MORPH
An NSF Research Coordination Network
Research Interests
Palaeobotany
Fossil evidence for angiosperm evolution: Fossil flowers provide the most reliable evidence for the systematic composition of late Mesozoic and Tertiary vegetation. My research concentrates on morphological and systematic interpretation of mid and late Cretaceous fossil flowers from North America (with Dr P.R. Crane, Chicago) and throughout the fossil record Australasia (ARC funding).
Permian and Triassic plant fossils in Antarctica: Sediments in the Prince Charles Mountains preserve one of the few fossil plant localities in East Antarctica, providing important information on floristics and biogeography of early Gondwanan vegetation. Fieldwork was undertaken in 1991-2 and 1994-5; continuing research in collaboration with Dr D.J. Cantrill (British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge), Dr J. Webb (La Trobe Univ.) and Dr S. McLoughlin (Melb. Univ.). (ANARE, ASAC, and ARC funding).
Plant Morphology
Floral development and relationships among basal "non-magnoliid" dicotyledons: Flower and inflorescence formation in the 'primitive' members of the largest and most diverse group of flowering plants has implications for elucidating currently obscure evolutionary relationships and the nature and evolution of the angiosperm flower. Current research is focusing on Nothofagus (southern beech) and the families Buxaceae (ARC and DITAC funding) and Winteraceae.
Floral development and evolution in Myrtaceae: Investigation of floral ontogeny in this important southern plant family will determine the developmental bases for the wide structural diversity of flowers, and their implications as characters for systematic and evolutionary hypotheses of the family (ARC funding).
