. H. 1971. Angelica triquinata (Umbelliferae)
southward and Lotus helleri (Leguminosae) westward
into Georgia. Castanea 36: 163-164.
Duncan, W. H. 1975. Woody vines of the southeastern United States.
University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia.
Duncan, W. H. 1977. A new species of Galactia (Fabaceae)
in the southeastern United STates. Phytologia 37: 59-61.
Duncan, W. H. 1979. Changes in Galactia (Fabaceae) of the southeastern
United States. Sida 8: 170-180.
Duncan, W. H. 1979. Zamia (Cycadaceae) new for Georgia. Sida
8: 115-116.
Duncan, W. H. 1984. Additions to the vascular flora of Georgia.
Castanea 50: 52-54.
Selected multiple author publications
Duncan, W. H. and C. L. Brown, 1954. Connate
anthers in Gentiana (Gentianaceae). Rhodora 56: 133-136.
Duncan, W. H., P.L. Piercy, S. D. Feurt, and R. J. Starling.
1957. Toxicological studies of southeastern plants. II. Compositae.
Econ. Bot. 11: 75-85.
Duncan, W. H., P.L. Piercy, and R. J. Starling. 1957. Toxicological
studies of southeastern plants. I. Leguminosae. Econ. Bot. 9:
243-255.
Duncan, W. H. and T. Pullen. 1962. Lepidote rhododendrons fo
the southern United States. Brittonia 14: 290-298.
Duncan, W. H. and D.W. DeJong. 1964. Taxonomy and heterostyly
of North American Gelsemium (Loganiaceae). Sida 1:
346-357.
Duncan, W. H. and D. Blake. 1965. Observations on some ferns
in Georgia. Amer. Fern J. 55: 145-153.
Duncan, W. H., J. F. Garst, and G. A. Neece. 1971. Trillium
persistens (Liliaceae), a new pedicellate-flowered species
form northeastern Georgia and adjacent North Carolina. Rhodora
73: 244-248.
Yates, I. E. and W. H. Duncan. 1970. Comparative studies of
Smilax, Section Smilax of the southeastern
United STates. Rhodora 72: 289-312.
Gibbs Russell, G. E. and W. H. Duncan. 1972. An annotated checklist
of Carex (Cyperaceae) in Georgia. Castanea 37: 200-214.
Duncan, W. H. and L.E. Foote. 1975. Wildflowers of the soutehastern
United States. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia.
Duncan, W. H. and J.T. Kartesz. 1981. Vascular flora of Georgia:
an annotated checklist. The University of Georgia Press, Athens,
Georgia.
Duncan, W. H. and M.B. Duncan. 1987. The Smithsonian guide to
seaside plants of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Smithsonian
Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
Duncan, W. H. and M.B. Duncan. 1988. Trees of the southeastern
United States. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia.
Duncan, W. H. and M.B. Duncan. 1999. Wildflowers of the eastern
United States. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia.
Upon his death, Wilbur Duncan's family
established the Wilbur and Marion Duncan Publishing Fund, a
charitable trust established with the University of Georgia
Foundation (394 South Milledge Avenue, Suite 100, Athens, GA
3062-5582) to ensure the publication of the Duncans' last manuscript,
Shrubs of the Southeastern United States.
See Zomlefer and Giannasi
(2005) Wilbur Howard Duncan 1910-2005. Sida 21(3): 1941-1950
for an excellent summary of Duncan's life and work.
See Martin, W. H. (1990) 1990 Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award
recipient -- Wilbur H. Duncan. Castanea 55: 137-139 for a description
of Duncan's lifetime contributions to botany of the southeastern
United States.
The following information was excerpted
from the Athens Banner-Herald
Athens - Wilbur H. Duncan, 94, of Athens,
UGA Professor Emeritus of Botany and retired Curator of the
Herbarium, died at home with his family on March 25, 2005. Dr.
Duncan is survived by Marion, his wife of 64 years; three children
and a daughter-in-law, Mack and Julie, Lucia, and Douglas Duncan;
four grandchildren, Laramie, Amber, Laura, and Ross Duncan;
a brother and sister-in-law, Frank and Barbara Duncan; a brother-in-law,
James Melton; and four nieces and four nephews.
