Reid Venable Moran | |
|---|---|
 San Diego Natural History Museum Curator of Botany Reid V. Moran. (Photo: San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library) | |
| Born | June 30, 1916 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Died | January 21, 2010 (aged 93) Clearlake, California, United States |
| Alma mater | Stanford University (B.A.) Cornell University (M.S.) University of California, Berkeley (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
| Institutions | San Diego Natural History Museum |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Moran |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ | United States Army |
| Service years | 1942–1946 |
| Rank | Second lieutenant |
| Unit | 515th Bombardment Squadron |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
Reid Venable Moran (June 30, 1916 – January 21, 2010) was an American botanist and the curator of botany at the San Diego Natural History Museum from 1957 to 1982.[1]
Moran was the world authority on the Crassulaceae, a family of succulent plants, and in particular the genus Dudleya, the subject of his Ph.D. dissertation. He named at least 18 plants new to science — some in that family and some not — and published many papers elucidating relationships within the Crassulaceae. As a mark of the respect he earned among his peers, more than a dozen plants have been named for him. Jane Goodall described Moran as "a sort of living myth in botanical exploration in Baja California and the Pacific Islands of Mexico," citing specifically his analysis of the environmental impact of introduced species (especially goats) on the flora of Guadalupe Island.[2]