Vernon Heywood

Vernon Hilton Heywood (born Vernon Hilton Nathan; 24 December 1927 – 17 September 2022) was a British plant biologist. He specialised in medicinal and aromatic plants, and the conservation of wild relatives of plants. Heywood led modern plant taxonomy and global strategies for plant conservation as well as the training of generations of botanists, taxonomists, and conservationists in the UK and other countries.

Early life and education Vernon Hilton Nathan was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 24 December 1927. He later changed his name to Vernon Hilton Heywood. The family changed their name from Nathan to Heywood in 1938. He studied at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. He attended University of Edinburgh 1945 - 1949, graduating with B. Sc. Science (Plant Science). He then moved to Pembroke College, University of Cambridge (1949 - 1953) for doctoral studies supervised by Eldred Corner about plant taxonomy, especially of species found in Spain. His doctorate was awarded in 1954. In around 1970 he was awarded D. Sc. by University of Edinburgh. Later, he was the scientific compiler and editor of the Global Biodiversity Assessment by UNEP in 1995 and of the three-volume series Centres of Plant Diversity, co-produced by ICUN and the World Wildlife Fund between 1994-1997. His activity continued into the 21st century, and developed to consider effects of climate change and invasive plants. The Code of Conduct on Horticulture and Invasive Alien Plants, produced by the Council of Europe in 2009 and the later European Code of Conduct for Botanic Gardens on Invasive Alien Species from the Council of Europe and BGCI in 2013 both included his input. Planta Europa honored him with their Linnaeus award at their fifth conference, held in 2007 in Cluj Napoca. The book Taxonomy and Plant Conservation (Cambridge University Press, 2006, Etelka Leadlay and Stephen Jury, eds.) was dedicated as a tribute to Heywood in honor of his 75th birthday.

His publications include several major books including Principles of angiosperm taxonomy (1963), Flowering Plants of the World, and its update Flowering Plant Families of the World (with Richard K. Brummitt, Alastair Culham and Ole Seberg) as well as the Global Biodiversity Assessment.

Personal life and death Heywood was initially married on 7 June 1952 to María de la Concepción Salcedo Manrique de Lara (1924-2012) "Conchita" whom he met in Cazorla, Andalusia. They had four sons, including Paul Heywood, but divorced in 1981. Vernon Heywood married the cytotaxonomist Christine Anne Brighton in 1981.

Heywood diagnosed with inoperable bowel cancer in 2020. He died at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 17 September 2022, aged 94. Gold Badge of the Canary Botanical Garden, 2002 Gold Medal of OPTIMA, 2007 Linnaeus Prize of Planta Europa, 2007

Legacy In addition to the organisations that Heywood founded and guided, he provided living and dried plant specimens to several national collections. Both the Royal Horticultural Society and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew received seeds, bulbs and corms from visits by him that they sponsored. Species introduced into horticulture in the UK that he collexted included Narcissus hedraeanthus. Herbarium specimens collected by Heywood are in the British Museum (Natural History), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

The plant genus Heywoodiella (now within Hypochaeris) was named after him.