Dennis Whigham’s interest in the ecology of plants has resulted in journeys through forests, fields, and wetlands around the world. His research has led to studies of woodland herbs—including orchids, vines, and wetland and invasive species—and studies of forests in the tropic, temperate, and boreal zones. Whigham’s current focus is on wetlands, including the role of wetlands in relation to the rarest terrestrial orchid in eastern North America, and his current passion is to establish the North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOCC), an initiative of the Smithsonian Institute and the United States Botanic Garden. NAOCC will be based on continentally focused public-private collaborations that will eventually result in the conservation of the genetic diversity of native orchids, initially in the U.S. and Canada. Whigham will discuss the ecology of native orchids and provide an overview of the goals and current efforts to establish NAOCC.

Whigham obtained an undergraduate degree from Wabash College and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina. He joined the Smithsonian in 1977. Whigham and his collaborators have published more than 225 articles in journals and books, and he has co-edited 10 books, including one on terrestrial orchids, and a 2009 volume, Tidal Freshwater Wetlands. Whigham is currently a research botanist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD.

This program is free for members and free with admission for non-members. Advance registration is requested.

Click here to register for Native Orchids—Ecology and Survival.