| George Newton Best | |
| Birth Date: | October 16, 1846 |
| Birth Place: | Round Valley, Clinton Township, New Jersey |
| Death Place: | Rosemont, Hunterdon County, New Jersey |
| Nationality: | American |
| Work Institutions: | Riegelsville High School |
| Alma Mater: | University of Pennsylvania |
| Known For: | Plant taxonomy |
| Author Abbrev Bot: | Best |
George Newton Best (October 16, 1846 – June 18, 1926) was an American bryologist, expert on moss taxonomy, and second president of the Sullivant Moss Society.[1]
Best attended Lafayette College for three years before leaving to teach high school in Riegelsville, Pennsylvania. He resumed his education at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in medicine in 1875. He took up his medical practice in the Rosemont section of Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.[1]
Best was also a prominent bryologist, contributing often to Torrey Botanical Club publications. He was instrumental in revising and reclassifying many moss genera, including Thuidium, Claopodium, Heterocladium, Leskea, and Pseudoleskea.[2]
Best served as associate editor of The Bryologist from 1911 until his death, and as president of the Sullivant Moss Society from 1901 to 1902.[3] Best was also a member of the Medical Society of New Jersey, American Medical Association, and Torrey Botanical Club. He died on June 18, 1926.[4]
Best's personal herbarium of mosses and publications were absorbed into the collection of the New York Botanical Garden.[4]
In 1906, botanist Broth. published Bestia, which is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Lembophyllaceae and it was named in George Newton Best's honour.[5]