Paul H. Allen
Encyclopedia
Paul Hamilton Allen was an American
botanist noted for his work on the ecology of Central America
, orchid systematics
and economically important species including banana
s. He was married to the former Dorothy Osdieck of Kirkwood, Missouri
.
Allen was born in Enid, Oklahoma
. With only a secondary school
education, he became a student apprentice at the Missouri Botanical Garden
. In 1934 he accompanied Carroll William Dodge and Julian Steyermark on a 6-month collecting expedition to Panama
. Two years later, he returned to Panama to manage the Missouri Botanical Garden's field station and later served as superintendent at the Canal Zone
Experimental Station. He served as manager of the station from 1936–1939.
During World War II
, Allen was one of the few American botanists with extensive tropical experience. He prepared a paper on the "poisonous and injurious plants of Panama" which was published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine in 1943. He joined the United States Rubber Development Corporation and worked on the collection of rubber from wild Hevea
trees in the Colombia
n Amazon
.
After the end of the World War II Allen completed an account of the Orchidaceae
(orchid family) for the Flora of Panama before joining the United Fruit Company
in Costa Rica. This led to the production of his book The Rain Forests of Golfo Dulce. He served as the director of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
from 1953–1954, before returning to Central America to teach at the United Fruit Company's Escuela Agricola Panamericana near Tegucigalpa
in Honduras
. Allen then conducted a survey of the forest resources of El Salvador
and established the Paul C. Stanley Herbarium. In 1959 he returned to the United Fruit Company's research department, where he served as the director of the Lancetilla Experimental Station.
In 1959 the United Fruit Company launched a major banana breeding project. Allen and Dutch
botanist J. J. Ochse were selected to lead collecting expeditions to Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Between 1959 and 1961 they collected nearly 800 accessions of wild and cultivated species and varieties of bananas from Taiwan
, the Philippines
, Indonesia
, Malaysia, Singapore
, Thailand
and Sri Lanka
. This collection was described by botanist and plant collector Wilson Popenoe
as "one of the grandest and most successful in the history of plant introduction".
Allen then returned to Honduras where he worked on sorting and classifying the collections. He also compiled annotated check-lists of hundreds of common names. Much of this work was ongoing at the time of his death in 1963. He died of cancer in 1963, at the height of his career. His collection of banana germplasm
remains the basis of the breeding program of the Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola.
Allen authored taxonomic
descriptions of 73 species, subspecies and varieties of plants, especially in the orchid family
. Allen's papers are held by the Hunt Institution for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University
, together with artwork by his wife, Dorothy.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
botanist noted for his work on the ecology of Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, orchid systematics
Systematics
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...
and economically important species including banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s. He was married to the former Dorothy Osdieck of Kirkwood, Missouri
Kirkwood, Missouri
Kirkwood is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,540. Founded in 1853, the city is named for James Pugh Kirkwood, builder of the Pacific Railroad through that town. It was the first planned suburb located west...
.
Allen was born in Enid, Oklahoma
Enid, Oklahoma
Enid is a city in Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States. In 2010, the population was 49,379, making it the ninth largest city in Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, and is named after Enid, a...
. With only a secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
education, he became a student apprentice at the Missouri Botanical Garden
Missouri Botanical Garden
The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder Henry Shaw, a botanist and philanthropist.-History:...
. In 1934 he accompanied Carroll William Dodge and Julian Steyermark on a 6-month collecting expedition to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. Two years later, he returned to Panama to manage the Missouri Botanical Garden's field station and later served as superintendent at the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
Experimental Station. He served as manager of the station from 1936–1939.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Allen was one of the few American botanists with extensive tropical experience. He prepared a paper on the "poisonous and injurious plants of Panama" which was published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine in 1943. He joined the United States Rubber Development Corporation and worked on the collection of rubber from wild Hevea
Hevea
Hevea is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is also one of many names used commercially for the wood of the most economically important species H. brasiliensis.-Selected species:* Hevea benthamiana Müll.Arg....
trees in the Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
.
After the end of the World War II Allen completed an account of the Orchidaceae
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
(orchid family) for the Flora of Panama before joining the United Fruit Company
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
in Costa Rica. This led to the production of his book The Rain Forests of Golfo Dulce. He served as the director of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a botanic garden, with extensive collections of rare tropical plants including palms, cycads, flowering trees and vines. It is located in metropolitan Miami, just south of Coral Gables, Florida, United States, surrounded at the south and west by Matheson...
from 1953–1954, before returning to Central America to teach at the United Fruit Company's Escuela Agricola Panamericana near Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. Allen then conducted a survey of the forest resources of El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
and established the Paul C. Stanley Herbarium. In 1959 he returned to the United Fruit Company's research department, where he served as the director of the Lancetilla Experimental Station.
In 1959 the United Fruit Company launched a major banana breeding project. Allen and Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
botanist J. J. Ochse were selected to lead collecting expeditions to Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Between 1959 and 1961 they collected nearly 800 accessions of wild and cultivated species and varieties of bananas from Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. This collection was described by botanist and plant collector Wilson Popenoe
Wilson Popenoe
Wilson Popenoe son of Fred O. Popenoe and brother of Paul Popenoe, was a United States Department of Agriculture employee and plant explorer. From 1916 to 1924 Popenoe explored Latin America to look for new strains of avocados. He reported his adventures to the National Geographic...
as "one of the grandest and most successful in the history of plant introduction".
Allen then returned to Honduras where he worked on sorting and classifying the collections. He also compiled annotated check-lists of hundreds of common names. Much of this work was ongoing at the time of his death in 1963. He died of cancer in 1963, at the height of his career. His collection of banana germplasm
Germplasm
A germplasm is a collection of genetic resources for an organism. For plants, the germplasm may be stored as a seed collection or, for trees, in a nursery.-See also:*Germ plasm, the germ cell determining zone...
remains the basis of the breeding program of the Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola.
Allen authored taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
descriptions of 73 species, subspecies and varieties of plants, especially in the orchid family
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
. Allen's papers are held by the Hunt Institution for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, together with artwork by his wife, Dorothy.