Frederick Vernon Coville
Encyclopedia
Frederick Vernon Coville (March 23, 1867–January 9, 1937) was an American botanist who careered in the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA), where he became Chief Botanist, and was the first director of the United States National Arboretum
. He made contribution to economic botany and helped shape American scientific policy of the time on plant and exploration research.
, New York
to bank director Joseph Addison Coville and his wife Lydia. He went to Cornell University
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
in 1887. He briefly taught botany
before joining the USDA and participating to the Geological Survey
of Arkansas
as assistant botanist in 1888. He would remain with the department until his death, succeeding to George Vasey
as Chief botanist in 1893, a title accompanied with that of Honorary Curator of the National Herbarium (at the time conserved at the Smithsonian Institution
, but funded by the USDA). Coville married his wife, Elizabeth Harwood Boyton, in 1890; they had five children, four of which, three sons and a daughter, survived their father. Over the course of his life, he published approximately 170 papers and books; he also contributed to botany entries of the Century Dictionary
. A tall man who had enjoyed success in college sports, he was described as helpful, perceptive, clear-thinking and curious, as well as greatly enthusiastic in his outdoor expeditions.
Coville participated in the 1891 Death Valley
expedition led by Edward Palmer, his resulting Botany of the Death Valley Expedition (1893) is an important work on desert
plants. He traveled a lot in the Western United States
and grew an interest for desert and medicinal plants, leading to his 1897-1898 Medicinal Plants Survey. Gifford Pinchot
called a report of Coville's on effects of grazing
on forest "the essentials of a sound and farsighted grazing policy". Coville also participated in and wrote on the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition
, although he never completed his Flora of Alaska. He was involved with the establishment of the Carnegie Institution's Desert Botanical Laboratory in 1903, the USDA Seed Laboratory, and spearheaded efforts that lead to the foundation of the United States National Arboretum
in 1927.
Coville was considered the American authority on Juncaceae
and Grossulariaceae. After 1910 he began to work on blueberry
, and was the first to discover the importance of soil acidity and the effects of cold on blueberries and other plant. In 1911, he began a program of research in conjunction with Elizabeth White
, daughter of the owner of the extensive cranberry bogs at White's Bog in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. His work doubled the size of some strains' fruit, and by 1916, he had succeeded in cultivating blueberries, making them a valuable crop in the Northeastern United States
. For this work he received the George Roberts White Medal of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society
. In 1919, Coville played an instrumental role in drawing attention to the threatened state of the only known box huckleberry colony, sparking a revival of interest that led to the discovery of many new specimens of the plant. From 1920 to his death, he was chairman of the National Geographic Society
' Research Committee and was very influential in deciding areas of exploration. At the time of his death he was working on a revision of Botany of the Death Valley Expedition as a flora of the Valley.
Coville's papers are split between several archives. Many (including his revision notes for Botany of the Death Valley Expedition) are kept at the Smithsonian Institution, Others at the National Arboretum. His personal library is now part of the University of Wyoming
's special collections library, while his Death Valley Expedition field diary is kept at UC Berkeley. Amongst several plants named after him are Eriogonum covilleanum
, Amelanchier covillei, Cheilanthes covillei
, Enceliopsis covillei
, Juncus covillei
and Lupinus covillei
. A genus Covillea was also named after him, but is now considered a synonym of Larrea
.
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
(USDA), where he became Chief Botanist, and was the first director of the United States National Arboretum
United States National Arboretum
The United States National Arboretum is an arboretum in Washington, D.C., operated by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service as a division of the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center...
. He made contribution to economic botany and helped shape American scientific policy of the time on plant and exploration research.
Biography
Coville was born in 1867 in PrestonPreston, New York
Preston is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The population was 928 at the 2000 census.The Town of Preston is an interior town of Chenango County. The town is west of the City of Norwich.- History :...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to bank director Joseph Addison Coville and his wife Lydia. He went to Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1887. He briefly taught botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
before joining the USDA and participating to the Geological Survey
Geological survey
The term geological survey can be used to describe both the conduct of a survey for geological purposes and an institution holding geological information....
of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
as assistant botanist in 1888. He would remain with the department until his death, succeeding to George Vasey
George Vasey (botanist)
George S. Vasey was an English-born American botanist who collected a lot in Illinois before integrating the United States Department of Agriculture , where he became Chief Botanist and curator of the greatly expanded National Herbarium.-Biography:George Vasey was born in 1822 in Snainton near...
as Chief botanist in 1893, a title accompanied with that of Honorary Curator of the National Herbarium (at the time conserved at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, but funded by the USDA). Coville married his wife, Elizabeth Harwood Boyton, in 1890; they had five children, four of which, three sons and a daughter, survived their father. Over the course of his life, he published approximately 170 papers and books; he also contributed to botany entries of the Century Dictionary
Century Dictionary
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia was one of the largest encyclopedic dictionaries of the English language. The first edition was published from 1889 to 1891 by The Century Company of New York, in six, eight, or ten volume versions in 7,046 pages with some 10,000 wood-engraved illustrations...
