Descriptive Summary
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Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Biography/Administrative History
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
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Descriptive Summary
Title: Reid Moran correspondence files
Dates: 1936-1996 (bulk 1957-1982)
Collection Number: MS.15
Creator/Collector:
Moran, Reid
Extent: 3.4 linear feet (4 boxes)
Repository:
California Botanic Garden
Claremont, California 91711
Abstract: The collection contains the correspondence of botanist Reid Moran, primarily from his years as curator at the San Diego Natural
History Museum from 1957 to 1982. The collection also includes a small number of reprints, notes, and plant lists.
Language of Material: English
Access
The collection is open to research. Contact the repository for access.
Preferred Citation
Reid Moran correspondence files. California Botanic Garden
Biography/Administrative History
American botanist and museum curator Reid Venable Moran (1916-2010) is best known for his long tenure at the San Diego Museum
of Natural History from 1957 to 1982. A native Californian, Moran earned degrees in botany at Stanford University and Cornell
University. After wartime service in the Army Air Corps, Moran obtained his Ph.D. in botany at the University of California
in 1951 and was subsequently employed at the Bailey Hortorium before taking the position of curator at the San Diego Museum
of Natural History.
Moran was recognized as an authority on the systematics of Crassulaceae (the stonecrop family), especially the genus Dudleya.
He also studied the floristics of Baja California. Moran’s major publications include The Flora of Guadalupe Island (1996),
The Grasses of Baja California, Mexico (1981), and The Vascular Flora of Isla Socorro, Mexico (1989), along with hundreds
of technical articles.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists almost entirely of correspondence between Reid Moran and colleagues from universities and institutions
across the United States and worldwide, primarily related to his research on Crassulaceae, floristic studies, and other botanical
subjects. The bulk of the correspondence was created during the years of Moran’s tenure at the San Diego Natural History Museum
from 1957 to 1982. The collection also contains a small amount of reprints, plant lists, and notes.
Indexing Terms
Botanists
Plants--classification
Natural history museum curators
Crassulaceae
Correspondence
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