Dr. Pieter van Royen
Dr. Pieter van Royen, 1961
Much of our present understanding of the taxonomy of Podostemaceae in the New World rests heavily on the work of Dr. P. van Royen . Dr. van Royen was the author of a three-part monograph of the Podostemaceae of the New World (1951, 1952, 1954; see below). These three papers represent the results of his Ph.D. dissertation research. In 1971 he coauthored a treatment of the family for the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.
Pieter van Royen was born in Lahat, Sumatra, Indonesia. In 1933 his family moved to The Netherlands. He obtained his B.S., M.Sc. and Ph.D. (1951) degrees from the University of Utrecht. From 1951 to 1962 he was Senior Botanist at the Rijksherbarium, Leiden, The Netherlands. From 1964-1965 he was the Acting Chief of the Division of Botany and Head of the Botanical Garden at Lae, Papua New Guinea. He was a Botanist with the Queensland Herbarium, Brisbane, Australia in 1964 and 1965. In 1967 Dr. van Royen joined the Department of Botany, Bishop Museum, Hawaii where he was Senior Botanist and served as Chairman of the department. He retired from the Bishop Museum in 1983.
Royen, P. van. 1951. The Podostemaceae of the New World. I. Meded. Bot. Mus. Herb. Rijks Univ. Utrecht. 107: 1-151.
Royen, P. van. 1953. The Podostemaceae of the New World. II. Acta Bot. Neerl. 2 (1): 1-21.
Royen, P. van. 1954. The Podostemaceae of the New World. III. Acta Bot. Neerl. 3: 215–263.
Royen, P. van & P. R. Reitz. 1971. Podostemáceas. In P. R. Reitz. (ed.). Flora Illustrada Catarinense. 1a (5): 2-36. Itajai, Santa Catarina.
[The above biographical information was taken from an article in the Ka 'Elele (June, 1983) honoring his retirement from the Bishop Museum.]