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John Edward Braggins
Born(1944-08-09)9 August 1944[1]
Wellington, New Zealand
Scientific career
FieldsBiology, bryology
InstitutionsUniversity of Auckland
Thesis

John E. Braggins is a New Zealand botanist and bryologist, known for his research into ferns and liverworts. Braggins lectured at the University of Auckland from 1969 until 2000, during which time he supervised and mentored a significant number of New Zealand botanists. During Braggins' career, he has taken part in the identification of 12 species and one suborder, many of which are endemic New Zealand liverworts.

Career[edit]

Braggins' 1975 PhD focused on the fern genus Pteris, in which he recognised Pteris carsei (pictured) was distinct from Pteris comans. This was formally described 45 years later in 2020

Braggins was born in Wellington on 9 August 1944.[2][3] He was adopted by Edward George Braggins and Sarah Braggins, who moved to Dannevirke, where he spent much of his childhood.[4] For his first year of high school, the family moved back to Wellington, where Braggins attended Rongotai College.[4]

He developed an interest in ferns as a child,[3] in part due to his parents buying Braggins a copy of Herbert Boucher Dobbie's New Zealand Ferns. His parents allowed him to build ferneries at the family's homes in Dannevirke and Wellington.[4]

Braggins attended the Victoria University of Wellington, attaining a Bachelor of Science in 1966, followed by a Master of Science in 1969,[4] during which he studied the fern genus Botrychium.[5] At university, Braggins was an active part of the Victoria University biological society, and attended field trips organised by the Wellington Botanical Society.[4]

In 1969, Braggins moved to Auckland, where he became a lecturer in botany at the University of Auckland and worked on a PhD on Pteris ferns,[3][5] being awarded the doctorate in 1975.[2] Braggins became a senior lecturer in the biology department,[6] and was a supervisor and lecturer for biologists such as Elizabeth Brown, Peter de Lange, Matt Renner, Matt von Konrat, Dan Blanchon and Mark F. Large,[3][2] many of whom were inspired to become bryologists by Braggins.[4] Braggins collaborated with Large to produce Spore Atlas of New Zealand Ferns and Fern Allies (1991).[3][2] The pair continued collaborating on fern-related studies, and in 2004 produced the book Tree Ferns, the first major work focusing entirely on the taxonomy and horticulture of tree ferns.[7][8]

Braggins developed an interest for hornworts and liverworts during his university studies, which led to him making major contributions to the knowledge of New Zealand endemic liverworts, including making descriptions for nine liverwort species, and contributing to Engel & Glenny's Flora of the Liverworts and Hornworts of New Zealand.[5] Over time, Braggins became known as one of the leading experts in hepaticology (the study of liverworts) in New Zealand.[4] At the University of Auckland, Braggins worked on the identification of Riccardia furtiva in 1989 and Zoopsis nitida in 1997.[2]

Braggins lectured at the University of Auckland until 2000,[2] when he was made to retire due to a department restructure.[4] This led Braggins to becoming an honorary research associate of Auckland War Memorial Museum, where he donated many of his type specimens, and working as a freelance botanical consultant.[4] Braggins worked on identifying the Libertia species L. cranwelliae and L. mooreae (named after Lucy Cranwell and Lucy Moore respectively) in 2002,[9] and helped in the identification of five species of Frullania liverworts between 2003 and 2011.[2] Further collaborative work by Braggins helped in the identification of the liverworts Lophocolea mediinfrons and Schizophyllopsis papillosa in 2013, and in 2015, the suborder Myliineae, which Braggins had identified in 2005 with J. J. Engel, was formally described.[10]

In 2020, Braggins collaborated on a paper which established Pteris carsei as a distinct species separate from Pteris comans; something that Braggins had originally recognised in his 1975 PhD.[11]

The standard author abbreviation Braggins is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[12]

Legacy[edit]

In 1999, Braggins received the Borg-Warner Robert O. Bass Visiting Scientist award by the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.[13] Braggins received the Allan Mere Award, the premier award given by the New Zealand Botanical Society, in 2013.[14] In 2024, Braggins became an Associate Emeritus of Auckland War Memorial Museum, in recognition for his contributions to plant taxonomy, education and dedication to botany.[3]

