Ralph Erskine Cleland (20 October 1892 – 11 June 1971) was an American botanist. In 1947, he was the President of the Botanical Society of America. He was also a professor at the Department of Botany at Indiana University.

Ralph Erskine Cleland
Known forgenetics of the plant genus Oenothera
Scientific career
Fieldsbotany
InstitutionsIndiana University

Cleland's most seminal field of research concerned the genetics of the plant genus Oenothera.[1][2] He discovered the structures of linked rings of meiotic chromosomes (not to be confused with ring chromosomes)[3] that, by their interference with functions such as chromosomal crossover explained the unusual genetics and reproduction of plants in the genus Oenothera.[4][5]

He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1932 and both the United States National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1942.[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ "Ralph Erskine Cleland (1892-1971)". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  2. ^ Harte, Cornelia. Oenothera: Contributions of a Plant to Biology. Springer 2012 ISBN 978-3642842887
  3. ^ Dunn, E.W. Dobzhansky, Th. Sinnott, L.C. Principles of Genetics. Publisher: McGraw-Hill 1957 ASIN: B0000CK0MJ
  4. ^ Steiner, Erich (1982). "Ralph Erskine Cleland". Biographical Memoirs. 53. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  5. ^ Cleland, R. E. Oenothera: Cytogenetics and Evolution. Academic Press 1972. ISBN 978-0121764500
  6. ^ "Ralph Cleland". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  7. ^ "Ralph Erskine Cleland". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  8. ^ International Plant Names Index.  R.E.Cleland.
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