Ralph Erskine Cleland Explained

Fields:	botany
Known For:	genetics of the plant genus Oenothera
Workplaces:	Indiana University

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.

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]}

External links

• National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir

Notes and References

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