Special Issue 3 - Wheat Taxonomy: The Legacy of John Percival

An edited volume arising from papers presented at The Percival Symposium: Wheat- Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow, a meeting to celebrate the life and work of John Percival. Organised by: The School of Plant Sciences, the University of Reading, UK in collaboration with The Linnean Society, 12-13 July 1999.

John Percival (1863-1949) was Professor of Agricultural Botany at the University of Reading from 1907 to 1932 and a driving force behind the creation of agricultural botany as a scientific discipline. His monumental treatment of wheat The Wheat Plant: A Monograph (1921) still serves as a standard reference, having been reprinted as recently as 1974. Percival was the consummate agricultural scientist - botanist, taxonomist, geneticist, germplasm collector, curator, breeder, agronomist, historian and teacher.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Percival’s death, the University’s School of Plant Sciences hosted a meeting to celebrate his life and work. Reflecting the scope of Percival’s scientific views, invited speakers surveyed research progress during the last half-century in the archaeobotany, systematics, genetics and breeding of the wheat plant. The two-day event offered a unique opportunity for a multi-disciplinary gathering of experts who shared a common interest in wheat studies.

Edited by P. D. S. Caligari and P. E. Brandham

Special Issue No. 3 of The Linnean Newsletter and Proceedings of The Linnean Society of London