. A tall man who had enjoyed success in college sports, he was described as helpful, perceptive, clear-thinking and curious, as well as greatly enthusiastic in his outdoor expeditions.
Coville participated in the 1891 Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
expedition led by Edward Palmer, his resulting Botany of the Death Valley Expedition (1893) is an important work on desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
plants. He traveled a lot in the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
and grew an interest for desert and medicinal plants, leading to his 1897-1898 Medicinal Plants Survey. Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service and the 28th Governor of Pennsylvania...
called a report of Coville's on effects of grazing
Grazing
Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...
on forest "the essentials of a sound and farsighted grazing policy". Coville also participated in and wrote on the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition
Harriman Alaska Expedition
In 1899, wealthy railroad magnate Edward Harriman arranged for a maritime expedition to Alaska. Harriman brought with him an elite community of scientists, artists, photographers, and naturalists to explore and document the Alaskan coast...
, although he never completed his Flora of Alaska. He was involved with the establishment of the Carnegie Institution's Desert Botanical Laboratory in 1903, the USDA Seed Laboratory, and spearheaded efforts that lead to the foundation of the United States National Arboretum
United States National Arboretum
The United States National Arboretum is an arboretum in Washington, D.C., operated by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service as a division of the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center...
in 1927.
Coville was considered the American authority on Juncaceae
Juncaceae
Juncaceae, the rush family, are a monocotyledonous family of flowering plants. There are eight genera and about 400 species. Members of the Juncaceae are slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous plants, and they may superficially resemble grasses. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range...
and Grossulariaceae. After 1910 he began to work on blueberry
Blueberry
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
, and was the first to discover the importance of soil acidity and the effects of cold on blueberries and other plant. In 1911, he began a program of research in conjunction with Elizabeth White
Elizabeth Coleman White
Elizabeth Coleman White was a New Jersey agricultural specialist who collaborated with Frank Coville to develop and commercialize a cultivated blueberry. -Biography:...
, daughter of the owner of the extensive cranberry bogs at White's Bog in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. His work doubled the size of some strains' fruit, and by 1916, he had succeeded in cultivating blueberries, making them a valuable crop in the Northeastern United States
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. For this work he received the George Roberts White Medal of Honor from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society
Massachusetts Horticultural Society
The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sometimes abbreviated to MassHort, is an American horticultural society based in Massachusetts. It describes itself as the oldest, formally-organized horticultural institution in the United States...
. In 1919, Coville played an instrumental role in drawing attention to the threatened state of the only known box huckleberry colony, sparking a revival of interest that led to the discovery of many new specimens of the plant. From 1920 to his death, he was chairman of the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
' Research Committee and was very influential in deciding areas of exploration. At the time of his death he was working on a revision of Botany of the Death Valley Expedition as a flora of the Valley.
Coville's papers are split between several archives. Many (including his revision notes for Botany of the Death Valley Expedition) are kept at the Smithsonian Institution, Others at the National Arboretum. His personal library is now part of the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
's special collections library, while his Death Valley Expedition field diary is kept at UC Berkeley. Amongst several plants named after him are Eriogonum covilleanum
Eriogonum covilleanum
Eriogonum covilleanum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Coville's buckwheat. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the Coast Ranges from the Bay Area to the hills north of the Los Angeles area. It is uncommon in general but it can be locally common in some places...
, Amelanchier covillei, Cheilanthes covillei
Cheilanthes covillei
Cheilanthes covillei is a species of lip fern known by the common name Coville's lip fern. This plant is native to the southwestern United States and Baja California, where it grows in rocky crevices in the mountains and foothills.-Description:...
, Enceliopsis covillei
Enceliopsis covillei
Enceliopsis covillei is a rare species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Panamint daisy.It is endemic in Inyo County, California, where it is known only from the rocky slopes of the western Panamint Range sky island in the Mojave Desert near Death...
, Juncus covillei
Juncus covillei
Juncus covillei is a species of rush known by the common name Coville's rush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Idaho to California, where it grows in moist habitat, often in forested areas. This is a perennial herb forming clumps of erect stems up to about 25...
and Lupinus covillei
Lupinus covillei
Lupinus covillei is a species of lupine known by the common name Shaggy lupine.-Description:Lupinus covillei is an erect perennial herb growing up to 90 centimeters tall. The shaggy-haired palmate leaves are made up of several leaflets each up to 10 centimeters long. The herbage is coated in long,...
. A genus Covillea was also named after him, but is now considered a synonym of Larrea
Larrea
Larrea is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Spanish scientist J.A. de Larrea. South American members of this genus are known as jarillas and are so closely related...
.