Wilbur Duncan was born on October 15,
1910, in Buffalo, NY. The family returned to Monroe County,
IN, where Wilbur attended Bloomington High School, then acquired
Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Indiana University in 1932
and 1933, respectively. While working on his Ph.D at Duke University
in Durham, NC, he served as a summer naturalist in Indiana,
and also worked in the Smoky Mountains.
After earning his Ph.D in Botany from
Duke in 1938, Dr. Duncan began a distinguished 40-year teaching
and research career at the University of Georgia. In 1941, he
married Marion Bennett, originally of Jesup, GA, who earned
her Masters degree in Botany at UGA. They were able to stay
together through several Public Health Service assignments during
World War II. At the end of the war, he left the Service with
the rank of Major, returning to UGA where he resumed not only
his teaching and research, but also his direction and enlargement
of the Herbarium. This was a major role he assumed on his own
time in 1939 and continued until he retired in 1978 with Emeritus
status.
Notable honors and accomplishments include the Wilbur Duncan
Award, initiated in 1998 and granted on merit only to the Outstanding
Graduate Student in the UGA Botany Department; the 1990 Elizabeth
Ann Bartholomew Service Award presented by the Southern Appalachian
Botanical Club; and the 1975 publication of one of UGA Press'
best selling books, Wildflowers of the Southeastern United States.
Dr. Duncan belonged to 18 professional
Societies and Associations. He was accepted to membership in
Sigma Xi in 1947, and designated an Emeritus Life Member of
Phi Kappa Phi in 1977. He was a charter member of the Association
of Southeast Biologists and a Fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, held several offices with the
Botanical Society of America, and was twice elected President
of the Georgia Academy of Science. During one such presidency,
he engineered the permanent holding of the State Science Fair
at the University of Georgia. Other organizations in which Dr.
Duncan was especially active include the American Society of
Plant Taxonomists, serving four years as a member of the council;
the American Institute of Biological Sciences; the International
Association of Plant Taxonomists; and the Georgia Botanical
Society.
Retirement was a time of great activity
and enjoyment for Dr. Duncan and his family. He and his wife
Marion, also a professional botanist, co-authored many publications,
including three major botany field guides: Seaside Plants of
the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts (Smithsonian Institution Press),
Trees of the Southeastern United States (UGA Press, 1988), and
Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (UGA Press, 1999).
All three books are still in print, and Wildflowers continues
to be a best-seller. A fourth manuscript is in advance stages
for publication (see last paragraph below). Dr. Duncan continually
attributed his success to his professional and personal partnership
with his wife. In a personal journal describing his long and
illustrious career, he wrote: "Marion's botanical knowledge
and her amazing ability in written and spoken English made possible
the quality of books and papers we published."
Dr. Duncan's interests extended far beyond
his Botany career. The love of nature, geography, history, music,
and art that he and Mrs. Duncan enjoyed was shared continuously
and enthusiastically with their children, Mack, Lucia, and Douglas,
and later with their four grandchildren. He was an avid sports
fan, although his participation was limited to ballroom and
square dancing, and to horseshoes - he was the 1932 Indiana
Intramural Champion. He especially enjoyed the world-class women's
gymnastics and basketball at UGA, attending regularly with his
wife after retirement.
Integrity and ethics in his personal
and professional life were of paramount importance to Dr. Duncan.
His personal code of honor was of a caliber some would describe
as old-fashioned, but it transcended generations, and profoundly
influenced his children and their choices in life. He was a
true egalitarian, judging only by one's character. An example
is his bold signature on the 1961 Faculty Petition in Support
of Desegregation. People of all backgrounds and capabilities
felt comfortable and welcome with him. Through his insightful
and gentle coaching, students, colleagues, mechanics, carpenters,
and countless others found a better way to use their talents
and to enhance their lives. Many people hope to leave this world
a better place than they found it. Wilbur Duncan achieved this
goal in more ways than this small tribute can possibly express,
and his family is immensely proud of how much of himself he
gave to so many.
  
Curriculum North Carolina UNC
In Ecology Botanical Garden Biology Department
University of North Carolina
Herbarium
CB# 3280, Coker Hall
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3280
phone: (919) 962-6931
fax: (919) 962-6930
email: herbarium@bio.unc.edu
Last Updated: 6 April
2006 |
