KLEINMAN, KIM J. c/o Archives, Missouri Botanical Garden, Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299. - Genetics at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
The Missouri Botanical Garden provides an interesting case study for
the introduction of Mendel's ideas in the first decades of the
Twentieth Century. The Garden, then and now strives to three not
always perfectly complementary goals: research, display, and
education. Thus, in this period, it was the site of work in plant
physiology, plant pathology, and taxonomy as well as plant breeding.
The products of the horticultural research helped make the grounds a
national attraction. And the Garden ran both the Henry Shaw School of
Botany at Washington University and a School for Gardening that
trained horticulturists and landscape architects. Interest in Mendel
at the MBG ultimately culminated in Edgar Anderson becoming
"Geneticist to the Garden" in 1922. This paper traces both
the background to Anderson's appointment and his work in the 1920s.
Key words: Edgar Anderson, genetics, Mendelism, Missouri Botanical Garden