Edgar W. Denison

Edgar W. Denison (August 31, 1904 – August 14, 1993) was a conservationist, amateur botanist and naturalist who was an early proponent of the value of the use of native plants in cultivated landscapes and in preserving and restoring biodiversity in natural and disturbed habitats. He provided text as well as many photographs and illustrations for the handbook, Missouri Wildflowers, published by Missouri Department of Conservation in 1972, and now in its 6th edition.

Biography Edgar W. Denison was born in Stuttgart, Germany on August 31, 1904. His interest in nature was formed as a boy, when he would make frequent trips with his father to Switzerland, and became “fascinated with the roses and edelweiss he saw while hiking.” “I am a mountain goat by nature,” he once told an interviewer. He attended preparatory school in Germany; then, because of the economic depression at the time, immigrated to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1927, settling in Kirkwood, Missouri, in 1932, where he lived the rest of his life. He was married in 1931 to Ruth Israel.

Informal Education Denison's personal interests were diverse. He appreciated the arts in many forms, from music to visual arts, including painting and photography. He played the piano—with a particular fondness for the music of Scott Joplin—and was a self-taught artist and nature photographer. Just as widespread was his enthusiasm for natural history in many forms, especially botany, zoology and geology.

As a youth, Denison learned the names of plants from his father's library of botanical books. The book has sold more than 100,000 copies to date, with all proceeds going to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Awards Erna R. Eisendrath Memorial Education Award (Missouri Native Plant Society) (1985) Julian A. Steyermark Award (MNPS) (1993) Missouri Department of Conservation Hall of Fame (1994)

Published works Missouri Wildflowers, Missouri Department of Conservation, 1972 “What Oak is this? Part I: The White Oaks,” by Edgar Denison, The Missouri Conservationist 54 (12): 12-17 (December 1993). “What Oak is this? Part II: The Red Oaks,” by Edgar Denison, The Missouri Conservationist, (January 1994) "Common Plant Families of Missouri, II. Monocots", by Edgar Denison, Missouriensis, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1003