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Collectors of the UNC Herbarium
Clyde Ritchie Bell
b. 1921
The
name C. Ritchie Bell is inextricably linked to the flora of the
southeastern U.S. He is probably most familiar to students as
one of the authors (along with Albert Radford and Harry Ahles)
of the venerable Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas,
a work still relied upon by students and professional botanists
alike.
He was born in Cincinnati,
Ohio in 1921 and
received AB and MA degrees form the University of North Carolina
in 1947 and 1949. He earned his Ph.D. in botany at the University
of California at Berkeley in 1953. From there, he went on to his
first professional position as a botany instructor at the University
of Illinois.
In 1951, Dr. Bell returned
to UNC to teach botany and to work on the formation of a research
garden. In 1961, Dr. Bell became the Acting Director of the North
Carolina Botanical Garden; he was named official Director in 1966.
By the late 1970s the Garden had truly become something for the
state to be proud of (despite the fact that the state itself gave
no money to the Garden until 1971). |
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"Now we have a state botanical
garden that has a very good standing both nationally and internationally
with very modest cost to the state itself," Bell commented
in a 1986 interview with the Chapel Hill News. "The
garden is one-of-a-kind; everyone wants to know how we do it."
Dr. Bell retired from the Directorship of the Garden in 1986, although
he is still very active in its affairs.
Reliquiae
Below are a handwriting sample and a specimen
of Thelypteris hexagonoptera collected by Bell. The handwriting
sample may be clicked upon to view a larger image.
 
All specimens and handwriting samples are from the UNC
Herbarium and are used with permission.
Bibliography
Bell is a prolific writer with a large number
of books and articles to his credit. Best known of his books are,
of course, the above-mentioned Manual of the Vascular Flora of
the Carolinas, as well as Wild Flowers of North Carolina
(with William S. Justice, Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1968, title page
and frontispiece shown below) and Florida Wild Flowers and Roadside
Plants (with Bryan J. Taylor, Chapel Hill: Laurel Hill Press,
1982). Both of the wildflower books are fully illustrated with color
photographs and are easily accessible to non-botanists.
Some of Dr. Bell's most recent accomplishments
are in the realm of videography. With Anne H. Lindsey, he has constructed
a series of video recordings, published by Laurel Hill Press, each
focusing on the visible flora of a particular season. The most recent
is Woodland Harvest of the Eastern Forests, highlighting
fruits rather than flowers (Laurel Hill, 1996).
Dr. Bell's papers have been compiled by Rhonda
Teague Rogers and are available at the Couch
Biology Library, located just downstairs from the Herbarium.
Papers pertaining to Dr. Bell's work with the Botanical Garden are
available in the Records
of the North Carolina Botanical Garden, housed in the University Archives.
This page was constructed by Ron Gilmour with the
assistance of Mr. Bill Burk, Mrs. Mary Felton,
Dr. Jim Massey, and Mr. Jim Murphy. Additional information and corrections
are welcome.
  
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: 7 June
2004
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