Two species have been named after Braggins: the monotypic liverwort Bragginsella anomala in 1997,[15][5] and the liverwort Lepidozia bragginsiana in 2014. The taxon authors of Lepidozia bragginsiana chose to recognise Braggins due to his role in organising liverwort collecting expeditions and for mentoring younger bryologists.[16]

Taxa identified by Braggins[edit]

Frullania wairua, a species identified by Matt von Konrat and Braggins in 2005

Selected bibliography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Dr John Braggins". Te Papa. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Seppelt, Rod (October 2012). "'Excellent, now I can concentrate on the liverworts.' – A testimony to the work of John Braggins" (PDF). Australasian Bryological Newsletter (61): 2–8. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland Museum – Acknowledges contributions of outstanding individuals in cultural and natural heritage fields". LiveNews. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Smith, Val (2015). Common Ground: Who's Who in New Zealand Botanical Names. New Plymouth: Wordsmith. p. 98. ISBN 9780473308476.
  5. ^ a b c d "John Braggins—noted New Zealand hepaticologist awarded 2013 Allan Mere" (PDF). Trilepidea (118): 3–4. September 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Allan Mere Award for 2013: Dr John Braggins". New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter (113). September 2013.
  7. ^ Beckner, John (2006). "Tree Ferns by Mark F. Large; John E. Braggins". Selbyana. 27 (1): 103–104. ISSN 0361-185X. JSTOR 41760271. Wikidata Q91188124.
  8. ^ Large, Mark F.; Braggins, John E. (1 May 2004). Tree Ferns. Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 9–10. ISBN 0881926302. Wikidata Q126935644.
  9. ^ a b c Blanchon, D. J.; Murray, B. G.; Braggins, J. E. (September 2002). "A taxonomic revision of Libertia (Iridaceae) in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 40 (3): 437–456. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2002.9512805. ISSN 0028-825X. Wikidata Q54557803.
  10. ^ a b Blanka Shaw; Barbara Crandall-Stotler; Jiří Váňa; et al. (1 February 2015). "Phylogenetic Relationships and Morphological Evolution in a Major Clade of Leafy Liverworts (Phylum Marchantiophyta, Order Jungermanniales): Suborder Jungermanniineae". Systematic Botany. 40 (1): 27–45. doi:10.1600/036364415X686314. ISSN 0363-6445. Wikidata Q95464728.
  11. ^ a b Brownsey, Patrick; Braggins, John; Perrie, Leon (25 June 2020). "Pteris carsei (Pteridaceae), a new endemic fern from New Zealand previously treated as P. comans G.Forst". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 58 (3): 214–222. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2019.1701503. ISSN 0028-825X. Wikidata Q110857842.
  12. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Braggins.
  13. ^ The Field Museum 1999 Annual Report to the Board of Trustees: Academic Affairs (PDF) (Report). The Field Museum. 20 March 2000. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Allan Mere Award 2013 goes to Dr John Braggins". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. 11 September 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  15. ^ Schuster, Rudolf M. (1997). "On Bragginsella, a New Genus of Jungermanniales from New Zealand". The Bryologist. 100 (3): 362–367. doi:10.2307/3244506. ISSN 0007-2745. JSTOR 3244506.
  16. ^ Cooper, Endymion D; Renner, Matt AM (2014). "Lepidozia bragginsiana, a new species from New Zealand (Marchantiopsida)". Phytotaxa. 173 (2): 117–126. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.173.2.2. ISSN 1179-3163.
  17. ^ "Lophocolea mediinfrons (J.J.Engel & Braggins) L.Söderstr". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  18. ^ John J. Engel; John E. Braggins (1 August 2005). "Are Mylia and Trabacellula (Hepaticae) Related? Unsuspected Links Revealed by Cell Wall Morphology, with the Transfer of Mylia anomala to a New Genus (Leiomylia J.J. Engel & Braggins) of Jungermanniaceae". Taxon. 54 (3): 665–680. doi:10.2307/25065423. ISSN 0040-0262. JSTOR 25065423. Wikidata Q28960091.
  19. ^ "Schizophyllopsis papillosa (J.J.Engel & Braggins) Váňa & L.Söderstr". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
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